UPK 12.1 introduced a range of exciting new features. These have been added to and enhanced via the recently launched Enablement Service Pack 1.This article explores the extra bells and whistles available in UPK 12.1.0.1.
Convert a topic to a video
Possibly the most exciting feature of UPK 12.1.0.1 (ESP1) is that it introduces the Player2Movie application. This enables you to convert a published topic into a video in MP4 format. The video plays the topic in See It! mode, including any sound that was captured as part of the topic.
This provides a way of sharing your content even further, in a way that any user will find easy and intuitive to use. The video could, for example, be embedded in a website or intranet page, or uploaded to a YouTube channel. The user then needs to do little more than press Play in order to learn.
Question pools
One long-awaited improvement to UPK is the ability to create assessments that draw on a pool of relevant questions. Create as many questions as you like – add 20 or 50 questions to an assessment – and then use the new Question Limit property to define how many questions the user must answer. Based on the number you specify – perhaps 5 or 10 questions – the user is presented with randomly selected questions from the pool, within that overall limit.
This means that no two assessments will be identical. You can use the same question pool for pre- and post-assessments, while providing variety for the user. It also discourages the sharing of answers with other users.
Decide on the Required Mode for an LMS
In the past, once you published training content to an LMS or the Knowledge Center, the Required Mode would be selected automatically. This was always the most complex mode available, and was therefore usually Know It? mode. The user could only complete a course or Knowledge Path by completing each topic in that mode.
There is now a new property for topics that you can set in the Developer. The LMS Required Mode property is set to Automatic by default, and therefore works in the same way as it used to. However, you can now override this by selecting from whichever of the Play Modes are available for publishing to the LMS. If you are happy for a user to complete a course by working through every topic in Try It! mode, then you can select that mode as required, for all topics or for specific topics.
Track Test It! mode in the Knowledge Center
If you use Test It! mode for User Acceptance Testing or UPK content review, you’ll be pleased to know that you can now track Test It! mode in the Knowledge Center. The results of each completed topic can be tracked and reported on, and Test Results documents are archived for future reference. This enables you to better measure and evaluate the progress made.
Print Area enhancements
The Print Areas introduced in UPK 12.1.0.1 have already been enhanced. Print Areas enable you to control the visual element for a step in document outputs; for example, in a Job Aid. These were simply a ‘snip’ of the relevant screen – but they now include the action area as well, which draws the user’s eye to the most relevant part of the image.
Conclusion
I was delighted with UPK 12.1 but this Enablement Service Pack lifts its game even further. I hope you’ll explore the possibilities for yourself or with us.
