Trainers Talk Tech

Over the past week, I have been surprised by the number of eMails and calls I have received from people in my network regarding HTML 5, Flash, Adobe and Apple. Folks in my eLearning circle are abuzz and asking questions about the future of Flash and the Web and what "these changes" are going to do to the field of eLearning development.

I am so over it.

I really, truly believe that right now, at this moment, it’s a non-issue. Initially, I was concerned because of Apple's childish decision (there, I've said it) not to include the Flash player on their iPad and iPhone. Then I started thinking about how my business was going to be impacted by the lack of Flash on these devices, and I had a huge "So what?" moment. So what if I can't run my stuff on iPads and iPhones? Are my business clients going to be negatively impacted because they cannot run "Effective eMails and You" on their iPad?

Odds are, I think that we won't see any kind of major investment into iPads at the corporate level. Why? Do you see IT teams making decisions to replace Blackberries with iPhones? Do you see IT teams issuing NetBooks to their employees instead of laptops and desktops? Is the iPad that much more powerful than a NetBook? Is the App store a blessing or a curse to an IT team concerned about privacy issues? If I issue my employee an iPad, do I dictate which apps are allowed to run? Who gets the app the employee purchased after termination? And on and on and on…in this climate, business have more important things to think about than jumping ship to a new technology infrastructure.

What about the business of HTML 5 killing Flash? Why are they mutually exclusive of each other? HTML 5 has a long, long way to go before the standards are finalized; generous estimates state that the standards will be in place in 5 years; conservative estimates consider 10 years a more realistic guess. Either way, this means that the web designer/programmer and eLearning designer/programmer is facing 5-10 years of pain because of the ultimate weak link: the browser.

HTML 5 is a programming language, but it is up to the browser to interpret that language and display the content. If the browser can't render the code, strange things start to happen in the display. We are facing that now with some versions of CSS. Different browsers on different platforms interpret the CSS differently and browsers display the content as they see fit. Look at sites on your Mac using Safari or Firefox and then on your PC using Internet Explorer - slight differences may appear if your programmer used CSS to any major degree.

Until HTML 5 gets standardized, each browser will interpret it differently. It's World Browser War III.

I have to tell you from experience (building on the web since 1996), clients don't get it and they don't care. If it works fine on your machine but breaks on the client machine, it’s broken. Clients don't want or appreciate long winded explanations of how browsers work; they paid you to design and program something and it doesn't work on their computer. You stink. It's a painful process of trial and error, multiple browser testing and all that stuff we used to HAVE to do during the previous World Brower Wars.

Adobe CTO says that they are going to make the best tools for HTML 5 and people scream "OMG!!! Adobe is saying that they are going to drop Flash!!!" No, it means that Adobe is going to keep current with browser coding tech and make their tools better by including it, just like they did with previous versions of HTML and with CSS. It's nothing to hoot about - it's a great step in the right direction. Adobe has always done this with Dreamweaver to ensure that coders have the most current tools at their fingertips. It’s great, and in no way says anything negative about Flash.

And while I am on that note, why is Flash suddenly Satan?

As far as I'm concerned, Flash is awesome. For me and my customers, it is the best way to deliver interactive content and eLearning for distribution over the web. Period.

Think about this: The odds are HUGE that the HTML 5 standard will still support browser plug-ins which means Flash will run just fine in HTML 5 standard browsers. Your current Flash movies and content will run in the HTML 5 standard browser, as long as that browser allows for the Flash plug-in. Based on the current specs (point 2.1.5), the use of plug-ins hasn’t gone away. Repeat after me – HTML 5 browsers will run your Flash projects.

Right now, the big whoopdy is Flash video vs. HTML 5's video capabilities. Sure, the browser will now be able to play video files, but what about the interactive capabilities of Flash? Will HTML 5 allow me to create the unique, interactive learning experiences that I build in Flash? Will HTML 5 allow me to store variables and convert them to numbers, compute on those numbers and then deliver customized responses based on those numbers? Will HTML 5 allow me to program “If...Then” paths based on user feedback and decision making? It doesn’t look like it.

Flash is a great tool and the files it creates display the same in every browser on every platform. The inconsistencies in the way the browser displays content has no impact on your .swf. It runs the same, it looks the same, it feels the same, and it sounds the same on each and every platform. It is a stable tech that my clients understand and provides me with creative flexibility. I don’t every have to say “no” to a client when building in Flash.

It needs to be stressed again that just because HTML 5 is coming out doesn't mean that Flash goes away. By the time HTML 5 standards are finalized, Adobe will have released Flash CS6, CS7, CS8 and maybe even CS9. Developers and the general public are freaking because Apple is ignoring the huge install base, the huge number of Flash developers and issues some sweeping statements against Flash. Since when is Apple the “be all, end all” of computing technology? If Apple says it, it must be the right?

In 2006, the W3C indicated an interest to participate in the development of HTML5 and in 2007 formed a working group chartered to work with the WHATWG on the development of the HTML5 specification. Odds are, you didn't know about it until Apple kicked Flash to the curb a month ago. I truly believe HTML 5 a long way off, will be filled with developer frustration as the browsers work on figuring out how to display the code, and it will not have the same multimedia and computational power I currently enjoy using Flash.

Clients don't always care about the technology, they just want it to look a certain way and to work as they want it to work. Until HTML 5 standards are finalized and all the browsers have figured out how to display the code, and until I can create the same multimedia/interactive experience for my learners, I'm going to continue developing my eLearning in Flash.

Mr. Jobs,

I wanted to take the time to write you this note today because I think that you may be unintentionally killing off one of my critical software development platforms: Flash. Now, you may just be thinking that by omitting the Flash player from the iPad and iPhone removes the user's ability to see video streaming on the web, but it does much more. For me, it has the potential to kill my future eLearning business prospects.

A little bit about me: I am an eLearning developer. I use Adobe Flash as my primary development tool. All of my eLearning is either developed directly in Flash, or uses a tool that exports to .swf format to embed in the browser. This way, my clients and their users can get around messy plug-ins and media components and just experience my projects in a browser window. I have been doing this for years, improving my eLearning design skills with each new iteration of Flash.

I switched to Mac in 2004 and have never looked back. I've purchased five Mac Pros, several Mac Books, a Mac Book Pro, about 15 iPods for my family and friends, an iPhone and just this weekend, the glorious iPad. I bleed Mac. But, your anger with Adobe and the Flash platform is starting to shake my confidence that my future is going to be OK.

I've been a big proponent of mobile learning - writing eLearning programs that run on mobile devices. As far as I'm concerned, the iPhone is the ultimate mobile device, and now the iPad has knocked it off the hill. I see every student and professional carrying around an iPad as a replacement for their day planners, their laptops, their heavy text books and training material.

