What’s the buzz, tell me what’s a-happening? Do you care to know? Well, it’s from Flash to the future with HTML5!!
What is HTML5?
HTML5 is the fifth major revision of the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), the core language of the Web. It is a non-proprietary and open source, free for all to use. Though the language is primarily created for web pages, it is increasingly relevant to eLearning courses, as most often they operate through web browsers, providing a rich user experience.
The advance in technology from Flash to HTML5 paved the way for Content Modernization – transforming old content to new delivery formats to create a more dynamic learning experience for today’s workforce.
3 Key reasons to move your eLearning content to HTML5
1. BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) a rising trend
It is normal for a person to switch between 2-4 devices throughout the day, and Gartner predicts that by 2017, fifty percent of employers will require employees to supply their own device for work purposes. With this BYOD environment growing, it opens up an enourmous delivery medium challenge for L&D professionals because they must develop solutions which can work on virtually any device. By developing courses in HTML5, this gives learners the option to view the courses across any device, unlike native application development, which only works on a single operating system. Not only does this make course management simple, it is also much more economical.
2. Unlock Investment in Legacy Courses
Legacy learning courses that were built using technologies other than HTML5 seem to be a deadlock investment today, because they do not provide the desired output on mobile devices. There is a growing demand by employees for learning solutions to work on their favorite mobile devices. This demand has given a boost to Content Modernization; specifically converting Flash content to HTML5, where companies can save thousands of dollars by merely updating the technology layer in their courses, instead of creating brand new courses from scratch.
3. New Investment in Courses
HTML5 is the technology to invest in for newer courses because it is mobile friendly and lets you accomplish things that were previously impossible. All the latest browsers have incorporated this technology because much more is now achievable in a browser through HTML5 versus HTML4, Flash, and other antiquated technology. This technology enables learning courses to be peppered with informal/ social learning elements that are far more desirable amongst the workforce of today. Also, the current trend with the use of HTML5, is the delivery of manageable bites of content for various mobile devices in mLearning, which divides what would be an hour of dedicated WBT, into 4-5 learning sessions which can be taken throughout the day.
As the years go by, the line between business and personal is blurring. The use of mobile devices is increasing and becoming more mainstream. Users are expecting to get information anywhere, anytime, and expect it to be fast. In this environment where users reach for their mobile devices before laptops, you should be driving your team to be thinking “HTML5 first”, while slowly phasing out your older technology.
