Write Online Adds a Mind Mapping Workspace

I have been impressed with Write Online from Crick Software since I first saw it, and initially remarked that this Web 2.0 application breaks new ground for assistive technology. Write Online provides the user with a rich feature set for writing that is accessible from any web browser. Just this past week John Crick alerted me to the addition of a mind mapping workspace to Write Online which I had a chance to use this past weekend.

When you open Write Online you will notice a Document and a Workspace tab. If you click on the Workspace Tab you will see that it puts you into a mind mapping mode that lets you do some quick brainstorming using a variety of different shapes to get your ideas down. Using some of the short cuts I was able to quickly prepare my mind map and link my ideas. You can see from the screenshot that you can add linking text to the ideas and add color to the various shapes that are provided. You will find it an easy to use addition to the program. Once you are done you can quickly transfer your mind map to an outline in the Document space- which is a great feature. But it even gets better than that! With one click you can create a Wordbar with the words you used to generate your mind map. Imagine all of the possibilities for having students create their own mind maps with the support of a customized Wordbar. Write Online continues to innovate and now provides a quick way for students to brainstorm using mind maps to do so. For more information about Write Online click here.

Beginning of Long Slow Death of Flash

Earlier this year I questioned why there was Still No Flash on the iPhone and iPad. It’s become quite clear that Apple (Steve Jobs) is going to block putting Flash on these platforms.

Today the big news is Scribd Switches to HTML5; Adobe To Make Tools for HTML5.

As a Part-Time CTO, I am continually making choices about what platforms to use, what do we build for, how do we integrate with social networks, etc. And just like a few years ago when it became clear that you shouldn’t build desktop applications anymore, I think we are hitting a tipping point where you have to question building anything that uses Flash as the delivery mechanism.

Scribd today announced that they are going to be changing their Flash player to be based on HTML5.

"We are scrapping three years of Flash development and betting the company on HTML5 because we believe HTML5 is a dramatically better reading experience than Flash. Now any document can become a Web page," Scribd co-founder and CTO Jared Friedman told TechCrunch.

This comes at the same time as Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch: We’re Going To Make The Best Tools In The World For HTML5. Kevin doesn’t say that they are moving away from Flash – rather that they will support Flash and HTML5 as output. But it’s pretty clear that even Adobe sees the problem here.

What does this mean in practice? Well Captivate will produce HTML5 so that it can be run on an iPhone, iPad and everywhere else.

Right now, I believe this is a tipping point moment. It’s the beginning of the long slow death of Flash.

The only question is my mind is how long/slow it will be.

Oh and if I'm predicting relative to the big question this month: Learning Technology 2015 then my prediction is that we won't be building for Flash delivery in 2015.

OAT: One Admirable Tool

One first warning: I'm still lacking time to write the kind of articles I like, which are focused, technical and relatively deep.
Having said that I feel better proceeding with yet another "chat like" article. And in this I would like to write about Open Admin Tool, or simply OAT.

I had two great sessions in IIUG 2010 conference, which although not specifically about OAT, were somehow related to it. I'm talking about John Miller session about Auto Update Stats, and Hyun-Ju Vega session covering SQLTRACE. Unfortunately I had to miss the session about OAT itself from Erika Von Bargen (i was presenting at the same time). Now, why did I like this sessions so much? The speakers were great but they were not the reason. The reason is fairly simple: They changed the way I thought about some things and they made me look into OAT again. I don't recall having written many things about OAT, but to be honest I though it was nice, but maybe more directed to the new people starting with Informix. Long time Informix DBAs obviously have a pack of scripts for the trivial stuff: running update statistics (I wrote my own scripts based on previous work from Informix staff and obviously we all know dostats from Art Kagel), check some performance issues (sessions with more CPU usage, tables with full scans, tables with more read/writes etc.), historical data from the instance (profile counters, table access stats etc.).

