[Xerte] Interface Volume Control -> a wider consideration of navigation in Xerte

Thu Mar 11 09:48:13 GMT 2010

There are probably many Xerte users out there who do not have access to
Flash or lack skills in using Flash. They also lack actionscript skills.
The whole idea of page templates appears to be to make things easy for
the none technical user. 

How about if the navigation could become more flexible so as to allow
none technical users the facility to customise their navigation options,
both in Xerte and in Xerte using project wide templates?

At present the navigation options in Xerte out of the box are limited,
kind of an all (visuals =1) or nothing (visuals = 0)

I am just finalising a page wizard that includes the capability to add
individual exit points i.e. in this case radio buttons, each of which
has a page name assigned to it in the wizard. When the learner clicks on
the radio button they are taken to the assigned page - instant
non-linear learning objects. However with the current navigation options
I have had to turn off visuals. Previous and Next buttons have little
sense in a non-linear learning object. However what are really useful
are Home and Back buttons (Back based on a LIFO queue). So to support my
wizard I have had to create a model based on an Entry Frame, that
provides user switchable navigation components (Page n of m, Home, Next,
Previous, Back, TOC, Last). The learning object creator can thus select
which navigation options are appropriate to their learning object.

If the navigation in Xerte could be set as configurable on a per button
basis, and include the volume control and also buttons for Home and Back
(I am not sure of the case for a Last button, I added it to my model for
completeness), then there would be no issue of the design of the volume
control failing to match the other controls in a custom navigation.

The next step would be to add options to page templates that would allow
as many individual page templates as possible to have one or more of
their own specified exit points which each lead to a specified page
based on the page name.

If a similar customisable navigation were added to the simple navigation
available in Frameworks then just think of the possibilities, e.g. a
linear learning object with non linear sections based on Framework
pages; Whole learning objects that had a non-linear structure;
Non-linear learning objects with some framework based sections that were
linear.

What do others think?

Kind regards

Johnathan

Johnathan Kemp
ICT Development Coordinator
Connexions Staffordshire
www.cxstaffs.co.uk <http://www.cxstaffs.co.uk/> 
01785 355714

________________________________

From: Mark Tomlinson, AC&S Ltd [mailto:mark.tomlinson at acns-group.com] 
Sent: 10 March 2010 10:36
To: 'Xerte discussion list'
Subject: RE: [Xerte] Interface Volume Control

If you are using a custom interface, then it won't likely 'fit in' will
it?  We use a custom interface and have coded our own volume control.

Mark

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Johnathan
Kemp
Sent: 10 March 2010 09:21
To: Xerte discussion list
Subject: RE: [Xerte] Interface Volume Control

If there are a number of sound or movie files with different audio
levels then having one global sound control will not solve the problem
of having to adjust the sound each time you play one of the movies. I
don't know whether there is any way to pass a parameter to the swf that
plays the movies to adjust the initial sound level either louder than
default or lower than a default volume, though that could get
complicated.

It would be useful to have a volume control, but if it becomes part of
the controls displayed when visual is set to 1 on the interface, then
anyone not using the default interface will have to also introduce a
volume control into their interface.

If the volume control could become part of the media control bar that is
displayed when a movie or sound file is played, then this would ensure
that it was available even when the default interface was not used. The
snag here is that it would not be available for swfs where Interactivity
was set to Native swf.

Perhaps the optimum solution would be to include the volume control in
the default interface, but to provide an easy way to embed the volume
control into any custom interface that was being used when
interface.visuals = 0.

Kind regards

Johnathan

Johnathan Kemp
ICT Development Coordinator
Connexions Staffordshire
www.cxstaffs.co.uk <http://www.cxstaffs.co.uk/> 
01785 355714

________________________________

From: Adam Read [mailto:aread at marjon.ac.uk] 
Sent: 10 March 2010 08:45
To: 'Xerte discussion list'
Subject: RE: [Xerte] Interface Volume Control

I use the continue button, bottom right is indeed the logical place I
think.

Adam

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Julian Tenney
Sent: 09 March 2010 21:52
To: Xerte discussion list
Subject: RE: [Xerte] Interface Volume Control

Could it go in the bottom toolbar, between the combos and the continue
button? I could remove the text from the continue button, to make some
space and replace it with a tooltip, and then put a volume slider in
there? Does that work?

Do people use the continue button, or the next button in the top right
more? I think the continue button is in a very logical place in the
bottom left, but I tend to use the next button. The continue button will
lose something if it gets too cramped with the other controls I think.

Not sure where else the volume control could logically go? I'm not sure
I want to interfere with the standard media controller too much - I'd
prefer one control for global sound control..?

________________________________

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk on behalf of Peter Snowball
Sent: Tue 09/03/2010 12:03
To: Xerte discussion list
Subject: [Xerte] Interface Volume Control

Is it possible to add a volume control to the interface (preferable) or
movie or sound icons.  I havew a few movies and the audio volume varies.

Peter Snowball
Dept Of Economic Development
Tasmania

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