Some of the problems we are addressing with the platform are content portability and obsolescence. We do this primarily through our concept of the learning album. Xplana albums are sequenced collections of learning assets and can contain any combination of the different file or content types supported in Xplana. This includes, documents — Word, Excel, PowerPoint — notes, video, audio, images, Web pages, and interactivities. In this way, users can easily create lessons, units, or courses from scratch or by mashing up other public content from the Xplana content library.
Albums in Xplana have a number of qualities that make them easy to share and distribute. They also function as a type of universal player for learning content that guards against the obsolescence often resulting from being created inside a proprietary platform.
Permalinks — Each album in the Xplana system has a dedicated permalink that can be shared with others. Provided the Album is marked as public content, the album can be viewed by anyone with a browser and Internet access.
Embed codes — Albums also have embed codes, like YouTube videos. This allows them to be embedded in external Web sites or learning systems and have the album player and content called remotely from the Xplana platform.
SCORM exports — Albums can also be exported as SCORM packages and then imported into SCORM compliant LMS platforms. All interactivities in the Xplana platform follow the QTI standard and, when imported into a supporting platform, can report results to a gradebook.
Downloading — Xplana albums can also be downloaded and played offline on a user’s desktop.
Comments, sharing, and ratings — Creators determine the privacy settings of their content, and albums marked as public can be commented on or shared and edited with/by other users. Like all content in the Xplana platform, albums can also be rated by users.
Public annotations — Albums made available to the Xplana public support public annotations and markup that can be seen by other users.
Mobile access — As part of our commitment to content distribution, we will also make albums available to our users via their iPhones, iPads, and Android smart phones
One thing to keep in mind is that, unlike traditional LMS platforms, we are creating our authoring tools for all users — learners and instructors alike — and our philosophy is to encourage productivity and sharing
through those tools. Albums can make excellent study guides, slide shows or presentations, lessons, and multi-part experiential learning sequences. For a little more context, I am sharing a prototype screen that is
representative of the Xplana albums launching with our platform this summer.