In 2000, as Element K moved to it's third generation online learning product, combining a new LMS and a new design for content, I was asked to advise on usability issues and to help design both the LMS and content front end user interfaces.

I created a comprehensive online style guide around the design.

The LMS would be delivered using a web interface. The designs enabled user access to a number of new features: login, community, reporting, admin pages, books 24x7, my courses and so on. Many of my suggestions and approaches were incorporated into the final designs.

The content front end, code-named Spark, was rapidly developed and prototyped with a group of very talented people at Element K using Director and Dreamweaver. The UI was designed to handle SCORM compliant content, as well as incorporating several new types of content such as scenarios, new assessment types, tips and so on. We needed to display the user's position withing a block or course using a hierarchical tree in the left hand nav. And the whole needed to be skinnable to allow third party licensee's of the content to wrap in their own branding. We customized the Dreamweaver interface using JavaScript to allow for building XML-based content files.