I have a possible dilemma; although, maybe I'm just over thinking this issue.
Our Flash designers are brand-new to ActionScript. They are comfortable using simple AS3 commands (i.e. gotoAndStop); however, they are not ready to begin developing custom interactions(i.e quizzes, drag and drops, etc).
So, our temporary work around is to have them create the core content of their lesson in AS3. Then, for basic quiz/interaction functionality at the end of each course, they will use the Flash quiz templates.
Unfortunately, these templates are in AS2; therefore, once the core content of the course is completed, they will have it load the AS2 swf with the quiz interactions.
Here is my dilemma. We will have the AS3 SCORM class incorporated with the core content of the course. I know that this swf will talk with the LMS; however, will the AS2 swf talk to the LMS as well through the AS3 SCORM class - OR - do we need to incorporate pipwerks AS2 SCORM wrapper into that swf?
I hope that makes sense and I appreciate any insight you can offer.
AS2 files won't work with AS3 files; Flash Player will run them in different 'sandboxes' and won't let them communicate with one another. You basically need to choose AS3 or AS2 and stick with it for everything.
I wonder if the new Flash CS4 includes Learning Interactions that use AS3? I'll have to check.
I was expecting that answer, but hoping I'd be surprised. So, if we want to go with ActionScript 3.0, we've got to create custom interactions. Is that the only way around this one?
Let's hope! I've googled it and can't seem to find anything. Does anyone happen to have a trial version/purchased version of CS4? If so, could you look into this and let me know? I really appreciate it!!
I just installed CS4 today, and no sign of learning interaction templates for AS2 or AS3.
Dan Carr (author of most of the interactions) mentioned a couple of years ago that the interactions needed to be overhauled, so I guess Adobe finally decided to pull them, but without issuing suitable replacements?
I suppose you could visit Dan's site and ask him about it. He's a nice guy and would give you an honest answer. For all I know, he's already developed some AS3 versions but may not have distributed them. I believe he also does contract work; you could probably hire him to build you new ones. :)
Thanks so much for the info. Due to some tight deadlines, we've decided to put the first course out in ActionScript 2. This might be a dumb question, but will your AS2 SCORM class work with the interaction templates?
the SCORM class simply makes it easy to use SCORM in your AS code; it doesn't handle scoring or anything like that, it only handles communication. For the Flash interactions, you'll have to customize them to use my SCORM class.
I think that makes sense. So, I'll incorporate your AS class for communication with the LMS. Then, within your package, I'll include the different run-time events needed for the interactions. Is my thinking correct in this?
I've been playing around with the AS2 class and have it up on the LMS (thanks in large part to your tutorials). At this point, I'm not worried about obtaining a score; rather, I'm confused as to how I get it to show 'completed'.
In your tutorial, you have a function for 'resetPlanets' with a conditional statement. How would I get that to work for the Flash template based interaction? There isn't a way to give it an instance name as it must be 'broken apart' to access the component inspector.
Have you ever messed around with these and included them with your SCORM class?
I would second the notion on checking in with Dan Carr. He would more than likely know or will point you in a good direction and is very approachable.
As a side note, I spoke with Andrew Chemey at DevLearn last year and he mentioned that there was a possibility of introducing more Scorm support with in Flash, somewhat the way it is in Captivate. I am not attending the conference this year... just wondering.