So, a nice tool, much better than previous attempts like Informix Server Administrator (ISA), nice looking but maybe for "newbies". Honestly this was more or less in my mind, even though I did not have full conscience about it.

Then I assisted this two sessions. And during the sessions we were guided through lots of "accessories". John showed several tasks, the task scheduler, the intelligence behind the auto update stats, and eventually even without noticing it, he effectively showed the audience how easy it is to work with OAT. Then Hyun-Ju, guided us through a real case scenario where SQLTRACE was key to solve a customer issue. Again, OAT was not the main focus, but the ease of usage and how we can take advantage of SQLTRACE in OAT SQL Explorer again surprised me.

Then a real life scenario came... Today, while working on a customer, I was asked to help the DBA team to understand a big memory consumption from some sessions in a development instance. The developer team really didn't noticed anything strange, since the engine was doing what was expected. But the DBAs noticed some sessions occasionally grabbed around 8-10 times the maximum memory usually consumed by most of their sessions. The more or less strange thing was that the session allocated the memory but when we got to see that, the memory was mostly free (although still allocated to the session). So, no strange pool usage was evident. Since my job their is also to try to pass some knowledge, I showed them how to setup SQLTRACE for one specific user and we asked that user to run the job(s). After lunch we had everything explained in the SQLTRACE buffers. The onstat -g his could be used to get evidences, but I decided to give OAT a try. And there it was, in a graphical manner all the session steps. We noticed that they had a terrible amount of recursive procedures (actually proc_a calls proc_b and proc_b calls proc_a) inside a foreach loop. So a lot of stack was necessary to hold the context during execution and so the memory was allocated and then became free.

Could I have made this with other tools? Probably. Lots of onstats, scripts etc. Would it be so easy? Not even in my best dreams!

The true magic about OAT is not OAT itself. It's how OAT glues several new features and makes them usable. Think about some things we can do in OAT:

1. Manage and use SQL history
   
2. Manage all the engine programmable tasks
3. Generate performance and usage reports
4. Change the engine configuration
5. Optimize storage
6. Manage your cluster and replication

All these have something behind that you frequently see in the "new features" section of the release notes (using the same order as the previous list):

1. SQLTRACE
2. Database scheduler
3. Automatic tasks and internal engine profiling
4. SQL API
5. Compression
6. MACH 11

I could have made the list bigger. The point is that probably for the first time in Informix history we have a tool that matches the "features". This has always been one of the most criticized (what was probably fair) aspects of Informix. But since v11.10 and the beginning of OAT we see that OAT has been upgraded fixpack after fixpack to match the engine new functionalities. This shows it's not another tool that tries to keep critics away, but is in fact a fundamental piece of the engine. And it follows the engine "DNA": Simple to install, simple to use, reliable and light.

Is it perfect? Probably nothing is... I think one area or aspect could be improved. And here I'm just echoing a customer thoughts. OAT should be able to provide a view and working mode for enterprise wide environments. Meaning some of it's features should be aware of all the instances configured in a customer environment. Some simple examples:

• A single alarm viewer page for all the instances (maybe "all belonging to one group")
• The monitors could collect/centralize into a common repository
• The monitors should have self conscience of the instances in a MACH-11 cluster

Some of these points and others I don't mention here could be provided by:

• Replicate each instance captured data to a common repository (either by ER or simple tasks)
• Create a plugin for showing data in that centralized repository
• Change some of the monitors to INSERT also the server name and direct the data to the primary server (for read only secondaries) using for example the connection manager

So, this limitations can be solved by customers. But it would be nice to see some improvements in the future.
I'd like to end the article sending my compliments and appreciation to the OAT development team and leave here a few links to help you understand what's behind OAT:

• Open Admin Tool home
  http://www.openadmintool.com/
  
• Manage your Informix database with the IDS OpenAdmin Tool
  http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/data/library/techarticle/dm-0807kudgavkar/
• Build plug-ins for IBM's OpenAdmin Tool for Informix Dynamic Server
  http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/data/library/techarticle/dm-0808vonbargen/
  

Ning Alternatives that Require Little to No Work?

