Responsive design is a technique that assists in the development of courses that are responsive to the screen sizes of various devices.
Throughout the day we use a variety of gadgets based on our preference and what is available to us. There are a rising number of individuals who access the internet on multiple devices rather than just desktop computers. Consequently, it makes sense to develop eLearning courses that are compatible with various types of devices.
Designing eLearning courses to be viewed on a single device is no longer feasible. You would have to create a different course for each device that your learners are able to access on the device of their preference. However, it is pointless to spend the added expense, time and effort required to design a new course for every type of device. The solution to this problem comes in the form of responsive design.
What are the different types of devices and orientations available in Lectora?
The 5 distinct types of devices and orientations available in Lectora are:
- Desktop
- Tablet Landscape
- Tablet Portrait
- Phone Landscape
- Phone Portrait
What is Responsive Design and How Does it Work?
Responsive Course Design (RCD) is a method of developing eLearning courses that provides the best possible learning experience on several devices such as phones, tablets, and desktops. The course material should be visible on any type of device with minimal zooming in or out, allowing the user to get the most out of their learning experience.
One of the most popular and widely used authoring tools is Trivantis Lectora. It has long been a favorite of corporate training professionals due to its Responsive Course Design (RCD) feature, and it is particularly effective when training remote employees.
Explore Popular Instructional Design Strategies to Design Engaging eLearning Courses.
Responsive Course Design (RCD) in Lectora
Lectora enables you to cater for the type and orientation of a device rather than the width of the device’s screen. This unique authoring tool offers us 5 distinct designs to choose from:
- Desktop
- Tablet Landscape
- Tablet Portrait
- Phone Landscape
- Phone Portrait
We start with the desktop view, for which the course is designed originally. Then we move onto the other devices such as tablets and phones. The content of the course will be automatically set in position for each type of device. Each device has a customized set of specific viewing requirements which are modified using the inheritance model illustrated below:
Changes made to the desktop’s set of specific viewing requirements will cascade down to all other devices. Changes made to the tablet’s viewing requirements won’t affect the desktop, but they will be passed down to the phone.
Changes to the phone’s viewing requirements will only affect the phone. If the material does not fit within the tablet’s or phone’s screen, the content will be adjusted to suit the precise size of the mobile device’s screen.
This responsive course design (RCD) feature in Lectora enables you to create designs where you always know how information will appear on each device. Also, the content that is designed for the phone will look the same on every phone, regardless of that phone’s screen resolution.
Adding, Deleting, and Removing Objects
Lectora will design and develop your eLearning course to be viewed on the desktop. It will also automatically upgrade the position and size of textual and visual content to be viewed comfortably on a tablet, and the tablet will upgrade the content to be suitable for viewing on a phone.
You can continue exploring the capabilities of Lectora and how you can view and modify your content on different devices and orientations.
Overriding Lectora’s Inheritance
Changing the essence of an object disconnects that object’s RCD inheritance and establishes an “override” for the part of the object that you changed. If you move an image on a tablet to a different place than the position it inherited from the desktop view, an override for the new position is established on the tablet, and the link to the desktop’s original RCD inheritance, or position in this case, is lost.
The location of that object on the tablet is no longer affected by moving it on a desktop. However, changes made to any other property of that object (e.g., size, initially hidden, always on top, etc.) will, however, be inherited over from the desktop to the tablet. The object’s position will be the only thing that will be overruled.
Not all attributes of an object can be overridden on a tablet or phone. Only a few elements can be changed and overruled. While examining the property ribbons of an object, if the name of the property is displayed in color it means that that is an overridable property for that particular object.
Moving & Resizing Objects
RCD inheritance passes down from the PC to the tablet, and then from the tablet to the phone. If there is no override for a particular position or size of an object in the “child” device, then moving or resizing an item on a “parent” device will cause the object to be automatically moved or resized on the “child” device’s screen.
The idea is to relocate or resize an item (or several objects) across all devices’ screens even though you may have previously overridden the default RCD inheritance by performing a unique modification. In order to do this simply hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys (Ctrl+Shift) while dragging an object(s) to relocate it or dragging an object’s corner to resize it.
Conditions and Actions
Lectora designs RCD courses so that the activities and actions within these RCD modules are not overridable. Any change made applies to all devices’ screens and will occur independently of the learner’s device or orientation. You can, however, create actions and activities that are exclusive to a specific screen size.
Other Tips
You can use page layouts to organize content and see how it looks on each type of device and orientation. All the page layout styles have been designed with the purpose of looking great on every device and screen.
Conclusion
Responsive design takes a diagnostic approach to learning design. Learners can access courses from any location and on any device. The capabilities of Lectora make it easy for you to create responsive courses. It assists you when you want to create a course that can be customized for and compatible with a plethora of devices. Today’s learners are more likely to shift from one device to another while completing their eLearning course. This makes Lectora’s RCD capabilities are a boon for eLearning developers.
Check out the free eBook – “The Why and How of Responsive eLearning,” to further explore the benefits of responsive eLearning and understand how to include responsive eLearning into your training strategy.
