Supplemental Resources for Designing E-Learning: Setting Authoring and Viewing Guidelines

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You are here: Ideas and Issues in E-Learning --> Supplemental Resources for the Book Designing E-Learning --> Chapter 8 --> Setting Authoring and Viewing Guidelines

Setting Authoring and Viewing Guidelines

Identifying a minimum configuration for the viewing system depends on the choice of authoring software. When making the choice of authoring software, consider whether learners can realistically view it with the systems available to them.

Specifically, the requirements should specify the following:

For courses to be distributed on CD or DVD

Hardware

Processor
Hard drive
Storage device needed, such as a CD or DVD drive, and its speed (such as 24X)
Storage
Video adapter
Monitor (especially if an oversize monitor is needed)
Telecommunications capabilities (such as a network adapter or modem, and the type)
Speakers
Microphone (if required)

Software

Operating system and its version (such as Windows XP, Mac OS, or Linux)
Special viewing software, such as a viewer for the authoring system
Browser (if needed)
Software for playing audio clips (if needed)
Software for playing video (if needed)
Other software (such as an application used by the online learning program)

For courses to be distributed on the web

Browsers and versions. Note that because the browsers identify the hardware and operating systems on which they work, you do not need to specify this detail. That is one of the advantages of browsers.
Plug-in software, such as Flash, software for showing video, software for sound, and personalization software (such as cookies).