This is why I am a little scared for the future of the thousands of Flash-based eLearning projects out there: None of them will work on the iPad. None. Zero. Zip. Entire organizations will have to deal with outdated learning software that won't run on the iPad and other Apple devices. Not that change and growth is bad, but it is one thing to adjust the settings and another to completely reboot.

Again, I understand your anger with Adobe - most, if not all, of the software problems I experience on my Macs happens when I am running Adobe software. I crash. I hang. I have weird font bugs. I have things that frustrate the heck out of me. However, I feed my kids and support my family with Adobe software running on Macs. My entire business produces Flash based eLearning programs that run using the Flash plug-in in any browser. It may not be perfect, but I'm happy to stick with Adobe and will tolerate the little bugs that crop up from time to time.

Some have said that HTML 5 will replace Flash video and Flash will evolve or just go away. I don't think so. The problem is that in the educational world, there is so much Flash content helping kids and adults learn, it is a shame to just have to throw all that away or force them to find an iPad-like device that will allow the learner to run their eLearning content.

I think that the iPad is going to change mobile computing. I also think that it has the potential to change the educational arena as well: for younger kids, the college crowd and adult learners. I see a future with this device. However, this fighting with Adobe must stop. Either iPad sales will stagnate because students and educators won't buy them en masse because the device can't access their current Flash content, or Flash will die and the iPad will take over and set new standards. Until one or the other takes place, can't you just let Safari on the iPad have the Flash plug-in?

Think about it Mr. Jobs : Flash is here. It has an immense install base. It is a relatively stable platform for distributing video files and is the premier platform for developing interactive multimedia projects. In my case, those interactive multimedia projects pay my bills.

Safari on the Mac already has the Flash plug-in, and all works fine. Why not just insert it into the Safari browser on the iPad? What is wrong with tipping your hat to current technology while simultaneously roaring forward to change the world? Can't we all win?

Thank you for your time.

Thomas Toth
President
dWeb Studios, Inc. & The Catapult Training Group

One of my clients has had a cool vision for her eLearning projects and it involves avatars - not the blue smurfy giants, but the digital characters/cartoons that help lead your learners through the training.

I've done quite a bit of it in the past, but it always adds to the cost because I hire an illustrator/cartoonist to develop my characters. Whenever I hire out, it costs me and the clients more money. As budgets dried up last year, it was a pretty quiet year for avatars.

However, I've developed some eLearning for this client in the past, they were used to my pricing structure, and I didn't want to look like I was price spiking. So, I figured that I would see if there were some avatars available online that weren't too cheesy, and that I could pick up cheaply so as to not pass the cost onto the client.

After a long and painful search, I am happy to have found this site: Cartoon Solutions. It's not a site specifically for eLearning, but for Flash cartoons. It contains dozens of characters that you can download for a steal ($22.00 or so, $50 for the character plus 18 animations). Men, women, kids, animals, plus backgrounds and props, all in the same toony "style". And, when you buy, you get the .fla file with all the embedded mouth and hand positions so you can drop them right into your project.

As you know, 90% of my stuff is build in Flash so this was a perfect fit. While designed for Flash cartoons, I found them to be a perfect fit for these new eLearning projects.

The best part: My client LOVED the rapid prototype. If you know Flash and want to add a toony look to your eLearning, check out Cartoon Solutions!

There have been reports leaking to the web that hint of an April release date for the Adobe CS5 suite of software. Although Adobe goes out of their way to keep these release dates a secret, reports keep coming out. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I've had lots of buggy situations with Flash CS4 and with Dreamweaver CS4 on my Mac, so I'm hoping that in addition to those new features which are coming, Adobe has taken the time to clean up the code a bit.

And, because I cannot wait, here are some CS5 Videos and a dedicated CS5 website that should keep you enticed:

Flash CS5 : Export to iPhone
Flash CS5 : New Features

Photoshop CS5 : Sneak Peek
Photoshop CS5 : Patch Match
Photoshop CS5 : Spot Healing

GREAT CS5 Site: http://cs5.org/

I have been hunting for a way to test my SCORM packages before sending them to my customers for review, and with the help of one of my clients, I found an excellent resource.

SCORM.com has an excellent tool called Test Track. It allows you to upload your SCORM .zip file into a working/testing location that gives you everything you need to evaluate and debug your SCORM packages. The link is:

http://www.scorm.com/scorm-solved/test-track/

I always get so freaked out when sending SCORM packages to clients without testing...the debug process can be a pain. This tool, which is FREE, found a silly "&" in my .xml which I was able to fix before sending the final versions to clients.

Did you catch that this tool is FREE!??!

SCORM scares and frustrates me, but this is an awesome tool from Rustici Software that made my life so much easier today. I set up my free account and will be living here as I develop eLearning for my clients. Thanks scorm.com!

I recently engaged in a debate with one of my colleagues regarding the virtues of building eLearning projects that take advantage of current technological bells and whistles vs. building your project to work on older technology. The point boiled down to the fact that the users are sophisticated enough to download and upgrade their browsers which will allow them to experience the cutting edge stuff, so there was no reason to not utilize bleeding edge.

I disagreed.

It's been my experience that the home and small business user adapts and upgrades their technology way before the typical business user. It is also my experience that web marketing folks, web design folks and eLearning programmers at large organizations usually have the best hardware and software. They are usually given lots of control when it comes to what's installed, and often given the ability to install whatever software they need.

Not so for the rest of the organization. The sales teams, engineering teams, financial teams and other folks in the firm are not so lucky. On their first day, IT usually goes back into the closet, blows off the dust and pulls out an older machine for them to use. After all, it doesn't take much computing power to run MS Office and a web browser.

That's generally where the problems occur. The designer creates a multimedia masterpiece that the user cannot experience as intended. Did you know that the cool and interactive Flash demo requires the processing power of the host computer to make it run? Yes, after the .swf is downloaded to the user's machine through the browser, it still requires the processing speed of the user's computer to run correctly. This means older, slower, computer :: clunky Flash presentation.

And, the first thing that gets sacrificed in the Flash presentation is animation frame rate. Flash prioritizes the audio track before the animation, especially if you stream rather than event program your audio. What this means is that the audio track plays perfectly, but the animation stutters and hacks between keyframes to keep up.

Also, don't forget bandwidth issues. At last count, as much at 63% of home users have high speed connections. Most businesses do as well. However, if you forget that almost 40% of the users don't have it, you are losing almost half your audience! If you rely exclusively on large video and swf files that take forever to download, your learners are not learning...they are watching the %loaded figure slowly creep up.

Even though users have the opportunity to upgrade their browsers, many IT groups refuse to give admin rights to their users and frequently lock down software installation. Some IT groups lock the computer to a certain operating system and browser version. User's don't have the option of installing new technology, even though its readily available.

