August 2, 2007

Keeping your Assets Attached

I was having a great discussion with someone extremely knowledgeable in elearning and SCORM implementation. I was demoing a new content development tool that doesn't currently allow you to load assets to the server. This means that you have to store you pdfs and flash files and video elsewhere. She made a compelling argument that this was not acceptable because it would difficult to maintain versions of the linked to content.

This seems to be a "trust" issue. Do you trust that the integrated web services will be there? Can you put a YouTube video in your course and trust it to play? I think the answer is yes. For integrated web services to come together there has to be that trust.

Would you put all the images from you course on Flickr and then just reference them?

5 comments:

  1. It depends on the length of time I'm going to use the images and how critical they are to my content. if it's a short duration, fine, but if it's for a more long-term commitment, I'd be much more hesitant. And of course I'd keep a personal backup. I've seen too many services come and go (especially free ones) to rely on them to much.

    Having said that, I also use Blogger, but I make sure that there is nothing there that can't be replaced.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good points. I laugh, I'm not always the best at keeping a back up...

    So the next question is would you pay for a tool that allows you to post assets to the system?

    Thanks for the comment!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous2:51 PM

    Lee,
    We would be interested in your comments on usability and suitability of College-Cram.com from an instructor perspective. We have recently added a social learning environment primed with our own content. You can post assets and share or keep private your presentations in the "notebook" section.

    Thanks,
    Jack Robinson
    Director of Business Development
    College-Cram.com
    jackr@college-cram.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Pay for it!?! Jeeze... I can't pay for enough class-use text books.

    But, with anything beyond the classroom walls, there's risk involved. Museums change their displays, books - including reserved reference books - go missing from libraries... even cultural reference points fade away.

    I figure accessing the world means accessing implied instability. My job is to learn to post, repost and problem-solve as efficiently as possible. ('Course, this is all still new enough to me to be fun.)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think that is a really good attitude and almost mandatory for the web. Thanks for the comment! I know, text book prices are crazy.

    ReplyDelete