Authoring Requirements for the WPS Mobile Style

WPS 6.5, Beta VersionRevision Date: March, 2009

About This DocumentThis document describes the authoring requirements for the WPS mobile style. Users will learn about style features they can use and how best to author content and test it to create a mobile Companion Website.

Copyright 2008-2009 Pearson Education WPS is a trademark of Pearson Education.Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.Adobe, Creative Suite, Device Central, DreamWeaver, Flash, Flash Lite, Illustrator, and PDF are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems, Inc.iPhone is a registered trademark of Apple, Inc.Microsoft, Pocket PC, Windows and Word are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.Motorola is a registered trademark of Motorola, Inc.Nokia is a registered trademark of Nokia Corp.Opera is a registered trademark of Opera Software ASA.Palm and Tungsten are registered trademarks of Palm, Inc.BlackBerry is a registered trademark of Research in Motion, Ltd.

Authoring Requirements for the WPS Mobile Style

Contents1 Introduction...........................................................................................................................1

Requirements...........................................................................................................................1Choosing What to Support......................................................................................................2Incompatible Companion Website Features...........................................................................2Using Simulators While Developing.......................................................................................3

Simulating Handhelds with Firefox..................................................................................3Acquiring the BlackBerry Simulator................................................................................3Acquiring the Windows Mobile Software........................................................................3Adobe Mobile Support.....................................................................................................4Using Other Simulators....................................................................................................4

2 Authoring Content................................................................................................................5Using Problemsets...................................................................................................................6

Tutorial Mode...................................................................................................................7Randomizing Answers......................................................................................................7Using the Problemset Timer.............................................................................................8Question Hints and Feedback...........................................................................................8

Authoring for Desktop/Laptop Browsers and Mobile Devices...............................................8Adding Media..........................................................................................................................8Nested Content........................................................................................................................9

3 Working with Styles and SMS...........................................................................................10Using SAM............................................................................................................................10

Flash cards......................................................................................................................10Previous/next buttons......................................................................................................11Using Study Plan............................................................................................................13

Using SMS............................................................................................................................13

4 Testing and Launching.......................................................................................................14Using Validators....................................................................................................................14Testing on Different Devices................................................................................................14Testing with Simulators........................................................................................................14

A Marketing your Mobile Site..................................................................................................15

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Authoring Requirements for the WPS Mobile Style

1 IntroductionThe WPS mobile style lets you author Companion Websites that can be viewed on a mobile device such as a BlackBerry 8700 or a Palm Tungsten E2. The mobile style also works with MP3 players, video game consoles, and ultramobile computers. The style provides the following features:

A tutorial mode which presents and grades single questions before the next question is shown to the user.

Flash cards which allow students to study key terms at their convenience.

Previous/next navigation.

Language support for German and Italian.

UTF-8 character support.

RequirementsTo use the WPS mobile style, you need the following hardware and software:

Authoring Requirements

A desktop computer with access to WPS to author the Companion Website.

Testing Requirements

A PDA, cell phone, MP3 player, video game console, or ultramobile computer with WIFI support

A mobile web browser with XHTML Mobile Profile support and the ability to store cookies

Note Pearson Education has tested the mobile style on the following devices. Similar devices and devices that meet the previously listed requirements should also be compatible but Pearson cannot guarantee that every possible device will work with the mobile style.

The mobile style was tested on the following devices and browsers:

Devices

Blackjack2

iPhone 3G

Moto Q

Nokia N95 (S60)

Palm TREO 700p (Palm OS)

Palm TREO 700w (Windows Mobile OS)

PSP

HTC TyTN

iPod Touch

Nintendo DS

Palm Centro

Palm TREO 750

RIM BlackBerry 88x0

RIM BlackBerry Pearl

Browsers

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Authoring Requirements for the WPS Mobile Style

Safari web browser

BlackBerry browser

Opera

Blazer® mobile web browser

Internet Explorer Mobile browser

Important Not all mobile browsers work with all devices. Be sure to test your Companion Website with the devices and browsers you want to support.

