Macromedia Authorware 6 and eLearning Studio Now Available

September 20, 2001

Macromedia, Inc. announced the immediate availability of the Macromedia eLearning Studio, which combines the new Macromedia® Authorware® 6, the industry-leading visual authoring product for creating interactive, e-learning applications, with Macromedia Flash™ 5 and Dreamweaver(R) 4 to provide a comprehensive authoring solution for e-learning. Both Authorware 6 and the Macromedia eLearning Studio are available immediately for purchase directly from the Macromedia Online Store, or from distributors and resellers worldwide.

The Macromedia eLearning Studio enables authors to create engaging learning content that adheres to learning standards from the ADL, AICC, and IMS. Authorware supports AICC-compliant data tracking and elements of the ADL SCORM content model to ensure the courseware can be more efficiently tracked, managed, and reused.

Authorware 6 was recently certified by the Aviation Industry CBT Committee (AICC) as compliant with the AICC’s Web-based CMI Systems guidelines. AICC certification allows Authorware developers to create e-learning content that can be delivered and tracked within any AICC-compliant learning management system.

“The ability to use robust, commercially available authoring software like Macromedia Authorware to create standards-compliant e-learning content is a real benefit to the e-learning community,” said William McDonald, AICC Independent Test Lab Chair and Learning Technology Architect, FSB (FlightSafetyBoeing). “Macromedia Authorware has been a long time supporter/contributor to AICC guidelines over the years and Macromedia’s AICC certifications are a testament of their commitment to open standards.”

In addition to AICC compliance, Authorware ships with a template that demonstrates how to create trackable content using the ADL’s SCORM run-time API. Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) is an initiative sponsored by the US Government to facilitate instructional content development and delivery using current and emerging technologies. Specifically, the ADL SCORM project enables the reuse of Web-based learning content across multiple environments and products.

“Macromedia has done a lot of work to ensure the learning content created by its products complies with our content object model and can be efficiently reused,” said Phil Dodds, chief architect, ADL. “The learning community has worked hard to develop models to improve the lifecycle of courseware and it is gratifying when industry leaders like Macromedia embrace these standards for both the runtime environment and content metadata.”

Authorware also supports the IMS specification on content metadata. A command within Authorware launches an editor that developers can use to create an IMS-compliant metadata file. For assessment, Authorware Question Knowledge Objects support import and export of XML files that comply with the IMS specification for Question-Test Interoperability (QTI).

New features in Authorware 6 also include One Button Publishing for the Web and CD-ROM, enhanced external media support, drag-and-drop media synchronization, XML parsing, and support for streaming MP3 audio. For more detailed information, visit http://www.macromedia.com/go/aw6/ . Macromedia eLearning Studio includes Macromedia Flash 5 and Dreamweaver 4, which can be extended to more easily create trackable learning content through free learning extensions available on Macromedia Exchange.

Pricing and Availability

Both Macromedia eLearning Studio and Macromedia Authorware 6 run on Windows XP, 2000, Me, 98, 95 and NT 4 or higher, and are now available. Macromedia eLearning Studio is priced at $2,999, with upgrades from Authorware 5.x at $899, and Authorware 3.x and 4.x at $1,099. Macromedia Authorware 6 is priced at $2,699, with upgrades from Authorware 5.x at $499, and Authorware 3.x and 4.x at $699. Both products can be purchased immediately from the Macromedia Online Store, or from distributors and resellers worldwide.

About Macromedia

Macromedia is passionate about what the Web can be. Its award-winning products empower designers and developers to efficiently create and deliver the most engaging experiences on the Web, and enable innovative Internet business applications. Headquartered in San Francisco, Macromedia has more than 1,500 employees worldwide and is available on the Internet at www.macromedia.com.