I was hoping that Ning was going to come out with a inexpensive plan that would support the different Ning sites that I have a hand in.  They do have Ning Mini at $3/mo, but it only allows 150 members.  That’s not going to work for:

• LearnTrends
• LA CTO Forum
• Work Literacy

I’ve read a bit about alternatives, but each will require a bit of work.  Harold Jarche is trying to figure it out for the Work Literacy site.  I hope he comes up with a good answer and I can piggy back his efforts for the other two.

Suggestions?

Performance Support in 2015

The Big Question for May is Learning Technology 2015 – it asks what we expect workplace learning technologies to look like in 2015.  I definitely want to include Performance Support as part of the discussion. 

In a post on my CTO Blog, I talked about Match Performance Support,the performance support that goes along with many matching solutions such as in eHarmony. A lot of people miss that we are being tasked to do so many different kinds of things and are doing them infrequently so we basically are not very good at it.  Examples in matching were:

• People to Projects
• People to Jobs
• Students to Tutors

In each of these, it has the classic characteristics that point to Performance Support:

• Infrequent 
• Complex
• Important to get right

I would claim that as knowledge work becomes more complex and we move towards being concept workers, we are being asked to act like experts even though we aren’t experts.  See Does Deliberative Practice Lead to Quick Proficiency?

I think we are reaching a time when we are going to see an explosion of Performance Support.  You will get help when you:

• Try to find the right project, start the project, perform the project, complete the project
• Hire someone
• Sell a house
• Improve customer satisfaction (data driven).

This is going to first take the form of hundreds of thousands of different little applications that each provide performance support for particular tasks.  We are already seeing this in terms of lots of startups aimed at particular elements of knowledge work.  But these will be getting better.

I also think there’s a really interesting opportunity to create an online Performance Support builder that could make it easy to build out simple performance support tools.  Crowd source creation of the tools.  There’s a nice business there.

Anyone want to fund that business?

Let’s check back in five years and see how I did?

Please add your predictions to the big question.

Other posts (via eLearning Learning) on Performance Support:

1. Performance Support- eLearning Technology, August 26, 2008
2. About Declarative and Procedural Knowledge and the Expert-Novice Divide- ID Reflections, October 17, 2009
3. Are Web 2.0 tools designed to support learning?- IDiot, January 27, 2009
4. Harvesting Learning’s Fruit: A Downstream Training Investment- Living in Learning, September 4, 2009
5. Conceptualizing the Performance Ecosystem- Learnlets, April 9, 2009
6. 10 Strategies for Integrating Learning and Work (part 1), June 15, 2009
7. Whatever Happened to Performance Support? — Informal Learning Blog, December 29, 2008
8. A Better Learning to Performance Model and Job Aid, August 22, 2008
9. Not by performance support alone, August 2, 2009
10. Organizing for Performance Effectiveness, June 1, 2009
11. Performance Support Lab - PS Links, July 11, 2009
12. The Future of the Training Department, October 21, 2009
13. Integrating Learning and Work, June 16, 2009
14. It’s the performance, or, what every manager should know about Bob Mager, March 8, 2010
15. Performer Support and the Moment of Change, September 18, 2009
16. 7 Informal Learning Services for the Training Function, April 2, 2009
17. The Science Behind Learning: Cognitive Tips and How Tos for Corporate Training, February 28, 2010
18. On-job support is critical, December 19, 2008
19. Upgrading - A PERFECT time for Performance Support, February 16, 2010
20. Life Support Can Be Expensive- aLearning, March 27, 2010
21. Work Context: The New Classroom- Living in Learning, March 22, 2010
22. 21st Century Learning Strategies- Spark Your Interest, April 15, 2010
23. PDR Design Model Supports Shift to Learning Design in the Work Context- Living in Learning, August 23, 2009
24. When it's just so obvious NOT to train it's painful to watch it happen- Performance Learning Productivity, June 12, 2009
25. New skills for learning professionals- Informal Learning, July 1, 2009
26. Beyond the course- Learnlets, December 1, 2008
27. Transfer of Learning - Theories and Implications- Designed for Learning, October 31, 2009
28. Checklist of Social Learning Strategies- Engaged Learning, January 12, 2010
29. Deeper Instructional Design- In the Middle of the Curve, November 13, 2008
30. Scope of Learning Responsibility- The Learning Circuits Blog, March 3, 2008
31. Pointing to the Five Moments of Learning Need- Integrated Learnings, July 25, 2009
32. Content Organization Cheat Sheet- The eLearning Coach, November 30, 2009
33. How not to train- Good Practice, July 28, 2009

