The Legacy Content Conversion
Shootout was not designed as an exercise in instructional
design. Rather, the intent was to see how well systems handled
or converted miscellaneous content items that were created
using standard content creation tools like Word, PowerPoint,
Flash, and Dreamweaver (the most commonly used tools in training).
The goal of the Shootout was simply to convert the legacy
content into an e-learning course as quickly as possible.
The audience could see a digital clock running throughout
the event. The finish time was posted for each team at the
end of each round.
The systems were judged in each of the following categories:
- Ease of use
- Speed of development (only 1/2 of the score in this category
counts toward the final score)
- Robustness of the learner interface (navigation, menus,
learner control, etc.)
- Content conversion capabilities
The winners were determined by the vote of the audience judges.
Beyond the top three finishers, this page contains more statistical
information and links for the companies that participated
in the Shootout event.
Each team was given a CD-ROM containing 10 folders, each
containing a piece of legacy content, as follows:
| Folder/Type |
Content |
| #1 Flash |
Title screen |
#2 Word document |
List of objectives for the e-learning course
(words and graphics only) |
| #3 PowerPoint |
PowerPoint slide (with text and graphics
only) |
| #4 Word document |
Comparison page (document includes a table
to see how systems handle formatted Word documents) |
| #5 PowerPoint and audio |
Block diagram (created from PowerPoint drawing
objects) and narration (embedded in the PowerPoint in
.wav format) |
| #6 Dreamweaver (CourseBuilder template) |
Click-and-label exercise (used to determine
how well the system addresses a complex interaction requiring
multiple files beyond a simple HTML file) |
| # 7 Word document |
Unformatted multiple-choice question (was
cut and pasted from an instructor-led lesson plan) |
| #8 Word document |
Unformatted short answer question |
| #9 Word document |
Unformatted matching question |
| #10 Flash |
Conclusion screen |
|
Bryan
Chapman, e-learning analyst at Brandon Hall Research, "refereed"
the Shootout.
The
team from Aculearn (based in Singapore) set up a complete
video studio and recorded an on-screen narrator (streaming
video) during the competition.
Although
sometimes stressful, the teams worked fast to convert the
legacy content.
The
audience were active participants, serving as judges for the
event.