A study conducted by Google revealed that 98% of Internet users switch between devices with varying screen sizes in a single day. The phenomenal growth in the number of multi-device users is fuelling the demand for responsive online courses, which can be accessed seamlessly on any device.
But, what does it take to develop a responsive e-learning course? Well, one of the key aspects to consider when you develop a device-agnostic, self-paced technology-enabled learning material is the choice of the rapid authoring tool. And, one of the most popular rapid authoring tools used to make responsive online courses is Adobe Captivate. A survey conducted by E-learning Guild showed Adobe Captivate is the most widely used rapid authoring tool. The latest version of this software, Adobe Captivate 9 is power-packed with various features that facilitate seamless responsive e-learning development. To learn more about the features, I talked to Mohd. Sohail, an Adobe Captivate veteran at CommLab India, a firm that has been providing technology-enabled learning solutions for the last 16 years.Here are the excerpts of the interview.
What makes Adobe Captivate 9 the best tool for developing responsive online courses?
Sohail: It is the ease of development. This tool allows you to develop several versions of courses, for multiple devices, from a single source. All you need to do is develop a course for the desktop and then tweak it to make the course suitable for delivery on multiple devices. Adobe Captivate 9 is unparalleled in terms of its flexibility to develop responsive e-courses. It also scores over other tools on a key aspect – generating multi-device previews of online courses.
And, why is that important?
Sohail: E-learning developers want to know how their courses look on the devices used by learners, so that they can get a first-hand feel of the learning experiences delivered by the courses. Good previews help developers know how the online learning content is rendered on screens of varied sizes, and this enables them make changes, if necessary, to ensure optimal viewing experiences to learners.
Adobe Captivate is well known for its screen recording capabilities. How well does the latest version of the tool score in terms of producing responsive screencasts?
Sohail: Adobe Captivate 9 allows you to develop a responsive learning screencast which can be rendered on any device in an effective, hassle-free manner. The rapid authoring tool detects the device on which the screencast is being accessed and automatically adjusts the output to fit the screen size.
Touch-based devices are the order of the day, and they come in all sizes. Can Adobe Captivate 9 be used to develop online courses that enable seamless learning on these devices?
Sohail: Good question. You can use the rapid authoring tool to facilitate good learning experiences on all touch-based devices, irrespective of the size of their screens. Learners can use their fingers very easily to navigate through m-learning courses. They can tap, pinch, scroll and swipe the screens to move seamlessly through the courses.
Does Adobe Captivate 9 support HTML5 objects?
Sohail: You can retain many effects of your PowerPoint presentation when you publish it online, to the HTML5 format, using Adobe Captivate 9. The rapid authoring tool enables you to harness the full learning potential of the mobile device by providing excellent support to HTML5 objects such as animations. You can also indicate a range for the size of each object to prevent re-scaling of views across various devices. This is useful to ensure images are displayed properly on all devices.
Many rapid authoring tools come with in-built libraries of e-learning development elements. Does Adobe Captivate 9 have any “ready to use” responsive online course development resources?
Sohail: Adobe Captivate 9 has a large collection of responsive themes which go a long way in the development of good e-learning courses for multiple devices. They are very flexible in terms of customization. You can even create themes of your own.
This is what Sohail had to say. Hope you enjoyed the interview. Do share your views.
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