In my book, Technology for Trainers, I talk about an instructional design methodology for the creation of eLearning. When building eLearning for an organization, either the one you work for or for a client, you need to perform a technology review. What computer systems do they use? Operating systems? Connection speed? Average user's processing speed? Do they have the ability to install plugins? What is the current Flash plug in version? What is the current browser version? Do they have speakers? Higher end video cards? Can they save files from the web to their computer? Do they have a LMS? These are all questions that have to be answered before you build.

If you have an eLearning requirement in place and your learner cannot meet that requirement because of their technology sitting on their desktop, you have lost and frustrated that user. Also, you have put them in the uncomfortable place of being non-compliant with the learning initiative. You must perform a technology review in order to ensure that every user has the capability to see and experience your eLearning.

Does this mean you may have to design your course around IE 6.0? Yes. Does this mean you cannot use the new CSS anonymous table elements for layout? Unfortunately, yes. If your client is standardized on IE 6.0, you may have to dump CSS all together! Does your client have remote locations still using dial up? If yes, then you have to dump multimedia.

In conclusion, I must quote Ian Malcom, the Chaos Theorist who said "...your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should." Just because we can do a thing, doesn't mean we should. Stop and think about your learners and ensure that your chosen eLearning technology will run on their systems, and that it is a learning opportunity they can experience. Don't be afraid to use old technology or design methods as an added insurance policy that it will work on your end-user's machine. Don't be afraid to abandon a technology if it won't work well for your users. Use the right tool for the job, but be sure your learners can learn from it.

I love Flash. In my opinion, regardless of skill level, Flash CS4 is still the best overall development tool for eLearning. Yes, I am a fan of some of the eLearning suites, but for me, developing from a blank slate where anything is possible is a wonderful thing.

When I first started out, however, a blank slate was scary. I was clueless on where to begin let alone best practices. Coming from a web background, I knew how to design for the web, but to use Flash as the main development platform opened up a wide range of choices. Over the years, I've narrowed down my development methods to three option. Everything I currently design follows one of these three methods.

Method One: HTML Pages
For SCORM based projects and for very large projects, I use a simple strategy of creating Flash "pages", attach it to a single HTML page and then link all those "pages" together. This allows me to use HTML linking to move from page to page, and results in very small Flash files. A single "screen" or concept appears on each "page", and the user moves from HTML page to HTML page. The benefit to this method is that the file sizes are small and SCORM tracking can be easily implemented. The downside to this is that you have to be very creative when passing variables from HTML page to HTML page and that there are a TON of files to keep track of. Each "page" consists of a single HTML document and single .swf file. I would say 25% of my current development uses this methodology.

Method Two: One Large .SWF file
My most popular method is to create one large SWF file that has the entire eLearning program contained within it. I use each frame of the movie as a single "page", and use lots of embedded movie symbols on the timeline. Even though users are moving from frame to frame, using movie symbols allows me to cram lots of content onto each of those frames. The benefit is that it is really easy to edit and implement, but the .fla file gets huge if you have lots of media. Also, Flash CS4 chokes on embedded movie symbols (on my Mac only it seems...) I compensate for the larger .fla files by externally calling the video and audio files and keeping them out of the final .swf. SCORM can be a pain to implement (especially if you want to track each module as a separate SCO), but its possible with some hard work. About 70% of my eLearning is built using this method.

Method Three: One .SWF that Loads Additional .SWFs
I used to build the majority of my eLearning using this method, but AS3 has made the strategy code intensive. Rather than fight it, I've adopted my methods and learned some workarounds, but this is still a great methodology used by developers. Basically, a single .swf is loaded in a single HTML page. This single .swf file contains navigation elements and the basic interface for the eLearning project. At launch, the single .swf loads a second .swf file, displaying content and information. As the user clicks on different pages and modules, the second .swf file is replaced by new .swf files as the user navigates through the project. The benefits include smaller overall files, faster load time and sleek user experience. The down side is that this loading and unloading used to be easy in AS2, but is a chore in AS3. Also, similar to method one, you have lots and lots of .swf files to keep track of.

These are the methods I use every day to build my programs for my customers. I'm sure that there are others out there, and I'd be interested in hearing those! Let me know what you think!

I am finishing up a series of web based eLearning projects where video segments play a major role in the delivery of the content. My client did not invest in a super expensive video camera, lights or sound system, but the video elements look good and the content more than makes up for the lower production quality. The challenge has been that each elearning project uses 6-8 video segments and I received 30 .MOD files all at the same time. How can I rapidly develop this eLearning with so much video to edit?

The .MOD files are the pure video files that get downloaded from the video camera's hard drive to your local computer. They are huge based on the amount of video recorded. My workflow for the conversion process is this:

1) Convert the MOD to MOV
2) Put into iMovie to edit out start and end content, and add fade to black at the start and finish
3) Convert the MOV to FLV

On my Mac, I convert the .MOD file to the .MOV file using an incredible piece of freeware software called FFMPEGX. It does a great job of converting the files and has a huge set of preset conversion settings. It reads a ton of formats and exports to a ton of formats. Its truly amazing bit of software for the Mac.

Why convert the .MOD to .MOV? Because I want to do some quick and dirty video editing and on my Mac, iMovie won't bring in the .MOD files. If I had the camera, I could download direct, but I don't so I have to convert. Also, the .MOD to .MOV conversion takes the file size down by 50%! A 30MB .MOD file is a 14MB .MOV file. For web distribution, the smaller the better.

In iMovie, I upload all my .MOV files and then do the simple cuts and video fades. iMovie is great - it allows me to tweak color, brightness and other simple settings without cracking open the serious video editors. When I am done, I export out of iMovie using Quicktime and reduce the overall screen pixel size. My client sends me large video segments and I have to reduce them down to a more web friendly size. Doing it out of iMovie using Quicktime allows me to have yet another file size reduction. The 14MB video file is only 4.8MB now!

Then, I open up Quicktime Pro on its own to convert to .FLV. For some reason, a straight export to .FLV out of iMovie doesn't work for me, so I open up Quicktime directly to convert to the Flash video file. Converting from the .MOV to the .FLV is also yet a fourth reduction in overall file size. The 4.8MB .MOV file is now a 3.1MB Flash video file. WOW! From 30MB .MOD to 3.1MB .FLV in about 20 minutes.

Why don't I use the Adobe FLV Video Converter instead of Quicktime Pro? For me and my system, it takes twice as long to convert using the Adobe product than Quicktime Pro. When I am on a deadline, an extra 5 minutes per conversion can save me hours. As someone who stays up until the job is done, that can mean the difference between going to bed at 11 and going to be at 2:00 am!

