LearningForward

Kent Chesnut's technology in education blog.

In my recent post about the Diabetes @ School update (here), I noted that the Authorware (the development tool I used for the original Diabetes @ School project) requires a special web player that most people don’t have - and that many schools lock down their computers pretty tightly.

 But there were several things I didn’t mention about Authorware:

• Adobe has ended all development on Authorware.  (I think that Macromedia has already ended all development before it was purchased by Adobe - but, for sure, Adobe didn’t resurrect the Authorware product.)
• Authorware exhibits some problems when running with Internet Explorer 7 (there are work-arounds, but the situation will only get worse since development has been halted).
• I’ve heard that Authorware has even more problems with Vista.

In general, I believe it’s time to replace Authorware as my main eLearning development tool.  Flash is a great tool for animations and simulations (and its player is on almost every computer shipped), but it’s much harder (IMHO) to use its timeline metaphor for developing eLearning than Authorware’s flowline.

I did some looking around - and the most interesting eLearning application I’ve found is Xerte.

Xerte uses a what I’ll call a logic metaphor (not quite like Authorware’s flow line, but similar).  Many of Xerte’s icons match those in Authorware (and perform similar roles).  Last but not least, Xerte comes without Authorware’s $3000 price tag - it’s open-source (published under the GNU license).

Some of the most impressive features of Xerte include:

• Good eLearning development environment - especially for developers familiar with Authorware and Flash.
• I think it provides all of the interactivity of Authorware!
• Exports to a Flash .swf file!!!  Xerte projects can be easily deployed to the internet and accessed by almost any computer.
• Open source community responds rapidly to questions - even dumb questions posed by newbies!
• Each icon within a Xerte project is a flash movie clip.  You can use the standard Flash methods (subroutines) on these objects.
• Xerte can be extended / customized by using your own Flash code (requires Adobe Flash and programming).
• Xerte can export projects for SCORM compliance.  (I haven’t tried this, but the documentation shows it’s possible.) 

I’m using Xerte to do the Diabetes @ School update.  It’s working great so far.  There are a few limitations (compared with Authorware) I noticed with Xerte… but I don’t think they restrict its usefulness as an eLearning development platform.

Xerte limitations observed include:

• Can’t read / write files on the local computer (security restrictions in the Flash player).
• Can’t use ActiveX controls to enhance functionality.
• Motion is not built directly in to Xerte.  But you can create your animation, motion for your simulation, or whatever in Flash and then use it in Xerte.

• Help file is pretty limited at this point.  (I’m sure this will improve as development continues)

• Authorware allowed selecting options from lists in dialog boxes.  Currently, Xerte requires you to type in many options.  The help files are pretty good at this point - I think they always contain a list of the things you can type in. 

I’ve included a screen shot of the Diabetes @ School project in the Xerte environment.

And a screenshot of the (under development) project running

In conclusion, Xerte appears to be a great eLearning development environment.  It’s free, powerful, and uses the Flash player to run its projects.  Now I’d better get back to the Diabetes @ School update.