Macromedia Captivate
Macromedia® Captivate™ is a very cool tool for creating interactive demonstrations and simulations. It’s pretty quick for most people to learn and use, and contains a surprising number of features for a product in its price range. You can save the output to several different file formats, including Flash SWF and source Flash FLA files, and also executable EXE files. Many readers will have used Captivate and its predecessor Robo-Demo to create software simulations and interactive tutorials, but it is also a good choice for creating real-life simulations, as long as your needs aren’t extreme. For example, you may not want to use Captivate to create a dynamic, changeable simulation based on external data that is modified often. However, it is certainly capable of creating static but adaptive branching depending on student answers, so you can create a tree structure that allows students to follow different paths.
Out of the box, Captivate captures each action taken in another application, such as Word, and creates a simulation as a series of slides. Each slide transitions smoothly into the next to create a movie. Objects on each slide can be added, deleted, and edited.
Captivate simulations are output as relatively small files. In spite of this, Captivate is able to maintain good quality images, as long as you take care to capture the software at the resolution at which you will ultimately deliver the images (or lower). It does this by using a very good delta algorithm, a set of software instructions which captures the first slide completely but then saves only the differences between slides after that. This technique works well because actions in software simulations (for example, clicking a drop down menu) typically affect only small parts of the screen.
With Captivate, you can record an audio voice-over as you capture software, or you can add audio after the fact. A pretty good audio editor is included for making changes to audio you’ve imported or captured. There are a number of complementary multimedia features contained in Captivate, such as automatic and customized text captions, text animations you can create within Captivate, and the ability to add video, Flash animations, images, hyperlinks, and more. Used appropriately, these features can help you reduce the learner’s cognitive load and so improve learning.
But wait, there’s more! Captivate also includes several features that are very important to making your e-Learning product interactive. You can create question slides, including Multiple Choice, True/False, Fill in the Blank, Short Answer, Matching and Likert (the last typically used for surveys). You can also create buttons, click boxes, and text entry boxes. Captivate is SCORM 1.2 and 2004 certified and AICC compliant, allowing integration with any Learning Management System (LMS), and with objects created with Macromedia Authorware or QuestionMark Perception.
Macromedia Flash
Macromedia Flash is used by a great many web sites to provide multimedia overviews, navigation, and animation, all with greater or lesser degrees of interactivity. Flash is almost universally available to learners, reaching more than 97% of Internet-enabled desktops worldwide, as well as a wide range of devices. Flash did not start out as an e-Learning tool. Rather, it has been and continues to be used to enhance marketing and presentation websites into engaging experiences with animations, video, text, audio, and images.
Early on, e-Learning developers began using Flash animations, integrating them into Authorware, Director, and other applications. Later, as Flash became more powerful, whole e-Learning applications were built in Flash itself. However, Flash does have its limitations and because of that it is still wise to use it in conjunction with other tools.
Flash uses a frame-based timeline approach, along with a stage and a number of panels. (See Figure 2.) Flash development can be a bit daunting at first, but with a little orientation and time, you come to appreciate the wealth of resources and tools available to you. The ActionScript language, similar to JavaScript, is very powerful when used together with Flash’s other features.
Figure 2 The Flash development interface
XML in Flash
Flash is also able to read and parse XML (Extensible Markup Language) files using ActionScript. This means Flash has all the same advantages and actually more in terms of XML flexibility than Authorware. XML is a very popular way of storing external data. This means that Flash and Authorware are able to create dynamic applications based on data that can change based on external stimuli. For example, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may have a system that obtains real-time climate data and writes that data as XML files to a server. Flash can obtain that data in real-time to create e-Learning that is current and much more engaging.
Flash Lite
Recently, Flash Lite (really just a
modification of Flash version 4) was introduced to deliver Flash content to
mobile phones. It has made a big splash in
Macromedia Authorware
Macromedia Authorware has been around the longest of these tools. It is currently in version 7.02 and Macromedia has done a good job of keeping its feature set current. (See Figure 3.) It is considered by many to be the leading e-Learning application development tool.
Figure 3 The Authorware development interface
Authorware uses a flowline approach which tends to be easier to learn than the timeline as used in Flash. (See Figure 4.) Most of us are familiar with flowlines from the decision tree flowlines we were taught in high school. Authorware uses this concept, allowing you to drag icons from a toolbar to the flowline and connect them together to achieve the results you want. Authorware’s interface is relatively simple but its results are very powerful. All types of interactivity can be created this way, and most of the things you need to do can be done with little or no scripting. However, Authorware includes two authoring languages, its original one based on Pascal, and also JavaScript, which was added in version 7.0, for you to create scripts to extend and finesse your applications further.
Figure 4 The Authorware timeline
You can use Authorware to make e-Learning accessible by people with disabilities. You can also easily connect Authorware applications to learning management systems (LMSs).
Authorware is a formidable integrator: you can throw almost any kind of media at it and it will accept it gladly. It also integrates well with other applications. In addition to how Authorware integrates with PowerPoint, Flash, Captivate, and Breeze, discussed later in this article, there are a number of other ways to extend Authorware: DLLs and U32 files, ActiveX Controls, Xtras, and XML.
