Jesus DiazLearning Resources CenterAlamo Colleges
Adobe E-Learning Suite E-Learning suite contains several programs and is
geared to high end course content creation by instructional designers.
Software Included: Captivate, Dreamweaver, Flash, Photoshop, Acrobat, Presenter, SoundBooth, Device Central and Bridge.
SoftChalk 5 Stand alone product for course content creation by
average user.
Site License Required Due to increased demand for online and
hybrid courses at Alamo Colleges, it is important that all faculty have access to a lesson authoring tool that will allow them to easily develop content for online delivery
Computer Processor: Pentium 4, 2GHz, or Better
Hard-Drive Space: 8 gigs of free space (for lesson creation and storage)
RAM: 1 gig of RAM Display Size: 1024 x 768 or better Optical Drive: DVD ROM
Operating System: Windows XP or better
Java 1.6 or better Flash Player 9 QuickTime 7.4.5 LMS: Blackboard Vista 8 compatibility
for SCORM 1.2
Presentation Simulation Tutorial Demonstration Quizzes
Expectations Strongly Agree
Agree Disagree
N/A
Directions are clear and easy to follow
X
Easy to start and exit X
Resuming work is easy X
Program is stable and glitch free
X
Positive overall user experience
x
Good user interface X
Can be used on Mac OS X
Tasks are intuitive with simple workflow
X
Advanced features easy to find and apply
X
Good internal help system X
Strong user community on web
X
Pros Cons
Import PowerPoint Slides Steep learning curve
Built in interactivities Interface not intuitive
Built in assessments Difficult to use for beginners to many features to learn
Includes wizards and templates Advanced features require strong technical expertise
Export to Standalone lesson Cost prohibitive no site license
Package for CD lesson
Built in Screen Capture
Build in Voice Over
Closed Captioning
Highly Interactive Multimedia
Advanced programming features with ActionScript 2 and 3
Price per seat: $599 Support per seat: $175 (Must be
renewed yearly per 150 seats = $26,250)
Minor Updates: No Cost Upgrades per seat: $599 Startup Total: $116,699 (For 150 seats
no site license available)
Expectations Strongly Agree
Agree Disagree
N/A
Directions are clear and easy to follow
X
Easy to start and exit X
Resuming work is easy X
Program is stable and glitch free
X
Positive overall user experience
X
Good user interface X
Can be used on Mac OS X
Tasks are intuitive with simple workflow
X
Advanced features easy to find and apply
X
Good internal help system X
Strong user community on web
X
Pro Con
As easy to use as a word processor
Glitches with graded assessments in Blackboard Vista
Options for saving are easy and clear to understand
Multimedia and interactivities not as polished as Adobe Suite
Export to Standalone lesson
Package for CD lesson
Includes large selection of templates for user customization
Includes easy to embed interactivities
Includes access to creative commons and open source content
Site license available (can be used at home)
Strong online support and resources
Affordable customer support
Price : $10,000 site license Support : $ 3500 platinum support
(yearly) Updates: (Included in support) Upgrades: (Included in support) Total: $ 13,500
The software package that best fits the needs of a site licensed lesson tool is SoftChalk. The features and low cost of ownership and support clearly makes it the more cost effective product.
Additionally the ease of use and small learning curve makes it an ideal product for most faculty who to begin offering web enhanced, hybrid or online courses, but want to go beyond what is offered by BlackBoard Vista.
Adobe E-Learning Suite http://www.adobe.com/products/elearningsu
ite/
SoftChalk http://www.softchalk.com/