Adventures at MLDC2012

mLearning DevCon 2012 (http://www.mlearningdevcon.com), happening in Philadephia, PA, October 2-5, 2012, is sure to be an exciting event this year with many great topics and speakers.  As we close on the final hours before the big event, ICF will be well-represented with three speakers and four topics.

Greg Gardner will present two separate topics:

• 10-03 S5 - How to skin mLearning content with your own CSS
• 10-05 S29 - Creating iBooks Content for iPad

Mike Raines will present:

• 10-03 S3 - A 'Flash' of Freshness: Repurposing Existing Flash Content for Use in Mobile

Michael Sheyahshe (that's me!) will present on:

• 10-04 S12 - Nuff Said: Tips/Tricks from Digital Comics to Breathe Life into Your HTML5 mLearning

Here's what you can expect to see with my 'Nuff Said' presentation topic:

• Stan Lee (well...not 'in the flesh', as it were...)
• Print Comics
• Digital Comics
• Comic Book 'Language'
• Theoretical Ideas of Visual Rhetoric/Presentation
• Comic Book 'Apps'
• The Hulk !
• The Android Logo (heh)
• Real-World HTML5 Examples
• JavaScript/jQuery Code
• Advanced Online Examples
• ...and so much more !

Be sure to join us at MLDC2012, if possible.  You can also follow our Philly adventures on Twitter: @mas_edev, @eLearnDevGeek, & @gardelearndev.  Excelsior !

Changing the look and feel of mLearning Studio output

Rapid Intake mLearning Studio is powerful cross-platform mobile learning content authoring platform.  As of December 2011, it has four base built-in course templates for look-and-feel and four different page templates.  Since the output is in html5, great power is provided to programmers by making the CSS available for modification. Understanding what to change and how to do that can be a bit of a mystery though.  Using CSS you can modify the look and feel of the finished product.  This significantly enhances the presentations you can provide for your clients.  Next week, I will be giving a presentation at mLearningDevCon on this topic.  After the conference materials will be posted for viewing.

You can visit the conference web site at http://mlearningdevcon.com or my "Insights" page on ICF's corporate site at http://www.icfi.com/insights/presentations/2012/how-to-skin-mlearning-content-your-own-css

iBooks Author - what do you want to know?

I am giving a presentation on Oct 5 at mLearningDevCon in Philadelphia called "Creating iBooks Content for iPad".  I know what I want to present but more importantly, what would you expect or want to learn from a presentation like this?

HTML5 or Flash ?

Ok. I'll admit, right up front, that I'm not going to take sides on this one.  I've been a long-time developer using both HTML-based and Flash-based solutions. I'm quite comfortable using either technology to get the job done.

To use a mechanical analogy: Say you hand me either a pair of needle-nose pliers OR a pair of lineman's (or "combination") pliers. These are certainly different tools and have different functions...but, I can sure squeeze/pinch/etc. the heck out of something with either one. The same can be said for HTML5 or Flash; each have their own specific set of advantages, but both come in quite handy, when it comes to getting the job done, especially from a software solutions perspective.

A recent blog article on http://www.trainingindustry.com further discusses HTML5 and Flash's differences, but supports the above idea that either/both technologies work well. The article goes on to discuss "HTML5 in Learning Solutions" and highlights some advantages. Namely, Semantics, Multimedia, Graphics, Device access, and Offline Storage. I'd suggest viewing the article at http://www.trainingindustry.com/learning-technologies/articles/using-html5-in-learning-solutions.aspx to get the full description behind these.
One part of the article stands out to me, which I will quote here:

HTML5 in Learning Solutions: Collaborative Learning
There is yet another aspect to the learning equation and how HTML5 can play a role that is quite distinct in the world of learning solutions, with respect to social collaboration. Just about everyone is familiar with social networks these days and the benefits of staying connected in the personal and professional world. HTML5 makes it easy to build solutions around collaboration among a group of experts and learners. Collaboration in the online world is so powerful that it can change the way everything works.

I agree with much of this. Thinking towards social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and/or other, it becomes clear that we developers need to plan for implementation of these technologies, not matter what platform for which we are creating content. Take the JSFiddle example below, showing how easy it is to grab Tweets using jQuery. Click the 'Result' button to run the simple script.

 Of course, this is a rudimentary example, but think of the possibilities implementing the social aspect for our clients, as we deploy to desktop units or even mobile devices, using HTML5.  Certainly, I am not taking sides here - I will continue to use both Flash and/or HTML5 where needed...however, I use the example above to remind us, as developers, that we can continue to think past our current technological reach.


For now, we'll see how the comparison between the two solutions work out. I'd wager that both will be around for quite some time, for us to all argue over, even if one dies on the vine. (...I mean, there are still developers out there programming in Authorware, right?)

mLearning anywhere

mLearning has been described as "pull" learnig when you need it, when you want it or anytime, anywhere. For example, I am attending a hockey tournament but I have my 3GS iPad2 with. During periods I am watching classroom videos from Stanford University for iOS programming. I get these from iTunesU. For me this is a great use of my time.

Overview of Tech Trends

New blog entry that about technology trends and their importance to eLearning and mLearning, based information found in The 2011 Horizon Report.

http://edeveloperstuff.blogspot.com/2012/03/emergence-tech-trends-from-2011-horizon.html

Speaking at eLearning DevCon 2012 in June 2012

Team members Greg Gardner, Michael Sheyahshe, and Damian Liska are speaking at eLearning DevCon 2012 in Salt Lake City this June.  Congratulations!

Michael Sheyahshe is presenting "Hi-5! Leveraging HTML5’s Power for Gaming/Simulation in Online Learning."

Damian Liska is presenting "Souping up Unison: Customizing your Own Templates."

Damian Liska and Michael Sheyahshe will co-present:

1.  "Here’s the Scenario: Using SmartBuilder to Create Smart Scenario-based Learning," and
2. "Augment your eLearning with Augmented Reality."

Greg Gardner will be presenting:

1. "Techniques in SCORM 2004,"
2. "Skinning mLearning Content with Your Own CSS,"
3. "The eLearning Programmer’s Toolbox: Choosing the Right Tool," and 
4. "Maximizing SCORM 1.2 courseware for an LMS." 

Additional information can be found at:

http://elearningdevcon.com/