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 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
Shootout in Vegas is the second event pitting teams against
each other to convert legacy content. The first occurred in
May 2002 in Singapore.
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 |
|
The
team from Knowledgelinx.
The team from VuePoint in mid-development.
Three
large screens allowed audience member to watch the actual
development process. A fourth screen showed the clock so that
all of the audience could see the actual development time.
Bryan
Chapman, e-learning analyst from Brandon Hall Research, served
as the referee for the event.