Category Archives: Learning Mgmt Systems

Updates! Captivate 9 and Prime (Adobe LMS)

Captivate, Development Tools, eLearning News, Learning Mgmt Systems, Responsive Design

Big update news from Adobe! A long-awaited update to Captivate, now at version 9, AND a new LMS product – Captivate Prime. I new this LMS was coming but assumed it would be an extension or adaptation of Adobe Connect, so was surprised to see Captivate Prime and not Connect Prime. Looks like Adobe has put significant effort into this LMS product, building it from scratch (?) as opposed to sticking a new UI or plugin on to their mature Connect platform.

First, back to Captivate 9 itself. As with all their version updates, this new release includes some solid updates. Two of the most exciting for this old Captivate developer: Continue reading Updates! Captivate 9 and Prime (Adobe LMS) →

ADL eLearning, SCORM, and xAPI Survey

Learning Mgmt Systems, SCORM/xAPI

The ADL Initiative has launched a new effort to create a SCORM profile of the Experience API (xAPI). ADL wants your input to help inform our direction for this effort, and to gauge your current usage of distributed learning products, services, SCORM and xAPI. The target audience for this survey is anyone in the education and training community familiar with distributed learning. The survey should take no longer than fifteen minutes to complete.
To participate in the survey, click the link below and begin! The survey will be open until February 27, 2015. Results will be shared with all respondents.

http://www.adlnet.gov/adl-community-survey/

“The survey should take no longer than fifteen minutes to complete. Questions with red asterisks must be answered.”

(repost from LinkedIn)

2015 Top Ten eLearning Stats and Trends

Development Tools, General Spew, Learning Mgmt Systems

I’m wary of infographics – a lot seem to be needless representations of info that could just as easily, and perhaps more clearly, be presented as good old text…

But this is pretty cool.

2015 - top 10 elearning stats

(repost from eLearning Industry’s “Top eLearning Statistics and Facts for 2015“)

Additionally, Adobe released their ‘2015 Trends Report‘. It does require a form submission (name, email, etc)…but if you already work with Adobe products, they probably have all that information anyway 🙂
But do note the ‘Notice’ at the bottom of the page…

Advantages and Disadvantages of SCORM 1.2 vs 2004

Development Tools, Learning Mgmt Systems, SCORM/xAPI

Despite the growth and excitement around the xAPI (TinCan) spec, SCORM remains the most popular and supported method of ensuring a standardized communication between an online course and the LMS. While SCORM 2004 is dated by its very name, it has gone through several revisions and absolutely remains (at this time) a viable solution for tracking your courseware.

However, many LMS products still lack in full SCORM 2004 support, various tools interpret the spec differently, and it does add a bit more complexity to the overall setup of the course.

So is there really an advantage to using the ‘newer’ SCORM 2004 spec over the older SCORM 1.2? Continue reading Advantages and Disadvantages of SCORM 1.2 vs 2004 →

eLearning Chef’s Top 5 Open-Source LMSystems

508/Accessibility, Learning Mgmt Systems, SCORM/xAPI

Per the previous post, here’s our list of the top 5 open-source LMS products. Yes, there are lots more. You can search for ‘top open source LMS’ and find several similar lists. We base ours on our direct experience, various readings and discussions, and general research.

These are not necessarily listed from top to bottom but generally, yes, the preferred are toward the top (as the write-ups will explain). Continue reading eLearning Chef’s Top 5 Open-Source LMSystems →

Use an Open-Source or Commercial LMS?

Academics, Learning Mgmt Systems

As a technology and approach to training, the case for eLearning has pretty much been settled. Sure, there are still debates about the actual definition, ROI, and efficacy of the published courseware, and those are certainly valid concerns, but as an approach to satisfying learning requirements, eLearning continues to experience significant growth.

One part of eLearning is, of course, the actual courseware and/or hybrid approach to traditional classroom training. The other significant part is tracking and reporting on those activities. This is increasingly the role of the Learning Management System (LMS).

Some organizations appear to still be hesitant to implement an LMS for a variety of reasons; is the LMS dead already? Are commitments to rigid? Are costs to high or not containable?
Those are all certainly valid concerns.

Continue reading Use an Open-Source or Commercial LMS? →

Defining eLearning

General Spew, Learning Mgmt Systems, SCORM/xAPI

It is generally accepted by now that eLearning provides several advantages to most any organization’s training initiatives. From cost-savings to enhanced retention, eLearning is actually recognizing those goals and continues to hold great promise…but what exactly is “eLearning”?

eLearning is commonly understood as ‘training facilitated by a computer’, but the definitions are wide and varied. Can eLearning be closely defined? Does it need to be? With the improved capabilities of mobile devices, the term ‘mLearning’ has arisen…which brings about another discussion on best-practices and how it differs from eLearning. For the sake of this article, we’ll stick with eLearning as the overall umbrella term.

If a sales representative needs to know the latest product specifications and receives the new PDF brochure on his iPhone, is that eLearning? Sure, why not? He learned something on his mobile computing device – meeting several definitions. Whether web-based educational content is accessed via an online university, a corporate LAN, or a simple web search – it can all be ‘eLearning’…though surely various experts and groups prefer less nebulous definition.

Continue reading Defining eLearning →

AICC, SCORM , xAPI, CC/LTI, CMI-5…What Does It All Mean?

Academics, Learning Mgmt Systems, SCORM/xAPI

If nothing else, the growth of eLearning seems to correlate directly to the growth of bizarre acronyms.

Currently, there are three primary methods of tracking lesson data back to a centralized storage site and database. There are ultimately more than that, which I’ll mention at the end, but first is an overview of the top three methods for tracking eLearning progress and interaction.

Continue reading AICC, SCORM , xAPI, CC/LTI, CMI-5…What Does It All Mean? →