Note Most of the mobile devices we tested had some issues with specific UTF-8 characters. We suggest that you verify any Companion Website content using the mobile style on a range of actual devices before publishing. Testing your content in this way ensures all characters in the site display properly.

Choosing What to SupportBefore you start developing your mobile site, give some thought to the features in the site you want to support. For example, do you want a simple site that can be viewed on many devices or a site with JavaScript and/or video that targets fewer devices and a specific audience? These questions are important because they will affect the kind of site you ultimately create and deliver.

The approach the mobile style has taken is to avoid the more advanced web technologies such as JavaScript, Flash, and video files, in favor of simpler sites that are accessible to more devices and more users. This does not mean you cannot use these technologies, it only means that if you decide to include Flash, for example, you will need to identify the target devices, browsers, and applications that will be required to support Flash on your mobile site.

For the widest range of support, require nothing more than the W3C’s Default Delivery Context, located at http://www.w3.org/TR/mobile-bp/#ddc.

Incompatible Companion Website FeaturesThe following standard Companion Website features are not currently implemented for the WPS mobile style:

The Grade Tracker and Class Manager applications

The following question types

o Essay

o Fill in the blank

o Matching

o Labeling

o Pattern match

Websearch modules

Browser Tune-up, available to all Companion Websites authored with the default WPS style (cw_2005)

Profile support, a common feature in many Companion Websites authored with the default WPS style (cw_2005)

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Authoring Requirements for the WPS Mobile Style

The ability to email quiz results

Hints for problemset questions

The problemset timer

Study Plans

Exporting content for offline use.

Using Simulators While DevelopingDepending on the target devices you want to support and the budget you have to acquire them, you may find it easier and less expensive to use one or more mobile simulators when developing, and subsequently testing, your mobile Companion Website. This section gives some general instructions and URLs for obtaining mobile simulator software.

Simulating Handhelds with FirefoxWhile not a simulator per se, the Web Developer toolbar for the Firefox browser has a feature that allows you to display content by media type. You can use the Web Developer toolbar to show you how the content will look on a handheld device with your desktop or laptop computer. To download the toolbar, visit http://chrispederick.com/work/web-developer/.

Acquiring the BlackBerry SimulatorTo test mobile applications on a BlackBerry device, you do not necessarily need a BlackBerry Wireless Handheld and its entire BlackBerry Enterprise Service infrastructure. The BlackBerry Device Simulator simulates the behavior of UI elements and the events in almost the same manner as you would use a mobile device. The simulator makes visualization and testing easier too.

To acquire the BlackBerry Simulator:

1. With a web browser, display the BlackBerry homepage, http://na.blackberry.com/eng/developers/downloads/jde.jsp

2. Download and install BlackBerry JDE v4.x

3. With a web browser, display the web page at http://na.blackberry.com/eng/developers/downloads/simulators.jsp

4. Download and install BlackBerry Handheld Simulator v4.0.x (use the JDE number)

You have installed the Mobile Data Service (MDS) and the handheld or device simulator. To use the BlackBerry Simulator, first open the MDS, then the device simulator.

Acquiring the Windows Mobile SoftwareMicrosoft provides a simulator for Pocket PC 2005 and Pocket PC 2003 as part of their software development kit (SDK) for each product. Use the following URLs to learn more on the requirements to use each simulator.

To learn more about Pocket PC 2005: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=83A52AF2-F524-4EC5-9155-717CBE5D25ED&displaylang=en

To learn more about Pocket PC 2003: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=4953d34d-692f-4c87-ac69-cb235dbdad1d&displaylang=en

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Authoring Requirements for the WPS Mobile Style

Adobe Mobile SupportAdobe provides support for mobile devices with a feature called Device Central. It is bundled into several of their products including Photoshop, Flash, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, and their Creative Suite. To learn more about this feature and how it might assist you, visit http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/devicecentral/.

