As of January 1, 2021, Flash Player stopped working and the main browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Edge, among others, no longer allow playing content developed with this technology. Therefore, it is necessary to make an evaluation of the situation and prepare to avoid that the e-learning courses designed in FLASH become obsolete and affect the company’s training plan. Here are some helpful tips to help you get ready:
- Take an inventory of e-learning courses
There is no need to rush to convert FLASH-based courses to HTML5, it is important that you take some time to scan and identify which courses are developed in FLASH, for this you can do the following:
- Place all courses in a repository
- Identify those courses that have files with the extension .FLA, .SWF and .FLV
- Make a list of the courses identified with FLASH resources.
- Check the availability of the source files
- Do a detailed review of each course
Doing a detailed review of each course will allow you to identify which courses need to be updated in their content, which need a change in visual design, or which only need a technology update. Some of your courses can be boring for students, which is why you can take this opportunity to redesign and include audio, video, case studies, interactive activities, and more.
- Decide whether to convert internally or with an external partner
If you currently have a suitable internal production team, you can do the conversion of courses internally, for which we recommend the following:
- Use authoring tools for e-learning courses, there are tools on the market that will allow you to easily convert FLASH-based courses to HTML5 such as Articulate Storyline 360, Adobe Captivate, Lectora Inspire among others.
- Make sure you have the latest version of the authoring tool.
- Prioritize the courses that need to be updated
- Define a work plan together with your team.
If you do not have a work team within your organization and you need to convert a large number of courses, having an external partner is the best solution. Decide on an experienced partner with a validated course conversion process, plus the right tools and resources.
- Don’t overlook quality management.
It is important that, once the courses have been converted, they are subjected to an exhaustive review process that guarantees that the course reaches the end user with the content and design conditions initially defined.
Finally keep in mind that updating FLASH-based courses to HTML5 will allow you among other things:
- Multi-device operation
- Display in all browsers
- Eliminate security threats
- Cost reduction when updating courses is required
