Asian Absolute Newsletter, Summer 2010

The worldwide eLearning industry is estimated to be worth well over EUR 38 billion, and demand is still growing rapidly.

It's not hard to see why eLearning is so popular. eLearning programs have great benefits for corporates and educators alike, delivering interactive learning experiences that are both customizable and consistent. eLearning can be an incredibly cost-effective solution, and removes the barriers of time and space. With eLearning, study need not be restricted to a lecture hall. The same staff training can be easily deployed to a worldwide workforce. And people can learn at their own pace.

Localising eLearning content

At Asian Absolute, we're often asked to localise eLearning packages for new markets. Take it from us – there's a lot more involved than a simple translation. If your target is a global market, then developing eLearning solutions with localisation in mind from the start will save you a lot of time and money.

Some of the services we provide for eLearning content include:

• Checking to make sure that the source content and material are ready for localisation, to avoid having to fix multiple localised versions
• Ensuring that the software applications can handle multiple character sets, language directions, and currencies
• Verifying that the content is compliant with cultural conventions and regional laws for each target market. For example, the content of a training course on anti-money laundering regulations will vary market by market. We often have a Subject Matter Expert (SME) review and update content for our clients.
• Providing Flash engineering, Software localisation, and Website localisation services
• Localising images and screenshots
• Screen capture in localised applications, and incorporating into video clips or animations
• Replacing audio with voice-over recordings for every language, and synchronising with video or animation.
• Delivering high quality, cost-effective subtitling
• Building the course in the original authoring software – either industry-standard (such as Captivate or Articulate) or client-specific – to produce a course that is SCORM-compliant
• Reviewing and testing the eLearning package in a LMS (Learning Management System) to ensure that the localised versions are as good as the original

Flash localisation

You can save time and money by having your original Flash files built in a localisation-friendly way. We've developed solutions to deal with even the most stubborn issues, but well-designed Flash files can be simple to localise. Here are some tips:

• Create a layout that can accommodate text expansion. If your source language is English, plan for text expansion of up to 25%.
• Externalize as much of the text as possible into XMLs or text file includes, and avoid hard-coding text in ActionScript
• Manage all the localisable/translatable elements in the Library: organize the text and audio in folders, and convert translatable objects to symbols
• Comment the code so that strings to be translated can easily be identified
• Do not embed characters in dynamic text fields
• When using voice-over tracks, allow extra time because the duration of localized audio may be longer than the original

When it comes to eLearning and Flash localisation, you can rest assured we've successfully handled some of the most complex projects. Please feel free to contact us to discuss services you need, or enquire for a quote.

For more information on eLearning and Flash localisation, please visit our Website localisation and Software localisation pages.

For further information about Asian Absolute or any of the articles in our newsletter, please contact news@asianabsolute.co.uk

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