Resources on Elearning, HTML5, and Flash from CM Group

I came across Luminosity Studio from CM Group while researching HTML5 authoring tools for my DevLearn 2011 presentation and ended up adding it to my list of tools to be aware of… definitely in the new-tools-with-limited-fuctionality-but-solid-HTML5-publishing category.

And I just came across some excellent blog posts written by their technical director, Alex Mackman (@AlexAtCMGroup). In the age of the Flash vs. HTML5 Ring of Death, I really value well-reasoned opinions and correct information, and he’s giving both. Flash and HTML5 for eLearning is the most recent.

I should note: Luminosity Studio publishes to both HTML5 and Flash.

Reader Mail: Which Version of IE?

Here’s a question from Monique at Visa, who attended my DevLearn session on HTML5 authoring tools:

What is the best version of IE to begin practicing with? IE10 seems to be out in developer version only and was wondering if you felt IE9 would be sufficient.

If you’re doing internal corporate training, you need to first focus on the browsers that your company provides or allows. There’s no point in developing something for IE9 if your company standard is still IE6 (and I really hope it’s not).

caniuse.com is an excellent resource for checking browser compatibility with modern web technologies. If you have the ability to influence browser adoption at your company and are asking which one to recommend, compare browsers based on specific technologies that you want to deliver (or that your authoring tool delivers). You’re going to find that often, the answer to “which version of IE?” is “not IE”.

My guess, though, is that most of us are in a situation of just delivering to the browser(s) that our companies allow and/or provide. The trend I’ve seen with clients is that companies are allowing and accommodating different operating systems, different browsers, and different versions, including those that might be on different devices (such as tablets). That means testing our content in multiple environments and choosing tools and processes that enable us to deliver to those environments successfully.

Free Stuff Tuesday (1/18/11 Edition)

Don’t you love how that implies that every Tuesday, I’m going to post free stuff? C’mon people, have we just met? That probably won’t happen.

But here are some free things today, just to make your Tuesday awesome for a reason other than it’s not Monday:

25 New Free High-Quality Fonts from Smashing Magazine

AND… yourfonts.com is having another day of making unlimited free handwriting fonts, in celebration of National Handwriting Day on 1/23/11. Just use coupon code CPN2011FUN on 1/23/11.

(I just thought they should really pay me for sending people to their site and guess what? They have an affiliate program. So using that link will now pay me a few bucks… except when you use their site on a free font day. But do it anyway…  I love mine and anything is better than Comic Sans in your courses.)

The E-Learning List

elearninglist I keep seeing a very cool new resource pop up lately: The E-Learning List. It’s a directory of service providers and resources, so for those of you who have services to provide, get your name out there!

(Even if you aren’t full-service, take a look… I don’t freelance for whole elearning development, but I do freelance voice work, so I just signed up in the Voices and Audio Services category. Maybe someone looking on the site will need an American voice at some point.)

And for those of you who buy elearning services, there are some great resources for you,  too… including a guide to buying elearning services and a guide to writing an RFP for elearning. Check it out!

Great Minds in Action

Photo: brunkfordbraun via Flickr

Photo: brunkfordbraun via Flickr

Just something to share…

I’ve found that IDs love to learn; not only is it sort of part of the job description, being exposed to others’ brilliant ideas can help foster your own creativity, as well.

A few days ago, Mashable.com posted this list of the “Top 7 Places to Watch Great Minds in Action”. You’ve probably heard of TED, but I’d bet at least one of the others on the list are new; they certainly were to me.

Keep learning!