This video process is quick and dirty and inexpensive. This "mini studio" I have on my Mac costs less than $150. iMovie comes with my iLife on my Mac, but I upgraded to iLife for $79, Quicktime Pro is $29.99 and FFMPEGX is FREE! That's a ton of video editing power for a little bit of money. Does it look professional? You bet! Is it the best solution for all situations? Nope. For longer video segments (these project segments are 2-3 min in length) then the big boy applications will be the ticket. But, for these quick video jobs, the "mini studio" is all I need.

In the past week, I've received three emails regarding linking to MS Word Docs and PDF files from within a Flash movie. It's relatively easy, but the differences between doing it in ActionScript 2.0 and 3.0 are significant.

In ActionScript 2.0

In ActionScript 2.0, linking to a file uses the

getURL

function. Now, normally you'd use the

getURL

to launch a web page or open a new browser window by attaching the following code to a button symbol:

on (release){
    getURL("http://www.thomastalkstech.com");
}

This tells Flash that when the user has clicked on and released the mouse button, launch the web site in the same browser window. If you wanted to open it in a new window, you would need to append the command like so:

on (release){
    getURL("http://www.thomastalkstech.com","_blank");
}

The addition of the target variable (_blank) tells the browser to open in a new window.

Because the .swf sits in an HTML file, it thinks its part of a web site. Regardless of whether or not you have the files sitting on a web server, when you launch the .swf it runs in the browser. This means that the files that sit in the same directory as the .swf are accessible using the

getURL

function.

So, if you had a .pdf file on the web server and you wanted to link to it from your Flash movie, you would use this code:

on (release){
    getURL("myCoolFile.pdf","_blank");
}

and Flash would link to the PDF from within the Flash movie. Absolute and relative pathing work as well, so if you had stored the .pdf file in a directory called /pdf, you could use this code:

on (release){
    getURL("/pdf/myCoolFile.pdf","_blank");
}

IMPORTANT NOTE: The pathing in the Flash file needs to be from the HTML file holding the .swf file. It gets confusing and frustrating, but if you path the ActionScript from the HTML file holding the .swf, it will find the document without a problem. It used to kill me because sometimes I'd path from the .swf, then move the .swf to a new directory and it would mess up my links. If you use root relative pathing it won't be an issue, but if you use relative pathing, be sure to path from the HTML file holding the Flash.

You can link to any file using the getURL code outlined above.

In ActionScript 3.0

Of course, in AS3 they had to go out of their way to make it more difficult...instead of three lines, its now seven lines of code. Again, not difficult, but more details need to be added to launch the URL.

First, create a new variable for the URL. We are calling the variable 'request'.

var request:URLRequest = new URLRequest("http://www.dwebstudios.com");

Then, create a button instance and call it whatever you'd like. In the example below, the button's name is called myButton. You are going to create the function call for myButton using EventListener.

myButton.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, goWeb);

So, we've created the listener to launch the function goWeb, so we create that next:

function goWeb(event:MouseEvent):void {
     navigateToURL(request, "_blank");
}

So, the entire code block is:

var request:URLRequest = new URLRequest("http://www.dwebstudios.com");

myButton.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, goWeb);

function goWeb(event:MouseEvent):void {
     navigateToURL(request, "_blank");
}

To link to a document, replace the variable in the URLRequest object with your .pdf name or file name and it will launch as expeted. The same rules apply for the target string and pathing as in AS2, but the entire code block is longer and more dramatic.

var request:URLRequest = new URLRequest("myCoolFile.pdf");

myButton.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, goPDF);

function goPDF(event:MouseEvent):void {
     navigateToURL(request, "_blank");
}

So that's it! I hope this helps!

P.S. If you want to link to an email address you use the same code as above in AS 2 and 3 but you replace the object with 'mailto:yourMail@yourEmail.com'.

AS 2

on (release){
    getURL("mailto:yourMail@yourEmail.com");
}

AS 3

var mail:URLRequest = new URLRequest("mailto:yourMail@yourEmail.com");

myButton.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, goMail);

function goMail(event:MouseEvent):void {
     navigateToURL(mail);
}

As I've spoken about in the past, almost all of my eLearning is programmed by hand using the Adobe suite of products and creating interfaces, buttons and eLearning elements from scratch.

As I get ready to roll out my new business venture (Catapult Training Group...YAY), I'm debating about whether I should advertise on the new web site and in my promotional materials that I use/have used/can use the off the shelf eLearning development tools like Unison, Lectora, Articulate and Captivate. As an eLearning developer, I've always prided myself on the fact that I write from the source and do not use these tools when developing. Several of my clients have asked me to use these tools and help them to learn these tools, however should I be advertising that these tools are within my capability?

Does it diminish my reputation as a developer to talk about my company using these tools? Even though most of these tools are great, they have serious limitations when it comes to high degrees of complex interactivity. I feel that I shouldn't want it featured that I sometimes use them on behalf of clients...am I right to feel that way?

On the other side of the coin, some of my current clients are using them and I've been able to offer my assistance to those folks and make a little money to boot. In fact, one of my clients ONLY uses these tools and has required me to design within the confines of these applications. Is that a value to other companies? Should I advertise it?

I'm seriously interested in knowing your opinion! Please comment or shoot me an email to let me know your opinion. Thank you in advance!

Recently, several people have sent me emails asking how I've learned my web skills. I joke and talk about the painful process of trial and error, of late night hair pulling sessions and emails to online experts, begging for assistance. However, the reality is I am self taught - relying on books and projects to drive my learning.

I have never taken a single course on web design, graphic design or eLearning design. I probably could have been much better, much faster if I had, but the reality is that everything I've learned has come from a book or from a project. I never bothered to learn a technology until I accepted a project that required it. JavaScript, PHP, mySQL, SCORM, Flash and others were learned because I had received a contract to deliver a web application or site using these technologies and had to learn it or die trying!

I prefer to learn from books - nothing feels so good that to crack open a bound volume of knowledge and apply it. To me, its a rush to get a new book and then work through it.

Notice that I didn't say read it. I work through it. You don't learn web design or graphic design or eLearning design by reading a book. You need to use it as a workbook to push you into the learning and really DO the activities and projects in the book. In fact, when learning a technology, I seek out the books where the entire book is a series of activities and projects to learn.

So, what's my list? Here are my top publishers to whom I owe my success!

Friends of Ed
If you want to learn anything Adobe (in the past, Macromedia too!) you must, must, must visit the site and make a purchase. They are a small group out of the UK that publishes materials the way I like to learn - very project based. Flash, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, generic Web Design, CSS... all of it is there! Their Foundation series of books are phenomenal. I highly recommend these books and this publisher.

Peach Pit Press
After I've learned it, I need reference materials at the tips of my fingers. While Friends of Ed teaches me, the Peach Pit stuff gives me the instant info I need to solve a specific problem or find a solution for accomplishing a task. Their Visual Quickstart Guides are amazing. They provide you with the info you need very quickly. When you are armpit deep in the code and its 2:00 am, the Quickstart Guides come to the rescue. Think of a web technology, and they have a Quickstart Guide for it.

