Tag: e-learning

Prompt to save HTML pages in SharePoint 2010 document libraries

Today, we discovered that the out-of-the-box experience for working with html-pages in SharePoint 2010 document libraries is quite different from the 2007 version.

We uploaded an e-learning course to a document library, made a link to the index.html page of the course, but when we clicked the link we were prompted to download the html page instead of opening it in the browser.

It appears to be a new security setting in SharePoint 2010. This is the procedure how to change the default behaviour:

  1. Go to Central Administration
  2. Select Manage web applications
  3. Select the web application you want to modify
  4. In the Ribbon, click the General Settings button and select General Settings from the drop down menu
  5. In the section Browser file handling, select Permissive instead of Strict.

If you are using SharePoint 2010 for learning purposes, this is something you want to modify, otherwise all web content will be blocked. You need farm administrator rights to change this setting.

Microsoft LCDS 2.6

Microsoft released a new version of its Learning Content Development System.

These are the new features:

  • compatibility wit Internet Explorer 9
  • enhanced keyboard accessibility for all Silverlight interactive elements
  • new sequencing activity topic template – where you have to put elements in the correct order
  • new card flip game topic template

Click the image below for an screencast of the new sequencing activity.

You can download the new version on https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/lcds-tool.aspx.

When you open an existing course, it is automatically upgraded to the new version.

Quotes from DevLearn 2010 #DL10

DevLearn 2010 has been an amazing three days of sessions, discussions, tweeting and playing. Too much to blog in detail, but I do want to share some quotes, one-liners and thoughts I heard and that I keep in mind. I hope I do credit the right people, if not, I do apologize…

Jay Cross and the Internet Time Alliance on Informal Learning:

  • An LMS can only be successful if people are “capable learners”.
  • Formal learning can be like a bus ride. People tend to fall asleep.

John Seely Brown on “The Power of Pull”

  • The purpose of a company in the 20th century is to minimize transaction cost and to achieve scalable efficiency. The purpose of a company in the 21th century should be to achieve scalable capability building.

Marcia Conner on “New Social Learning”

  • Together we are better.

Thornton May on “The New Know”

  • Your network will keep you safe

Of course, there were a lot more sessions that were less conceptual but more specific, and thus produce less “quotable content”. Many thanks to all the speakers for sharing their knowledge and kudos to the people of the E-learning Guild for organizing a top event.

Microsoft LCDS version 2.5

Microsoft released a new version of its Learning Content Development System, the free content authoring tool. The release notes show the following changes:
  • E-learning created is compatible with Firefox 3.5.9 and Firefox 3.6.3.
  • Microsoft Silverlight 4 Media Player for animations that include closed captioning.
  • Enhanced keyboard accessibility for the sort and tile games, adventure interactivity, and Voice of the Expert element.
  • LCDS authoring and e-learning created are completely compatible with Microsoft Silverlight 4.0.
An interesting new feature is the possibility to create content on the “lesson” level. Previous versions did not allow this, which sometimes resulted in blank pages in the course structure when you imported the SCORM package in an LMS. When you open a course in the new version, you will notice an option to enable the content at the lesson level:
Tip: if you don’t know which version of LCDS you are running, open LCDS and press Shift+F1.