Adobe Announces eLearning Suite 2 & Captivate 5

SAN JOSE, Calif. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe eLearning Suite 2, a significant upgrade to its tightly integrated, end-to-end solution for easily creating, reviewing and maintaining eLearning content. The suite, now natively compatible with Mac OS in addition to Windows, enables eLearning professionals, educators and trainers to turn creative ideas into dynamic eLearning materials that engage learners with multimedia and interactivity. eLearning Suite 2 - anchored by the new Adobe Captivate 5 - includes Adobe Flash Professional CS5, Adobe Dreamweaver CS5, Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended, Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro, Adobe Presenter 7 and Adobe Soundbooth CS5.

"Today's educational and professional learning departments are under enormous pressure to deliver impactful content quickly and efficiently," said Naresh Gupta, senior vice president, Print and Publishing at Adobe. "eLearning Suite 2 is a major leap forward in eLearning content creation. It addresses the challenge with its tightly integrated toolset that allows content creators to develop powerful media-rich eLearning experiences without the time and expense of programming."

Adobe eLearning Suite 2 enhances productivity with smarter aggregation capabilities included in Adobe Captivate 5, eLearning extensions for Dreamweaver and Flash, and new application round tripping workflows between authoring and asset creation tools. For example, a course designer can now insert Adobe Photoshop CS5 (PSD) files as smart objects into an Adobe Captivate project and update the images with one click should the original files change without having to resave and reinsert images. Similar workflows exist between the other eLearning Suite components including Adobe Captivate, Soundbooth and Flash.

"Timely, effective training on the use of our products is critical for us and our customers to meet compliance requirements," said Mary McGivern, Instructional Designer, Omnicell, a leading provider of comprehensive, technologically advanced automation that enables healthcare facilities to acquire, manage, dispense, and deliver medications and supplies more effectively. "The new user interface in Adobe Captivate 5 lets me work more efficiently and is now similar to other Adobe products. This will speed up my workflow and help me meet timelines more effectively."

Introducing Captivate 5

Adobe Captivate is the industry-leading, rapid authoring solution for developing demonstrations, application simulations and branching scenarios - without requiring programming expertise while not compromising quality. Version 5, which introduces the software to Mac OS, offers exciting new features that allow users to do more complex tasks faster such as enhanced importing and round tripping for Microsoft PowerPoint.

The new user interface - similar to the Dreamweaver CS5, Flash CS5 and Photoshop CS5 interfaces - lets users create and revise content faster and more easily than ever before by supporting multiple document editing and personalized workspaces. The Properties Inspector tool also boosts time-savings, as course authors can edit object properties in fewer steps. Additionally, eLearning professionals can leverage an expanded asset library and use customizable widgets to quickly create tables and design graphical buttons. Other major enhancements include support for rich animation effects, the ability to import videos in popular formats (AVI, MOV, FLV, MPEG) and synchronize video across multiple slides.

