Learning Ninjas

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Resources

The End of Flash: A Plan and Tool to Convert Your Content

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In 2017, Adobe announced it would “end-of-life” Flash in 2020. In the elearning industry, a lot of folks celebrated, and many more winced. At Learning Ninjas, we are excited about this announcement. The end of Flash is a huge win for the accessible and open web (and, in turn, online learning). We have been promoting HTML5, ebooks, email, and other open, accessible formats for a while. We also recognize that this is a huge challenge when it comes to organizations with content libraries full of existing, flash-based courses.

We will stop updating and distributing the Flash Player at the end of 2020 and encourage content creators to migrate any existing Flash content to these new open formats.

Adobe: Flash and the Future of Interactive Content

The end date for Flash is rapidly approaching, and we have put together a plan.

What does this mean for you?

Is some or most of your content in the Flash format? People may already be experiencing issues accessing that content due to device or browser limitations. It’s time for you to update your content.

Adobe will be removing Flash Player download pages from its site and Flash-based content will be blocked from running in Adobe Flash Player after the EOL (end-of-life) Date. Adobe will not issue Flash Player updates or security patches after the EOL Date.

Adobe Flash Player EOL General Information Page

We’re tracking updates on the end-of-life information page from Adobe. Given that it’s only six months to the end-of-life date, you may need to convert critical content immediately while you build a larger conversion strategy.

You’re not alone, and we are here to help!

Rest easy! You are not alone, and Learning Ninjas can help. We convert content for organizations of all shapes and sizes every day. Our team and large network of partners are ready to make this process as seamless as possible. You’ll get to work with some of the best developers in our industry to update your content to a mobile-ready, accessible format.

The best thing about this? It’s an opportunity!

We recommend using this as an opportunity to analyze and inventory your learning library. Determine which content is critical to your organization’s current mission. Consider sunsetting legacy content on a specific date, rather than converting everything.

Want to get a head-start? We created a template you can use to begin creating your content inventory! We prefer Airtable (a simple, online, collaborative database tool), but you can also download it in CSV format.

We want to help. Give us a call or send an email to start the conversation.

Brian on Inclusion and Accessibility on IDIOIC

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Recently, I was invited to join Chris Van Wingerden and Brent Schlenker on Instructional Designers in Offices Drinking Coffee (IDIODC) to speak about accessibility and inclusion in learning.

Watch the video recording.

Also, be sure to check out our accessibility primer and resources.

Drop us an email and let us know what you’re working on and what challenges you face when it comes to designing for everyone.

A Few Resources and Research on Designing Learning Experiences

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We are helping one of our clients design an employee onboarding program. Our goal is to help their organization support new employees in locations across the country using a consistent, scalable approach while maintaining a strong community culture. To that end, we have recommended blended learning.

While the approach you decide to take depends on a number of factors (desired outcomes, personnel, what they need to do their job(s), timing, etc.), consider the research outlined in this list to determine when blended is the best approach. An important point is that, when we design quality learning experiences, elearning is as effective, if not more effective than classroom in most situations. The key to effectiveness is quality design, regardless of how it’s delivered.

In the theme of working out loud and sharing what we’re doing and learning, we thought we’d share this list with all of you.

The Resources and Research

Action Mapping – Cathy Moore
This process works across all delivery modalities.

Designing Learning for Mental Models – Connie Malamed
Important as you transition to or add systems and processes that may be counter to existing mental models.

Does eLearning Work? – Dr. Will Thalheimer
When learning methods or factors are held constant between elearning and classroom instruction, both produce equal results.

What matters, in terms of learning effectiveness, is NOT the learning modality (elearning vs. instructor-led); it’s the learning methods that matter, including such factors as realistic practice, spaced repetitions, real-world contexts, and feedback.

Blended learning (using elearning with classroom instruction) tends to outperform classroom learning by relatively large magnitudes.

Strategies for Tacit Knowledge Transfer – Connie Malamed
As we determine what tacit knowledge we want to capture and then teach/transfer, these strategies will be useful.

No Significant Difference
This site catalogs reports, summaries, and papers that document no significant difference (NSD) in student outcomes based on the mode of education delivery.

Best Practices in Blended Learning – Connie Malamed

Debunker Club Resources
Debunking myths and misinformation in the learning field.

Books

Learning on Demand – Reuben Tozman

Blended Learning – Jennifer Hofmann

Design for How People Learn – Julie Dirksen

Prototyping in Elearning

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Prototyping is a vital step in the design process in many other industries. So, why don’t we use prototypes when we develop new content? Is it a lack of time? Is it that we are just converting existing material and we think we do not need it? Maybe, in some cases, we think we already know what the learner needs. Even if all that were true, we should follow other industry best practices and create prototypes for our content.

What is a prototype?

Prototypes can be created in many different ways. Create physical prototypes (also called paper prototypes) with simple office supplies to show the end user an approximate facsimile of the interface. The user interacts with the interface and the designer/developer is able to watch the interactions. The paper prototype gives feedback about mouse movement and the general layout. Since it is early in the design process, this feedback comes when you can easily change layout and element placement.

A second type of prototype is the digital prototype. Build digital prototypes with tools like Balsamiq or Moqups, tools web designers use to create wireframes. eLearning rapid development tools such as Captivate or Storyline could also be used to setup the digital prototype, though it’s often faster to prototype in standard presentation tools like PowerPoint or Keynote. Use the digital prototype in conjunction with the physical prototype as an added layer of fidelity. The physical prototype is somewhat abstract in that you are just trying to get the placement of elements down. Start to add real content to the digital prototype to achieve a more refined edition. A benefit of the digital prototype is the ability to share it with a wider audience since it does not require users to be in the same physical location.

Why are prototypes so important?

The primary goal of prototyping is feedback. When we receive feedback early in the design process, we can change things more easily and rapidly. It takes only a few minutes to alter the entire layout of a physical prototype. Prototyping also allows you to quickly test ideas with your audience rather than spending extra hours in the development phase. Once the physical prototype is set, create a digital prototype and refine it as you go forward. Then, when development starts , you have a clear path forward with the design. Use prototypes to get sign-off from stakeholders throughout the design process to reduce conflict and surprises when development begins.

Take the time to create prototypes during your design process. It will save you valuable time during the development process. Web design and app design have showed us that these methodologies are worth the effort.

Happy prototyping!

Related:

Learning from the Web World: Paper Prototyping

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