SitePoint
Lately, I've been reading a ton of books from SitePoint. While most of their materials cover specific web technologies, I've been finding gems in their theoretical books. Things like Freelancing, Web Marketing, Project Management and Principles books have all rounded out my rough edges - provided the missing practical knowledge I didn't have by not going to design school. You can review their site and see what kind of things they offer (lots of webby stuff!), but their books are short, fun to read and incredibly practical.

There you go! That's my list. Of course, I have benefited from Adobe Press, RapidIntake (when they were producing books) and the Missing Manual books, but the lion's share of my learning has come from my three favorites above.

I hope this helps you on your learning journey. Remember, good eLearning programming comes from a strong foundational knowledge of web technologies.

My friend Ginger sent me another cool note with more online applications - this time focused on the world of flow charting.

From a web design perspective, flow charting can be an excellent way to "map" the user experience through your site. From an eLearning perspective, flow charting can be a way to visualize complex interactions or simulations, making it easier to program these necessary elements.

I recently completed a very complex interviewing simulation : You (the learner) have to interview four different candidates using the same set of six questions. When you click on the question, the interview candidate responds. You then rate those responses on a scale of 1-5. You then interview the next person with the same rating scale until all four candidates are interviewed. The person with the highest score gets "hired" in the simulation. Hire the best candidate who gave the best responses and you get an "email" from the president of the firm congratulating you on your hire. If you hire the worst candidate (by rating their bad responses highly), that person leaves the firm after two months. The simulation is awesome and the client went crazy for it!

Which brings me back to flow charting...without a flow chart, a complex simulation like the one above can be very painful to create, both for the instructional designer and for the programmer. Lots of diagrams and communication needs to occur to make sure that every moving part is tracked and everyone understands how all the elements interact. It's no fun to go through a simulation without it impacting the learner somehow - flow charting can help tremendously.

Gliffy
Gliffy is a true application working "in the cloud." Its free for 30 days and if you want to purchase it, a single user license is just $5.00 per month. For an online app, it is very robust - most of the common functions you'd find in a Visio or Omni-graffle are all here. Some of the cooler functions I didn't expect to find were fill and stroke color adjustments, lots and lots of shapes and images, and the ability to upload your own images. You can share the flow chart online, as well as export to .png, .jpg and the Visio .svg file. I was VERY impressed with this tool.

Flowchart.com
Flowchart.com is in BETA, so it's a bit harder to get access to it. You give them your email, and they send you credentials to log in. The have an interactive demo online, but it doesn't show much from a development perspective. As they get closer to launch, I'll edit this post to include my opinions. (I haven't been approved as a beta tester yet). Sign up and tell me what you think.

I'm getting close to finishing this series of Netbook software items. I have two categories left to dig up: online image editing and online animation software. I hope I don't have to rely on download and launch software (like the HTML software), but if I find some items with small footprints, I'll be sure to post.

Let me know if you have found this series useful! Post a comment or send me a note. And again, thanks again Ginger!

I have to admit I'm a bit saddened by the face that I could not find a single WYSIWYG HTML writing software that works in the cloud. Maybe the requirements are too high for an online app...I don't know. However I did find some tiny footprint programs that can be downloaded from the web and installed on the Netbook. If you don't want to have the power of Dreamweaver installed on your Netbook (or the amount of space this application takes up - 500MB and counting), here are some software recommendations for you.

KompoZer
KompoZer is a complete web authoring system that combines web file management and easy-to-use WYSIWYG web page editing. KompoZer is designed to be extremely easy to use, making it ideal for non-technical computer users who want to create an attractive, professional-looking web site without needing to know HTML or web coding.

KompoZer has both a WYSIWYG mode AND a coding mode, just like the big guys. It has a Site Manager function with built in FTP, and is available for PC, Mac and Linux machines. The best part is that KompoZer has a tiny download size (7.6 MB for Windows, 11.0 MB for Mac and 10.3 MB for Linux) - perfect for the Netbook!

SeaMonkey
SeaMonkey calls itself a "suite" of software packages built on the Mozilla source code. It contains a browser, email client, newsgroup client, HTML editor, IRC chat and web development tools. All I'm concerned about it whether or not it can write code in both a WYSIWYG format and code view. Composer is the name of the application included in the SeaMonkey application. It can do both, but they are not very robust. While utilizing a "tab" approach, the application does its job and nothing more. Many of the color cues in the code and basic features aren't there. It lets you write code and then preview it. Not bad, but just not interesting. It's just the basics.

SeaMonkey is larger than KompoZer (13MB for Windows, 23MB for Mac and 14MB for Linux) but contains all the applications in one download. Installation was easy. Check it out! At least the price is right!

Bluefish
The last one I want to bring to your attention is Bluefish. Although it is not a WYSIWYG writer (they call it a What You See is What You Need (WYSIWYN) interface!!!!!), it is an amazingly powerful text editor. If you started by writing your own code by hand, then this application will bring you back to those days. It's not only for writing web page code, but can also handle other programming languages as well. As a web guy, I appreciate the table and frame wizards and lots of tool-bars created especially for me. I loved this tool, but it can be intimidating for people who don't want to know code. I thought I would include it here for powerusers who may be thinking about a Netbook.

While not true replacements for the entire MS Office, there are a couple I've discovered that replace Word and allow you to collaborate online. Still not a true eLearning application replacement, but we are getting closer.

The first is the biggie - the free Google Docs application. It allows you to upload .doc, .rtf, .odt and .swx files to their site for sharing with friends and co-workers. It also allows you to create new Presentations (PPT replacement), Spreadsheets (XLS replacement) and forms. From a functionality perspective, all feel "watered down", but completely functional. Google has done a great job with the applications and the ability to upload and download to your desktop. This is some fun stuff that will replace the tedious install of MS Office onto your Netbook. The best part is that it is Free. Don't expect major functionality, but on the road with a Netbook, it's awesome.

Another application is called TextFlow. TextFlow is much more robust than Google Docs, but only handles documents. It has amazing collaboration features in an elegant development environment. The entire app is built using Adobe AIR that is simple, clean and interactive interface. It does require a tiny download of the application interface, and the install includes the AIR environment. Check it out.

While hunting for "office" apps, I found various note taking and writing applications that were interesting. Most of these are downloadable to the Netbook, but they store images, files, text, urls, video and lots more in a single place. Most are free, some charge for storage and others are completely web based. This got me thinking about all the files necessary to build a web page or eLearning module. Perhaps something like the software list below could be used to keep all the necessary files together in one spot, rather than transferring them from computer to computer, or relying on the web server. Still thinking through it but here is the list.

