eXact learning solutions backs Barack Obama’s plea to prevent human trafficking
A leading learning content management and digital repository solution provider, eXact learning solutions, is among a number of companies which have combined their expertise and products to provide mobile learning materials to US Department of Defense (DoD) personnel to help them combat human trafficking.
The leading learning content management and digital repository solution provider, eXact learning solutions, is among a number of companies which have combined their expertise and products to provide mobile learning materials to US Department of Defense (DoD) personnel to help them combat human trafficking.
In a proclamation made at the end of December last year, Barack Obama, the President of the USA, named January 2011 as ‘National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.’ President Obama said: “Our Nation was founded on the enduring principles of equality and freedom for all. As Americans, it is our solemn responsibility to honor and uphold this legacy.”
“Yet, around the world and even within the United States, victims of modern slavery are deprived of the most basic right of freedom. During National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we rededicate ourselves to preventing and ending human trafficking, and we recognize all who continue to fight this serious human rights violation.”
The President continued: "We cannot strengthen global efforts to end modern slavery without first accepting the responsibility to prevent, identify, and aggressively combat this crime at home… This month, I urge all Americans to educate themselves about all forms of modern slavery and the signs and consequences of human trafficking.”
To help in this campaign against ‘trafficking in persons’ (TIP), ADL, the Advanced Distributed Learning initiative, organised a pilot learning programme - known as the ‘Mobile TIP course’ - delivered via mobile devices to showcase the efficiency of mobile learning in targeting just in time and on the field training needs for DoD staff always on the move and around the world. Among the companies contributing to this pilot was eXact learning solutions, which specialises in developing mobile learning solutions and content.
Judy Brown, of ADL, demonstrated the Mobile TIP course at the recent Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) (http://www.iitsec.org/Pages/default.aspx) in Orlando, Florida. I/ITSEC is the world’s leading event promoting cooperation among the armed services, industry, academia and various Government agencies in the USA in pursuit of improved training and education programmes, identification of common training issues and the development of multiservice programmes.
The TIP is a general awareness course mandated by DoD Instruction 2200.01 “Combating Trafficking in Persons. Trafficking a crime under Federal Law, and the DoD is committed to curtailing the demand for victims of human trafficking. In Oct 2005, recognizing it as a contributing factor to sex trafficking, patronizing prostitution was made a specific, chargeable offense for service members under Article 134 of the US military's statutory criminal law, the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Consequently, since 2005, America’s military personnel have had access to e-learning materials on TIP but only some 60% of these people have completed the course. The online course uses HTML, Flash and video; it contains an introduction and six modules; a pre-test and post-test; it has a glossary and resource links.
eXact learning solutions produced two versions of the mobile content, using its new eXact Mobile 2.0 platform to produce, store and distribute learning packages conforming to SCORM 1.2 ‘lite sequencing’, with GEO location capability and a built-in interface to third party LMSs. At the ITSEC event eXact showcased the content running on iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Blackberry devices within the ADL booth.
As part of the on-going Mobile TIP pilot project, Judy and Jason Haag at ADL are seeing evidence that:
• Progressive enhancement is a good approach that focuses on low end mobile devices first
• Each device and browser-specific interfaces presents challenges for providing a consistent experience
• Device and browser detection is sometimes necessary in order to address device specific interface features, video delivery, and browser-specific functionality (for example Add to Home Screen on iPhone)
• Full screen mode (hide address bar) is consistently supported on most devices
• Some device and browser default settings must be configured
• .png may be the preferred format instead of .gif
• Flash animations are not supported, so alternative slideshows may have to be created using static images
• The optimal length of a mobile course should be much shorter than computer or web-based courses
End