Using Other SimulatorsOther simulator software is available at http://www.asp.net/mobile/device-simulators/. Use these simulators as needed. iPhone simulators are part of the device’s SDK. You can download the iPhone SDK from http://developer.apple.com/iphone/program/. Also visit the Device Anywhere web site at http://www.deviceanywhere.com. This service provides access to hundreds of real handsets, on live worldwide networks, remotely over the Internet enabling you to test your test against the handheld devices you want to support.

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Authoring Requirements for the WPS Mobile Style

2 Authoring ContentContent authored in WPS for use with the mobile style must be compliant with the XHTML Mobile Profile. If you have not authored XHTML code before, it is similar to HTML except that all tags are terminated and all attribute values are delimited with quotes (for example, align="left"). For more information on the XHTML Mobile Profile, visit http://www.developershome.com/wap/xhtmlmp/. Following the Mobile Web Best Practices, located at http://www.w3.org/TR/mobile-bp/, is also recommended.

The content you author resides inside one or more WPS objects. These objects are created in WPS and then stored in the WPS content database.

Below is a summary of the objects that the mobile style supports. For more details about these objects or how to author a Companion Website with WPS, read the WPS Authoring Help.

WPS Object Description

Volume The content for your site begins with volumes. Each volume contains a set of content that you publish (launch) as a Companion Website.Volumes are identified by a label. The volume label in WPS conforms to the following rules: The first character must be a letter. You can include any ASCII letter, any number, hyphens, and

underscores in the label. Use only lowercase letters in the alphabetic sections of the

label. Do not include ampersands (&), or periods (.) in the label

because some output formats cannot display them correctly. Since HTML entities begin with an ampersand, you cannot include these items in volume labels.

Do not include spaces or Unicode symbols in volume labels. For mobile sites, we recommend you keep the label as short as possible because the label determines the final URL of the site, and entering a long URL on a mobile device can be difficult.

Part A portion of a site that allows authors to group and organize chapters and other elements at a high level. Organizing content into parts also provides a simple mechanism for separating content that will be password-protected from content that is unprotected. Parts can contain any other component or any module except volumes.

Chapter A logical organizer that allows authors to mirror chapters from the book associated with the Companion Website. Chapters contain no content of their own and, by default, are numbered sequentially.

Appendix A logical organizer that allows authors to mirror appendixes from the book associated with the Companion Website. By default, appendixes are lettered sequentially, starting with A. Appendixes contain no content of their own.

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Authoring Requirements for the WPS Mobile Style

WPS Object Description

Resource A logical organizer that is not numbered and contains no content of its own

Introduction A logical organizer that is not numbered and contains no content of its own.

Basic Module Blank HTML pages that you can use to add any content you require.

Destinations A set of links to individual URLs. For each link, you enter the destination URL, the link text and, optionally, a description of the link.

Group Blank HTML pages that you can use to add any content you require, like basic modules. Groups also let you organize related content by parenting any module off it, allowing you to create multiple levels to your site.

Problemset Quizzes with one or more questions. Problemsets also include a grader (the WPS Apache grader) so that the answers entered by students can be scored. For more information on problemsets refer to Using Problemsets on page 6.

Multiple-choice question A question given to students that offers multiple answers from which the student selects the correct one. A question can contain multiple correct answers. When a question provides multiple correct answers, a student must select every correct answer for the question to be graded correct.

True/False question A statement which the student must determine whether it is true or false.

Using ProblemsetsProblemsets have the following requirements:

All problemsets must contain at least one question that has been edited and saved. Adding a question without also editing it is insufficient.

Multiple-choice questions require at least two answers, and at least one of them must be designated correct.

True/false questions require a designated correct answer.

The grader also imposes a limit of 200 questions per problemset. However, since navigation on some handheld devices can be cumbersome, you probably want to limit the number of questions in a quiz to 10 or 20.

Do not include JavaScript in problemsets, question answers, and feedback. It can affect grader execution.