Evernote
This app is an excellent way to keep track of your observations, comments and ideas and allows you to type in and save text, take a photo with your phone, and store information you find on the Internet.

FruitNotes
This online notebook has some unique features including leaving voice mail notes from your phone, uploading photos and videos, and online sharing of the files you've saved.

Notezz!
This is an extremely simple app that allows you to keep all your notes in one place. There are no complicated features with this application : you want to store your notes, Notezz! will do it!

WebAsyst Notes
A more robust storage application, WebAsyst Notes allows you to create notes and then organize them in folders, share with clients, or access other services such as photo storage, manage projects, and more.

Zoho Notebook
Integrate audio, video, HTML, URLs, files, and much more with Zoho Notebook. Tools include line, text, freehand, and shapes.

I only found one online graphics editor (so far) and some downloadable apps for writing code, but nothing that I would say runs truly in "the cloud". I'm sure they are out there, and when I find them, I'll post them!

In my quest to find good Netbook software that runs in the "cloud" a friend told me about two sites that replace Captivate. Yes, the screen capture software, allowing you to record content on your computer screen. I am experimenting with this software now and cannot wait to report on it.

The first is called Screencast-o-matic.
http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/
From their home page: "Screencast-O-Matic is the free and easy way to create a video recording of your screen (aka screencast) and upload it for free hosting all from your browser with no install!" It looks like it needs Java, and seemed to work fine on my Mac using Firefox.

The second is called Jing
http://www.jingproject.com/
From their home page: "Jing is free software that adds visuals to your online conversations. Instead of typing a people, show them what you are talking about...pronto." Looks like it does screen capture in addition to "screencasting" and sharing of your video. Jing works on both Mac's and PCs.

Looks like this software may be a good alternative for Captivate, Camtasia or Snagit! Try these and tell me about your experiences or post a comment!

Special thank you to Ginger for sending these my way! You are a rock star!

Still looking for HTML writing software in the "cloud"...

I was reading this article in Wired Magazine The Netbook Effect: How Cheap Little Laptops Hit the Big Time and started to think about all the traveling I am going to do over the summer. I'm not concerned about being able to work from a hotel room, as I've outfit my MacBook Pro with a fully licensed version of the Adobe CS4 suite. Yes, its expensive to have such a nice laptop AND such nice software just to work remotely, and the idea of a Netbook and that article got me thinking about the potential of taking my online learning development completely, well, online. Through a browser. With NO installed software. Could it be done?

And so begins my quest...over the next few days, I'm going to attempt to find online software solutions that do everything I need to build eLearning programs so I can buy a Netbook and just go. Here is the types of software I will need to find:

• WYSIWYG HTML Editor: I use Dreamweaver in split view: code and design view. Is there browser based software that will allow me to create web pages?
• Graphic Editor: I use Photoshop to create graphics. The article refers to FotoFlexer as a browser based Photoshop alternative. I'll try it out and let you know this week.
• Animation Editor: As I've said in the past, Flash is my primary creator of content for my eLearning clients. Is there something out there that's browser based that will allow me to create Flash like interfaces, interactions and programs? I'm doubtful that any web based app will allow me to create like I do in Flash, but let's see what I can find!
• Content: My clients and I use Pages, Keynote, PowerPoint and Word to create our static content. I lift the content out of these pages and paste into Dreamweaver or Flash. Google Docs is out there as a browser based alternative, but I haven't tried it...I will and tell you how it goes.

That's the major functionality I will be looking for in online applications. I want to get a Netbook purely because its new and cool (and I have a problem with wanted all the tech I can get my hands on), but if I can validate it by finding these online solutions, well, then its a purchase worth making! I know...who am I kidding...

I'll keep you posted all week with what I find.

I am so excited that the Kindle 2 has been released! I am completely in love with anything tech and anything new. I haven't ordered mine yet...something about the $359 price tag that is making me hold off. I did get to spend lots of time with the previous iteration as a colleague had one and he left me alone with it for a while.

I buy LOTS of books...they are all over my house. My wife calls them "droppings", as in "Thomas, you've got book droppings all over the bonus room." For me, the $359 price tag isn't worth it yet - even though I spend that much (and more) in books every year, most of my purchases are web based, tech books (ActionScript 3.0 guides and Michael Allen eLearning books). Kindle doesn't have any of those yet...and, do I want to have a reference guide on the Kindle?

So what does this have to do with eLearning? I starting thinking about the possibilities for this kind of tool in the training world. I would love to be able to use something like this to shoot course materials over to my learners, give them prep work or use this as a part of my hybrid solutions. Instead of "Download this PDF, print it out and use it as we work through the online program", it could be "Download this document to your Kindle and use it to work through the program."

I'm building lots of programs where the learner downloads and reads a PDF file and then answers questions in the eLearning so that they are stored in the LMS. Imagine being able to push this to a Kindle-like device and the learner doesn't have to print it out.

Of course, Amazon would need to do a few things to the device to make me really happy, so here is my wish list for Amazon:

1. Please Amazon, make me a Kindle that can connect to my network and allow me to push my content onto the device - more than just the PDFs you allow to come in from eMail
2. Please give me a color version...I understand the 16 shades of gray, and that the device is so thin because of the UFO inspired technology driving the screen, but please...16 bit color?
3. Please let me connect up to my network wirelessly and then download content to my computer
4. Please let me connect up to my network wirelessly and then upload content from my computer - you kind of do this already...but...
5. Come up with a cool, non Apple infringing version of iTunes for Kindle - let me sync up with my computer
6. Offer a deep discount for educators or people buying lots of them for their employees
7. My big one - please install a version of the Flash player on the Kindle - I know it isn't a multimedia device, but it could be...

That's my wish list for Amazon regarding the Kindle. Laptops and the new Netbooks offer our learners portable access to our online modules, but something as thin and sleek as the Kindle can really be a future eLearning device. Maybe the device isn't as good as the PDFs we are using now? Maybe I should be happy to view PDFs on the Kindle..Maybe Amazon doesn't ever want to open it up to users and developers and keep the books, the connection and the content locked down?

Am I asking too much? Is it designed to be a book replacement and that's it? I hope not. I think it would be very cool to deploy eLearning on a device as elegant as the Kindle. Once I get my hands on one (soon, oh yes...so very soon) I'll tell you what I really think!

People have mixed reviews: Read them here.

David Pogue Video Review: View it!

I spoke to a group recently about multimedia development for eLearning, and the importance of story-boarding your eLearning project came up. We moved from storyboarding multimedia and animation elements to the entire project. Do I think it is important to storyboard your eLearning? Yes. Do I think you have to grind out every detail in a storyboard? I think it depends on two things:

1. The relationship between the storyboarder/designer, the deveopler and the sponsor
2. The experience level of the developer

Read more »

The next edition of the Trainers Talk Tech podcast is here! The topic of this podcast is synchronous learning. You can call it synchronous learning, web seminars, webinars or even edu-marketing, but I was fortunate enough to interview an expert in this area: Roger Courville.

