Advantages of HTML5 for eLearning, Mobile Learning (m-Learning) and Gamification

It is not new news that web technologies have been changing at a fast pace for the last 5 to 10 years, improving user experience and interactivities that probably 10 years ago were unimaginable. But as with everything (and that’s the beauty of research), we have already passed the testing phase of these technologies and now we are at the phase in which we can apply them to almost everything.

These technologies can be applied to eLearning also, and even more now that everything is moving to cross-platform (not just PCs but mobile devices as well).

Leaving your comfort zone behind

We all dream of eLearning authoring tools that will do everything we want by just pressing a button, saving us tons of time and headaches, and believe me when I say we are almost there! Unfortunately, we are not there yet! Current authoring eLearning software is not good at anticipating issues that occur when the output files are integrated into different platforms.

Even though we can get cross-platform products from these authoring tools, there is always something extra we have to do to make it work with almost no issues on different platforms, like adding extra code, deleting unnecessary functions, make the code more responsive to device changes, etc., and all of that is fine if you are willing to spend  (and have) the extra-time on making these changes.

However, as much as these tools make our lives easier in certain aspects, they also take away some freedom from our creative process when we are developing eLearning modules and we basically have to work within the limits of what is being offered by the authoring tool.

It is probably due to fear or maybe lack of time that we deliberately keep using these tools, and don’t get me wrong, using them allows to achieve and produce really good eLearning results, but what if you are aiming for greatness or awesomeness, there are lots of options out there to take your eLearning to the next level, you just need to shatter the shell you are in and explore!

HTML5 in the core of your products

Unfortunately, Flash interactions are being set aside due to compatibility issues with some devices (iOS devices, specifically) which may worry some eLearning developers in regards of tools that will provide them with everything they need to create spectacular interactions.

There are actually several tools that can help you doing something very slick without worrying about compatibility. For example, you can always code in native HTML5 and use JavaScript plugins like jQuery to achieve a high level of interaction. If you are worried about the complexity of coding from scratch, I am not going to say that is the easiest thing in the world, but there is a lot of information available out there that can guide you through all the development phases.

Also, there are more specialized tools that you can use that will help you avoid the coding part, but still help you create very interactive pieces on HTML5, and these can be easily wrapped in SCORM for LMS deployment. Just to give you a quick example, a few months ago we had the opportunity to work on a gamification project (games with a learning element) that by no means could be developed in Articulate Storyline or Adobe Captivate, because it was really out of the scope of those authoring tools. However, we used a game engine called Construct 2, which we re-purposed for eLearning, and in the end we produced an HTML5 product that was easily deployed on a LMS.

And this is just one tool that we used, there are a lot of other tools that will give you amazing results, for example Unreal Engine, a high level game engine that is used by very big video games companies to produce next gen games, can allow eLearning developers to create high level interactions (with 3D assets if you want) and HTML5 output to integrate in our platforms!

Everything you need is at the reach of your fingers, you just need to adventure out there and explore!