Outsourcing Your Flash To HTML5 eLearning Conversions
Did you know that Adobe plans to withdraw support for its Flash Player browser plug-in completely by the end of 2020? In that case, what do you propose to do with all those eLearning courses that have Flash components or were entirely developed in Flash? Instead of letting them gather dust, it makes business sense to salvage whatever is possible by opting for Flash to HTML5 eLearning conversions.
But the all-important question is, do you convert these legacy courses in-house or outsource the conversion to a reliable eLearning vendor? Though there are pros and cons associated with each option, outsourcing Flash to HTML5 eLearning conversions provides a winning proposition. When is this so?
1. Provide Access To Experts
Opting to outsource your Flash to HTML5 eLearning conversion gives you access to a wide talent pool of resources. Depending on your needs, you might want to record, republish, rebuild, or redesign your legacy courses. How will you know when to choose what? An eLearning vendor who has the expertise of working on Flash to HTML5 conversion projects can provide the right answer.
Outsourcing Flash to HTML5 eLearning conversions gives you access to authoring tool experts who can suggest the right tool based on the needs of your conversion project. For example, if your existing Flash courses are high on interactivities and offer customized options, the tool that you might want to consider is Articulate Storyline because of its support for interactivities and customization.
On the other hand, if you have converted a PowerPoint presentation used in classroom training to Flash with the help of a Flash converter, using iSpring as the authoring tool to convert those courses to HTML5 output is your best bet. If you had to do this in-house, imagine the kind of expertise you would need.
2. Address Large Conversion Requirements
When your Flash to HTML5 conversion requirements are large (you have a repository of legacy courses), you might want to consider outsourcing. Let’s assume you have invested in an authoring tool that has the ability to publish courses in Flash and HTML5. In that case, your in-house team (if your organization has one) can simply republish the courses.
But what if your legacy courses were designed using Flash or an authoring tool that does not produce HTML5 output and uses Flash components? Now, there is an imperative need to migrate your eLearning courses from Flash to HTML5, and this can take a lot of time and effort. Handling Flash to HTML5 conversions on a large scale in-house may not make business sense, because of the time, effort, and expertise that’s involved.
3. Save On Training Budget
How can outsourcing Flash to HTML5 eLearning conversions help save training budget, you ask? The general impression is that using an in-house team would save cost. But in reality, that doesn’t happen. An in-house team dedicated to working on Flash to HTML5 conversions will prove to be an overhead cost in the long run. How do you plan to make effective use of these resources once the conversion projects are completed?
Moreover, all Flash to HTML5 eLearning conversions are not the same, and hiring people with specific skill sets is going to prove expensive. Or you might have to think of training the existing team to handle all kinds of conversion projects, which again means an additional expenditure for the organization. Instead, your in-house team can work on their core skill sets and enhance organizational productivity.
On the other hand, when you outsource Flash to HTML5 eLearning conversions, you automatically gain access to a pool of resources (Instructional Designers, graphic designers, authoring tool experts, Project Managers) with varying skill sets. The cost of the conversion becomes directly proportional to your needs.
For instance, the cost of a conversion project that involves rebuild (where content and media is reused from the old course to rebuild the eLearning course in a new authoring tool) is less as compared to one that involves redesign (where the source files may or may not be available and the content itself requires significant changes).
4. Reduce Turnaround Time
Outsourcing Flash to HTML5 conversion projects to an eLearning vendor can give you a cutting edge, as the vendor follows the best practices in the industry. Since there is a well-defined process in place for conversion projects, the turnaround time is less. So, when you have tight deadlines to follow for conversion projects, outsourcing is the best option to consider. If you have to achieve this with an in-house team, you might have to be prepared to face initial delays and confusion till the internal team members synergize to work on a seamless Flash to HTML5 conversion process.
Moreover, your outsourcing partner surely has the advantage of a wide range of experience handling different conversion project. As opposed to an in-house team that’s just getting started with Flash to HTML5 eLearning conversions.
5. Improve Existing Training Programs
When you outsource Flash to HTML5 eLearning conversions, there is an opportunity to improve the existing online training programs. Relook your existing eLearning courses for sound Instructional Design and interactivity. Perhaps, an old course includes ‘nice-to-know content’ that can be moved to an additional resources section in the course. That would make learning more effective by including only the ‘need-to-know content’.
Will a particular group of learners benefit from short learning modules? Are there learners who are on the move? If yes, shouldn’t they be able to access eLearning from their mobile devices? Would you need to translate your old eLearning courses in different languages to meet the training needs of employees in different countries? When you partner with an eLearning outsourcing vendor, there is an opportunity to enhance your current eLearning courses.
An in-house team, on the other hand, might only concentrate on the effective conversion of Flash to HTML5 and may not be able to pay much thought to the scalability of the project or ways to enhance its effectiveness.
If your legacy courses contain proprietary information that cannot be shared outside the organization, you might have to get an in-house team to work on Flash to HTML5 conversions. A workaround for this would be to sign a non-disclosure agreement with your eLearning partner. When it comes to outsourcing, there are challenges to overcome, but the benefits of outsourcing Flash to HTML5 conversions far outweigh its cons.