Roger is a trainer, blogger at TheVirtualPresenter.com, and principal of 1080 Group, an independent training firm that helps companies learn and optimize online presentations and webinars. Together with his co-founder, they have created one of the industry's first independent curricula to teach trainers how to organize and accelerate their synchronous training and edu-marketing efforts.

Listen to it here:

Subscribe to the Trainers Talk Tech podcast here:
http://dwebstudios.hipcast.com/rss/trainerstalktech.xml

During the podcast, Roger and I talked about various books, websites and vendors. Below are the links:

Roger's Resources

• Roger's Blog: www.thevirtualpresenter.com
• Roger's Company: The 1080 Group
• Roger's Toolkit: www.webseminartoolkit.com
• Roger's Tips: www.webseminartips.com
• Follow Roger on Twitter: 1080group

Synchronous Learning (Web Seminar) Software

• Microsoft LiveMeeting
• WebEx
• Acrobat Connect Pro
• Acrobat.com
• Dimdim
• Yugma
• Elluminate
• Saba Centra
• Citrix GoToWebinar

Books

• Work Naked: Eight Essential Principles for Peak Performance in the Virtual Workplace by Cynthia Froggatt
• Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer

PowerPoint Tips

• Guy Kawasaki's 10-20-30 rule
• 5X5 rule of PowerPoint - no more than 5 words across, and five lines down

Please enjoy the podcast and subscribe if you like it! I'm going to be accelerating the frequency of the casts to one every two-three weeks instead of monthly. I have my next interview lined up for the first week in March!

Thank you for reading and listening...I hope you enjoy the podcast. Also, a sincere thank you to Roger for sharing your expertise and experience.

Berrett-Koehler Publishers, with whom ASTD and I have an ongoing copublishing relationship and who recently helped ASTD develop the digital version of the Handbook, will be publishing all of the chapters of the ASTD Handbook for Workplace Learning Professionals as stand-alone digital whitepapers as part of a series they’re calling Fast Fundamentals. I'm Chapter 23: Authoring Techniques and Rapid eLearning!

The Fast Fundamentals series will have a dedicated page on the Berrett-Koehler web site, the centerpiece of which will be a unique search engine that will allow readers to find a digital whitepaper on a specific workplace challenge. This page is currently in beta-testing - take a few minutes to try it out!

After you click on the link and the home page opens, choose a Topic from the menu. A list of Challenges will pop up. Click on a Challenge, and a Solution—a list of whitepapers—will appear. Click on one of whitepaper options, and the first page of the whitepaper is revealed with an option to purchase the content. To try out this unique whitepaper concept click here !

Berrett-Koehler will be adding explanatory text and the ability to search by author name and by title of the whitepaper soon. The scheduled launch date for this service is February 19th.

The Fast Fundamentals whitepapers will sell for $3.95 to $9.95 depending on length, but for the first week—from February 19th to February 27th—Berrett-Koehler will be selling them all for the special introductory price of $.99 each. The book is huge - it retails $139.00 and has 49 chapters... but look - if you want to buy the entire book via this introductory price it could save you some serious money. The book has less than 50 chapters...that means for this 99 cent special, you can get the whole shebang for less than $50.

If you want to save some trees, this could be a great opportunity to pick up the whole book at a substantial discount. Here is the link again.

If this is your first time reading a web page, then let me introduce you to the upcoming generation that is causing everyone, everywhere to pause a moment and reflect. The generation is called Gen Y, or Millennials, and anyone born between 1981 and 2000 falls into that category.

Gen Y have been described as:

• Eager
• Impatient
• Type A stress machines
• They cannot make decisions on their own - they rely on their network of friends for input
• They are not loyal to any firm - the view themselves as perpetual independent contractors
• They have unrealistic expectations from the workplace - they adapt their work to fit their lifestyle
• Have an "everyone wins" mentality - they want a ribbon for 14th place
• They have an intimate relationship with technology

Read more »

This tutorial was my presentation at the ASTD TK 08 show in San Antonio Texas. While running the creation stations at this year's conference, many people asked me about the materials I used for last year's session. Yes, the main interface is CS3, not the current CS4, but ActionScript hasn't changed. Therefore, this manual can be very helpful if you are making the bridge to AS 3.0 from AS 2.0, or you want to just get started with AS 3.0.

Foundational ActionScript 3.0 with Flash CS3 for the Online Learning Developer
ASTD TK 2008

Module 1: Communicating with ActionScript
Module 2: Using and Writing Functions
Module 3: Basic Interactivity
Module 4: Decision Making
Module 5: Text and Text Fields
Module 6: Video and Audio
Module 7: Creating Online Learning

In Module 7, I have created two (2) sample AS 3.0 eLearning interfaces that can be used to easily drop in content. The first one (Template 001) is a single .swf file and it is a time-line based, "menu on the left" driven course. It is a single file which is quick and easy to use. Functions included in interface 001:

• Clicking on a button and going to a URL
• Clicking on a button and going to the next frame
• Clicking on a button and going to a previous frame
• Dynamically pulling data about frame position and total frame numbers
• A movie clip code changing properties of the parent movie

The .fla and .swf code is in the module 7/template001 directory.

The second interface is a bit more advanced. It consists of a single .swf file containing the menu and interface elements. However, when the user clicks on the menu, it dynamically loads the new module .swf files into itself. I used to use this technique in AS 2.0 all the time:

loadMovieNum

It was my favorite function!

Unfortunately, they killed it in AS 3.0. This template contains the code for building eLearning using AS 3.0 that mirrors the functionality I used to enjoy in AS 2.0. Functions included in Interface 002:

• Clicking on a button and going to a URL
• Clicking on a button and going to the next frame
• Clicking on a button and going to a previous frame
• Dynamically pulling data about frame position and total frame numbers
• Dynamically loading new .swf files into the main file
• Independent controls existing inside of a loaded .swf
• A movie clip code changing properties of the parent movie

The .fla and .swf code for the start page and all the additional pages is in the module 7/template002 directory.

This course took a lot of time and work to complete. I offer you these two templates so that they can potentially shave a ton of time off of your eLearning development, or provide you with code snippets to use in your own projects. Please feel free to download and use as you see fit.

However I ask you:

1. Please don't mass distribute in your office - don't make a ton of copies and give them to all your friends
2. Please don't use it to teach a class - don't download it and then use it as your own course materials
3. Please don't use download it and then distribute it off of your web site
4. If you found it useful and it saved you time, please add a comment to this page - it helps my SEO
5. If this was crazy helpful and it saved your bacon at 3:00 am, please consider a donation. It encourages me to continue posting these types of tutorials and helpful files, as well as creating new ones for your use as an eLearning developer

Thanks and enjoy the tutorial! And if you donate, thank you very much for the contribution!

