[Xerte] custom interfacy

Mon Mar 16 15:18:40 GMT 2009

The 98% penetration is when looked at worldwide. Sadly, a lot of our  
corporate clients (including the NHS and many schools/colleges) still  
don't consistently allow Flash content on machines, usually due to the  
way they are configured and maintained. Normally it isn't an issue and  
we get people to simply update their browsers, but in this particular  
case the end user is actively prevented from changing the  
configuration... and worse, will not be able to have things added in  
the near future. The problem is exacerbated because some NHS  
departments have clearly got Flash, others haven't.

So what we tend to do in these situations is write the basic HTML and  
overlay javascript functionality to give things like drag and drop and  
a prettier interface. However, we can also use Javascript to run a  
Flash player detection routine (thoughtfully provided by Adobe) and  
which, if found, will pass parameters to the Flash movie and re-write  
the HTML page to embed the movie directly. In this way, if Flash is  
present the Flash plays, otherwise the page is rendered with  
Javascript. However, should Javascript be turned off then a plain HTML  
form is presented to the user, guaranteeing that there is at least  
something on the screen and able to be used. It is this switch between  
Flash, Javascript and HTML which I refer to as graceful degradation,  
meaning the end user always sees something depending on the capability  
of their system. We've not yet done this for any Scorm object, of  
course, only for bespoke web sites as a whole.

Since Scorm relies so heavily on scripting it is unlikely ever to pass  
full web accessibility compliance at anything other than 'A'... unless  
I am mistaken about what constitutes accessibility. The issue for us  
with Flash is the ability to find text within the movie and read it,  
but I note there is a text to speech function in the template for  
Xerte (although as yet I've not successfully got that to work) which  
should go a long way towards addressing the overall accessibility  
issues.

All in all Xerte looks to be extremely good, but I'd think could be  
improved by also providing an interface that doesn't rely on FLash -  
it'll not be as good looking, but may reach the elusive 2% :-)

Hal

--
Hal MacLean
Director of Learning
+44 (0)7957 538915

www.cleveratom.co.uk
+44 (0)845 868 9020

Cleveratom Limited,
Fenchurch House,
93 Springfield Road, Chelmsford,
Essex, CM2 6JL.

__________________________________
Cleveratom Limited is a company registered
in England and Wales with company
number 6008130. Registered address is
Shalford Court, 95 Springfield Road
Chelmsford, CM2 6JL.
__________________________________

On 16 Mar 2009, at 14:16, Dave Burnett wrote:

>
> Flash has something like a 98% penetration rate.
> That's a pretty small slice to cover for what I'm guessing would be  
> a fairly difficult (code intensive) process.
>
> Although I'm not sure what you mean by "gracefully degrade".
> Can you elaborate?
>
>
> > From: hal at cleveratom.co.uk
> > To: xerte at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
> > Subject: Re: [Xerte] custom interfacy
> > Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:42:04 +0000
> >
> > Hi All - I am just joining the list and picking up threads as they
> > arrive. I realise I am new to the party and probably need to lurk  
> and
> > read a bit more before getting involved.
> >
> > However, I was wondering about the accessibility issues and
> > specifically how I might gracefully degrade from Flash to, say,
> > Javascript if an end user does not (and cannot) have the Flash  
> player
> > installed into their browser. Graceful degrade from Javascript to  
> HTML
> > would be the next step, and probably then pass all kinds of
> > compatibility and accessibility tests.
> >
> > I have used Xerte all of three days and am loving the interface, but
> > have a great deal still to learn.
> >
> > On that, I was hoping for some guidance on the interactivity and
> > building quizzes, and am frantically reading all I can find. What
> > would be really useful is a sample quiz that uses minimal  
> scripting to
> > illustrate the architecture, then a more advanced quiz that uses a
> > little more scripting that illustrates the power of what is possible
> > through Action Script.
> >
> > I am not a web coder, by the way, but am looking to develop Scorm
> > objects that are both visually pleasing and educationally rich.
> >
> > Hal
> > --
> > Hal MacLean
> > Director of Learning
> > +44 (0)7957 538915
> >
> > www.cleveratom.co.uk
> > +44 (0)845 868 9020
> >
> > Cleveratom Limited,
> > Fenchurch House,
> > 93 Springfield Road, Chelmsford,
> > Essex, CM2 6JL.
> >
> > __________________________________
> > Cleveratom Limited is a company registered
> > in England and Wales with company
> > number 6008130. Registered address is
> > Shalford Court, 95 Springfield Road
> > Chelmsford, CM2 6JL.
> > __________________________________
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On 16 Mar 2009, at 10:48, Alistair McNaught wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > It's worth remembering that one of the very big advantages of the
> > > standard interface is that it offers a high level of accessibility
> > > to users with disabilities or different learning needs.  
> Obviously it
> > > is possible to change the interface and customise your own but
> > > beware of losing one of the main benefits for learners in the  
> process.
> > >
> > > Alistair
> > >
> > > Alistair McNaught
> > > Senior Advisor
> > > JISC TechDis service
> > > Higher Education Academy
> > > Innovation Way
> > > York
> > > YO10 5BR
> > >
> > > 07870567659
> > > Skype: alistair_techdis
> > > www.techdis.ac.uk
> > >
> > > The JISC TechDis service supports the education sector in  
> achieving
> > > greater accessibility and inclusion by stimulating innovation and
> > > providing expert advice and guidance on disability and technology.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk [mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
> > > ] On Behalf Of Lluís Rius
> > > Sent: 16 March 2009 10:11
> > > To: xerte at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
> > > Subject: [Xerte] custom interfacy
> > >
> > > Hi,
> > > I need to create a custom interface. Basically, I would like to  
> delete
> > > the naviagtion buttons (contents, back, next) because I only  
> have one
> > > activity. Can anyone explain how to do it?
> > > Thank you
> > > --
> > > Lluís Rius
> > > www.lluisrius.cat
> > > Tel. 679 981118
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Xerte mailing list
> > > Xerte at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
> > > http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/xerte
> > >
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