DLL and U32 Functions in Authorware
Authorware is able to incorporate the functions found in DLL (Dynamic Link Library) files. DLL files are found extensively in Windows, especially in the Windows and System folders. In fact, they form the foundation for all of Windows functionality at many layers. Have you ever wondered why a File Open dialog box appears similar in so many different applications? It’s because they’re all calling the same File Open function from a common Windows DLL, passing it various parameters (also called arguments) to customize it, such as the type of file to open, the title to show in the box, etc. From within Authorware, with a little knowledge of scripting, you too can call the same File Open dialog box with one line of script rather than creating it with a screen capture and your own interactivity. In addition, the beauty of calling a DLL directly is that in the case of Windows features, such as the File Open dialog box, your e-Learning application will continue to look current with every new version of Windows, because dialog boxes tend to look different in every version. If you create your own, your dialog box will appear “old” when the application is used in a new version of Windows.
To use DLLs, they must accompany your published Authorware e-Learning applications. This means that you must be using only DLLs that are guaranteed to be in Windows or have permission to distribute them. DLLs that are resident in Windows contain functions that it is safe to assume will be in future versions as well, but if you are using a DLL function that didn’t exist in an earlier version of Windows, your DLL call will not work there.
In addition, DLL calls are not easily loadable. You must know all the information about the function you want to use: its name, its arguments, and its return value. For most Windows-resident DLLs, this information can found easily enough on many Web sites and in programming books.
Authorware also uses U32 (User Code Definitions) files. These are exactly like DLLs except that they contain a header that includes all the information mentioned above so that you don’t need to find the information for yourself. However, these are Authorware-specific files so those programmers who create U32 files do it specifically for Authorware. U32 file functions stay external so they must accompany your published files that you send to your students.
ActiveX Controls in Authorware
ActiveX allows one application (such as a spreadsheet) to plug into another application (such as a word processor) so that the information you produce in one can be an integral part of the information you produce in the other. The result could be, for example, a spreadsheet embedded in a business plan. By the same token, you can embed an Excel spreadsheet and have it be editable in an Authorware e-Learning application.
There are many thousands of ActiveX objects available for free or at low cost all over the Web. They can enhance an e-Learning application a great deal. (Of course, you should ensure that you are obtaining them from a reputable source because ActiveX objects can contain nefarious elements, such as viruses and spyware.) Other examples include editable calendars, calculators, word processing documents, and so much more. The sky’s the limit.
For this to work, note that each end user must have the linked application such as Excel on their system. In addition, because ActiveX controls are able to access system resources and hard drives (since they are in essence executable applications), you may find they will not work on some systems where a user’s IT department has determined that ActiveX controls will not be allowed. This is especially true in Web browsers.
Xtras in Authorware
Xtras are a Macromedia file format used principally for Authorware and another Macromedia product called Director. There are Xtras that, like DLL and UCD files, are simply a collection of functions. Many, however, are miniature applications like ActiveX controls. Most of the screen transitions in Authorware are accomplished through Xtras. Xtras for reading PDF (www.integrationnewmedia.com) and other types of files can also be purchased from various sources.
XML in Authorware
Authorware is also able to read and parse XML files. XML is a language for storing and transmitting text data. It has become popular because of its simplicity and flexibility. It is also self-documenting because the element names (tags) and attribute names describe what is being stored.
Macromedia Breeze
Macromedia Breeze is a family of web communication applications that includes a web conferencing tool, a presentation platform and a rapid training deployment tool (three separate products). The Breeze products can be summarized as Meetings, Presentations, and Training. Your version of Breeze may not include all of these. Macromedia Breeze version 5 was just released.
Meeting mode allows you to set up multiple participants and share whiteboards, conversation areas, and files. (See Figure 5.) This saves all the attendees from having to fly from multiple locations to one central place. While it is possible for the meeting leader to give the ability to any participant to take over microphone privileges, in practice two-way communication is best done with telephone conferencing. Large meetings of over 50 people are called seminars.
Figure 5 Breeze in Meeting mode
Presentation mode lets you present to multiple users simultaneously, keeping everyone “on the same page at the same time.” You can synchronize animation, audio, multimedia slides and more. This is especially useful when an organization needs to deliver the same message to all its employees at once, for example, when Human Resources needs to perform a worldwide simultaneous meeting to explain the new benefits package.
Training mode lets you create courses and curricula. A course is a Breeze Presentation that is attached to a set of learners that you have enrolled. You can track each learner’s progress. In fact, Breeze provides some of the services of a learning management system (LMS). You can also integrate Breeze content with SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, and AICC-compatible systems which lets you deliver and track your courses through your own organization’s LMS. You can add quizzes with branching and custom feedback, and also access manager reports to track progress of individuals. You can also deliver surveys to students to gauge student feedback to the training courses you deliver.
Breeze delivers using the Flash player, so it presents a big advantage over Web conferencing tools that require end users to download a separate player.
When we refer to other applications working with Breeze in this article, we are specifically discussing the creation of content files that are uploaded into a library and that can then be used in any part of Breeze: meetings, presentations, and training. When setting up a meeting, presentation, or training, you choose content from the library that you had previously uploaded.