Download the file - 23 MB zip file

Leo Lucas is an eLearning consultant who has made a series of SCORM templates that are inexpensive and easy to implement. I talked about his site at ASTD TK all last week, and I wanted to link to his site from here. I spent about $500 here and it has saved me hours and hours of work around simple SCORM implementation.

Thank you Leo!

Visit the software section for Flash, HTML and developer toolkits which make SCORM less painful to implement.

http://www.e-learningconsulting.com/

I've noticed a trend on the social networking groups, and when I talk to people at the conferences I present at: trainers and instructional designers are freaking out again. I mean nervous, edgy, freak outs about eLearning. In 2000, training and development people were losing their minds because they believe that the sky was falling and eLearning was going to steal their jobs. They were convinced that they would be replaced by a screen and a mouse. Nothing was further from the truth, as eLearning has grown into a tool that is used as a part of an overall training strategy.

Most of the eLearning in 2000 was awful, text driven stuff created by tech people who didn't care about how people learn. They wanted to exploit this new technology and throw everything up against the wall and see what stuck. We have developed best practices we are using today because of all the crazy things developers tried early on, myself included.

But, that has changed. Good eLearning is hard to create, not always from a programming perspective, but from the design perspective. Tools have been created to rapidly develop, but the amazing, interactive custom stuff still takes lots of time to plan, design and build. Which brings me back to my first question : why are people freaking out?

Read more »

Before the year was up, I had the opportunity to host the training technology section of a one day conference hosted by our local ASTD chapter. I was given an opportunity to attend the entire day, and recently I had cause to dig up the materials from that day.

The first session of the day was called Brain Gym for Trainers, presented by Patti Templin. Patti was an enthusiastic speaker (for 8:30 am, she was better than a cup of coffee) who presented her topic on Educational Kinesiology - Brain Gym. I was skeptical at first, but then I started thinking about a problem we have as eLearning developers, and how something like a Brain Gym could be incorporated into an online program.

First, a Brain Gym is a series of body movements that enhance the learner's experience of "whole brained" learning. By performing these body movements, students are able to access those parts of the brain inaccessible to them, changing behavior and learning. To learn more, visit the Brain Gym web site. The research is amazing!

The motions are simple and rather fun. There are 26 distinct movements that help "jump-start" the brain. I know...it seemed a bit far fetched to me, and in the moment, I felt the same way. However, the more I thought about it, and yes, did it in the privacy of my office, I found myself more plugged in to my work.

Then, because I am hopelessly plugged in (I'd be a BORG if I could), I started thinking about how to incorporate these "brain gyms" into eLearning? Should there be a specific intro page with directions:"Now, before we begin, let's engage your brain. Stand up, spread out your arms, and..." Would the adult learner do it? "Welcome to Interviewing for Success. Before we begin, grab your ear lobes..."!

But what about creating learning for the K-12 group? This research has originally targeted that group, so why not incorporate the Brain Gym strategy into online learning dedicated for that group? We should be focusing on the transfer of knowledge, and if one or two brain gym activities kick off the eLearning project, what's the harm in that? I think it would be a kick if a computer lab full of students suddenly stood up and started stretching! Would it have an impact on the eLearning program they were about to take? I think so. If you develop for the K-12 audience, contact the Brain Gym people and see how you can incorporate it. I really think it could take your projects to the next level.

Unfortunately, I do very little work in the K-12 area...not because I don't want to, but because I don't have clients in that space. Am I willing to add Brain Gyms to my programs, targeting adults? Not yet. Is there a good reason NOT to? Not really...maybe I don't want to fly too far out of my programmers' comfort zone. Can I sit in front of a client and confidently pitch Brain Gym? No. I don't feel like I know enough about it. Could be a little more research time is in order...

I received a note from one of the participants in my webinar series that went something like this:

"I've attended your webinar on eLearning software and it was great. But really, how do I get started. What do I do first."

Well, let's start at the start as Dr. Seuss might say.

Building eLearning for web distribution requires a knowledge of web technologies. Forget the training part. Forget the learner for just one second. If you REALLY want to get started you need to set up a web page and web hosting. Here is my recipe for setting up a web page:

Read more »

My friend Debby Kurti alerted me to this article from the National Education Association:

Online Social Networking for Educators

By now, you've heard the buzz about MySpace and Facebook, but you may still be wondering what all the fuss is about. Maybe you're a little mystified by the whole social networking craze, or you're a little wary about venturing into your students' territory. But what if we told you it can actually be good for your career?

Read the rest of the article

Social networking is HUGE...I've gotten business from it, met new people, found people with the same interests as me, and now the education and training field is taking advantage of it as well. Actually, many universities and training centers have been doing it for a long time, but this is an example of a technology not specifically designed for training purposes.

I'm in the process of setting up my first PodCast interview as we speak. I've contacted an expert trainer and expert in the area of social networking. I hope to have her interview "in the can" before I head off to ASTD TK 09 at the end of January.

Now, if I can figure out how to get the podcast tied to this blog software...

I have been fascinated by the Joomla and Drupal development environments for a long time. I just never took the plunge and learned either. In my business, I do all the design work, the graphic work and the multimedia work and if the back end programming gets to sticky, I turn it over to my developers.

Joomla and Drupal have created web applications that become your content management system and back end plug in system. Anything that makes the back end programming less painful is great for me. If it is great for me, then I'm sure that it would be great for eLearning developers who are intimidated by this web stuff.

So, last night I took the plunge and launched www.myelearningguru.com as a Joomla installation. I picked up a good book on Joomla (Beginning Joomla) and installed on my new web host. I did nothing to it yet, so if you visit it, you can see the standard installation files. Keep visiting, because I hope to blog about the changes there, as well as talk about my experiences with Joomla.

What do programs like Joomla and Drupal do for the eLearning developer? Well, hosted content management, over 100 plug-ins and integration with standard web technologies make me envision the rapid development of internal training portals. For companies that don't want to invest in a LMS or SharePoint platform, maybe these tools can be used in that situation. However, as I work with the tool, I will undoubtedly come up with lots of ideas. From a strictly LMS perspective, I will be talking about Moodle soon, but because I don't want the My Elearning Guru site to be purely LMS, I thought I'd try Joomla. Maybe I could have a Drupal site, and then have a Moodle installation to run the demos on the same site? If I try that, I'll be sure to let you know.

Well, wish me luck. Visit www.myelearningguru.com often and you can witness the development of a Joomla site and a Joomla learning experience all rolled up into one hot mess!