Things that make you go Hmmm...........

So reading my sites that I have subscribed to on instructional design, I have run across an interesting thing that has been on mind since I started at Walden and found some validity to on  http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/  .The issue being the complication of Mobile computing and accessing of instructional websites from mobile devices. For instance most instructional websites for education use flash for construction and design. Now I find this interesting in that a majority of mobile users use iPads and these devices do not support flash. I personally have found this troublesome due to being one of the multitude of iPad users that are enrolled in an on line school (Walden of course) and having issues viewing some of the content that is in the week by week resources. Of course you can always “jail break” your iPad and install Frash (flash for iPad) but then if something goes haywire, you could end up in a serious bind due to no support ( I worked with Apple for two years in tech support and ran into this quite often). So why use flash as a primary conduit when a majority of mobile users are not going to be able to access some content that is needed for instruction? I understand that people have laptops and desktops and access to that information from those devices. But if they are like myself why take my laptop if I can access and use my iPad when I travel I make it light fast and convenient. With the added production software of the iPad I am able to access and work just fine.

            I am not saying that Apple is right for their stance on flash and not allowing it to be installed on the mobile devices like iPhone, iPod touches or iPads. I think that they need to allow for this since they have a large stock in the education world and a majority of their users will be education based. Now I am not saying don’t use it, but there needs to be an alternative or redirection or even a link to a site that is supported for mobile devices. This is just a thought for us as ID students to keep in mind when implementing classrooms and content. I think having this knowledge and foresight would increase the buy in from students and lesson the stress that some have when trying to access their resources from remote and also build a better community of inclusivity.