For more effective collaboration, Adobe Captivate 5 customers can upload, exchange and review content, as well as track and report learner scores by signing up for Adobe's online productivity software, Acrobat.com (available separately). Also, a new widget lets students and educators interact via Twitter, facilitating online Q&As and group discussion.

To ease the process of maintaining content, Adobe Captivate 5 introduces Object Style editing, which facilitates changes project-wide with just a few clicks, allowing content creators to easily define and modify the look and feel of buttons, text, images and other elements. eLearning designers can also create Master Slides with preset themes and styles for text, shapes and graphics. This accelerates authoring as contributors can focus on content rather than formatting details, and ensures that the look and feel of an organization's presentations are preserved. Once eLearning content is published, training and learning professionals can track and report key performance metrics via Acrobat.com or their own Web server.

Pricing and Availability

Adobe eLearning Suite 2 and Adobe Captivate 5 are expected to be available via Adobe Authorized Resellers and the Adobe Store at www.adobe.com/store in June. Customers can pre-order Adobe eLearning Suite 2 and Captivate 5 today. Estimated street price for the suite is US$1799; upgrade pricing starts at US$599. Estimated street price for Adobe Captivate 5 is US$799; upgrade pricing starts at US$299. Educational pricing is available for both products.

Both products are compatible with Mac OS X v10.5.7 or v10.6, Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (Service Pack 3 recommended), Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 or Windows 7 (certified for 32-bit Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7). The Mac OS version of eLearning Suite 2 does not contain Adobe Presenter.

Helpful Links

eLearning Suite 2 and Captivate 5 Customer Quote Sheet
eLearning Workflows in eLearning Suite 2
eLearning Suite 2 home page
What's new in eLearning Suite 2 (On-demand seminar)
Top new features in Captivate 5
Captivate 5 home page
What's new in Captivate 5 (On-demand seminar)

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information - anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

(c) 2010 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe, the Adobe logo, eLearning Suite 2, Captivate, Flash, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Acrobat and Soundbooth are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6275652&lang=en

Press/ Analyst Contacts
Adobe Systems Incorporated
Stefan Offermann, 408-536-4023
sofferma@adobe.com
or
A&R Edelman
Gina Pucci, 650-762-2897
gpucci@ar-edelman.com

Remote Printing from your BlackBerry with BreezyPrint

As I rely more and more on my BlackBerry Curve for the work that I do when I am not in my office I have found the need to be able to print my emails or attachments when they come in. When I heard about a new solution for printing on the BlackBerry I had to give it a try. BreezyPrint offers a unique and simple solution to printing from your BlackBerry to any printers that are connected to your computers. To get started you need to install the BreezyPrint application on your Windows based computer as well as the BreezyPrint application on your BlackBerry. After you have installed BreezyPrint to your computer you can select which printers you would like to give BrezzyPrint access to when printing from your BlackBerry. The set up was easy and intuitive. With the printer configured I turned to an email on my BlackBerry and pressed the Menu key to find the Print option. BreezyPrint will give you the option to print the body of the email or any attachments- select the option you want and then within seconds the list of installed printers pops up for you to choose. Since I configured my HP wireless printer I selected this as my option. BreezyPoint let me know that the attachment would be printed and within a minute my printer was printing the attachment. BreezyPrint sends your encrypted documents to the cloud where it gets processed and then gets sent back to your computer for printing the job.

I have found BreezyPoint a real time saver and great for remote printing documents that I receive on my BlackBerry. I often get emails from my students with attachments that need to be printed and with BreezyPrint I can direct them to print in my college office so that when I arrive I simply can pick them up. The remote printing option is a real time saver and one that has worked well for me. As long as you have the BreezyPrint software on your computer you can direct the print job to any of your configured printers that you have installed. Personal accounts start at $24.95 a year for access to the BreezyPrint service. So if you have a need for printing from your BlackBerry, BreezyPrint is a solid, reliable and easy to use solution. For more information go to BreezyPrint.