Adapt Learning

What it is

Adapt is a free, open-source e-learning authoring tool. The home page describes it as "a free and easy to use e-learning authoring tool that creates fully responsive, multi-device, HTML5 e-learning content using the award-winning Adapt developer framework." It is for L&D teams, instructional designers, e-learning studios and developers who build self-paced courses and want them to work on desktops, tablets and phones from a single version. The project has two parts: the Adapt authoring tool, a web application in which course builders create content without programming, and the Adapt Framework, the extensible HTML5 framework underneath it, which developers extend with plugins. Finished courses can be delivered from a web server or through a SCORM-compliant learning management system. Adapt is run as a community project rather than sold by a vendor. Its stated principles begin with "The code and authoring tool will be free", and a steering group and a core team guide development, with discussions held in public forums.

What a course builder gets

Responsive design is the idea the whole project rests on. The site explains that responsive e-learning takes its inspiration from responsive web design, so that a single version of a course gives a viewing experience suited to each device, from desktop to tablet to smartphone. For an author, that means one build rather than separate desktop and mobile versions to keep in step.

The authoring tool follows a simple sequence, as the home page sets it out: create an account, log in, create courses, add interactive elements, then preview and publish. The site stresses that no programming knowledge is needed, and two of the project's principles are a low barrier to entry and ease of use for a non-technical audience. A demo is linked from the home page, along with examples of the framework in action and an Adapt showcase.

For developers, the Adapt Framework section of the home page is headed "An extensible HTML5 e-learning framework for developers." The framework powers the authoring tool, and new functionality arrives as plugins; the site has a plugin browser with a collection of plug-ins for the framework. That extensibility is what several users quoted on the home page value. Enzo Silva, a learning strategist at SAP, says open source gives his team "the possibility to expand functionality way into the future", along with the flexibility to work with colleagues around the world on "highly-interactive, mobile-friendly, and accessible content." Accessibility comes up again from Sam Cook, Head of Testing at Kineo, who says that after more than ten years of testing e-learning for accessibility, he has found Adapt content works better with screen readers than any other e-learning he has tested.

The most recent release covered on the site, authoring tool v0.10.0 from August 29, 2019, deals with a practical problem for teams that have used Adapt for years: courses built on different framework versions. Before it, importing a course built on version 2 of the framework into an authoring tool running version 4 was blocked. With v0.10.0, a screen shows what a cross-framework import will do, and every plugin in the course gets a traffic-light rating. White means the plugin matches and needs nothing. Green means the authoring tool has a newer version and will update the plugin automatically during import. Amber means a compatibility issue, so the course uses the tool's existing version and should be tested afterward. Red means the plugin is not supported and must be removed or updated before the import can go ahead. Nicola Willis of Can Studio, who worked on the release, says consolidating courses from several framework versions onto one authoring tool, and managing edits, assets and version control in one installation, "makes life faster and neater for elearning designers." Earlier releases, v0.9.0 and v0.8.0, are listed beside it.

Cost, community and support

There is nothing to buy: the code and the authoring tool are free under an open-source license, and the authoring tool is offered from the site's downloads section. Support comes from the community. The site runs a Technical Forum, described as the central place for all discussions in the Adapt community in English; a Responsive e-Learning Forum on learning design and best practice, whose discussions inform the project's roadmap; a Projects and Jobs Board where people running Adapt projects can advertise paid work and community members can offer Adapt-related services; and a live chat. Documentation and a blog are linked from every page, and the principles list documentation as very important. An organization that wants paid help finds it through the jobs board rather than through a vendor contract.

The vision statement sets five aims: create the leading authoring tool for responsive, multi-device e-learning; encourage a global community of end users and developers; drive wider adoption through the free and open-source license; keep the authoring tool intuitive and easy to use with a typical LMS or website; and support collaborative development and a transition to community-led governance. The principles add stable, high-quality code, openness, quick responses, a focus on learning, and influence over time for people who make significant and continued contributions. Chuck Lorenz, chair of the Adapt Learning Steering Group, sums up the attitude on the home page: "We share in return for what has been shared with us."

The About page lists three LearnX awards for Best Elearning Design Technology: Platinum in 2013 and 2014, and Gold in 2015.

The home page testimonials come from people at SAP, the University of Cambridge, LG Electronics, DeltaNet International, Kineo, Learning Pool and Sponge. DeltaNet International's managing director says the company redeveloped its ready-made compliance and health and safety courses, 30+ hours of material, into cross-platform e-learning with Adapt. Helen Maffin, an eLearning developer at the University of Cambridge, says "Support from the community is phenomenal" and that her own technical skills grew because of it. A senior training instructor at LG Electronics describes a team of trainers who built a new approach to self-paced learning on the Adapt authoring tool.

Who it suits and who it does not

Adapt suits teams that produce a lot of self-paced e-learning and want it responsive without paying license fees per author: corporate L&D groups, universities, e-learning studios and content companies like those quoted on its home page. It works best when someone on the team, or a developer hired through the community, can install and look after the authoring tool and extend the framework with plugins. Courses go out through a SCORM-compliant LMS or a plain web server, so the tool fits beside whatever delivery system an organization already runs, and enrollment and tracking stay in that system.

It suits a solo creator or a small team that wants a hosted service with a vendor's helpdesk less well. Help runs through forums and a community live chat, and the release notes on the site end with v0.10.0 from 2019, so a new team should look at the forums and documentation for the project's current state before committing a course library to it.