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Authoring Requirements for the WPS Mobile Style

Tutorial ModeTutorial mode allows the student to receive grading and feedback question by question:

To select tutorial mode for a problemset:

1. Log into WPS and navigate to a problemset.

2. Select Problemset Information.

3. Select Tutorial from the Module Mode field.

4. Click Save and Close to save your selection.

Randomizing AnswersProblemsets allow you to randomize answers once at launch time. Multiple-choice questions also support randomizing answers each time the quiz is loaded but this feature is not supported in the mobile style. Consequently all answers in a quiz appear in the same order every time a student displays it on his or her handheld device until the site is relaunched.

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Authoring Requirements for the WPS Mobile Style

To enable randomization of answers at launch:

1. Log into WPS and navigate to a problemset.

2. Select Problemset Information.

3. Select On from the Randomize Answer Sequence field.

4. Click Save and Close to save your selection.

Using the Problemset TimerProblemsets provide a timer which can be used in traditional Companion Websites to determine if a student can complete a quiz within a specified period. In mobile Companion Websites, the timer is not supported.

Question Hints and FeedbackAll WPS questions provide hints and feedback; however, the mobile style does not support hints. Question-level feedback can be included in Multiple-choice questions and answer-level feedback is supported in Multiple-choice and True/False questions.

Authoring for Desktop/Laptop Browsers and Mobile DevicesIf you want to single source your content for both traditional desktop browsers and a set of mobile devices, you will want to adhere to the limitations for mobile devices. For example, you should not include labeling questions in your site since the mobile style does not support them.

However, you may find the list of limitations for mobile devices too restrictive and want to include one or more features in your desktop site that is not available in the mobile version. If you choose to do that you will need to author two sites: the desktop site and the mobile site.

Adding MediaLike any website in the world, your mobile Companion Website can use images in the standard web formats: GIF or JPEG. All images should have a width no greater than 72 pixels. The height of the image depends on the devices you select to support. Generally, a height of 72 pixels works well with most devices. If you do not mind the user scrolling, images can be taller.

Note The fewer images you use the better because each image adds to the load time of the web page that references it.

When you add an IMG tag always provide width, height, and alt attributes for image tags as follows:

<img src="_pearson_mobile/pearsonlogo.gif" width="70" height="41" alt="Pearson Education" />

Use of other media, such as video, PDF files, or Word files, is discouraged because:

It limits the available mobile web browsers that are compatible with your site.

It requires the user to have additional external applications to view these files.

It lengthens the load time of the web page using this media.

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Authoring Requirements for the WPS Mobile Style

Nested ContentUsing groups in WPS you can add multiple levels to your Companion Website. When a traditional desktop/laptop browser is used to view the site, navigating a deep Companion Website is not usually an issue. However, on mobile device, where navigation can be cumbersome, you probably want to limit the depth of the site to three or four levels. If you include five or more levels, a Skip link is added to the breadcrumbs at the top of the site, as shown in the following figure. Clicking the link lets you move passed the navigation and into the content of the current page.

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Authoring Requirements for the WPS Mobile Style

3 Working with Styles and SMSWPS styles control the appearance of Companion Websites. To use a style you select it from the list of styles and apply it to your site. Typically, the style used predominately throughout a site is applied to the volume object. When this is done, all other objects in the site inherit the same style.

Using this technique you can apply the mobile style to the volume object to use the style throughout your mobile site.

Important Do not mix styles within your mobile Companion Website. The mobile style does not support the use of multiple styles with it and you could produce unexpected results if you mix any other style with the mobile style.

The mobile style does not support replaceable images, replaceable CSS, replaceable text, or multiple skins. This is to allow the style to be updated as mobile devices evolve. As such, overriding the CSS at the content level is not recommended.

Using SAMThe Style Attributes Manager (SAM) provides many options you can use to customize the appearance and behavior of your site. Except where noted below, none of these options are supported by the mobile style.

Flash cardsFlash cards allow students to study key terms at their convenience. Each flash card shows a term and provides a button that flips the card to show the definition.

You can add flash cards using a Basic module and the Style Attributes Manager.

To add a Flash card:

1. Create a WPS basic module, and enter any introductory text in the Page Content area, as you normally would for any WPS module.

2. Select Style Attributes:

3. Select the Custom Maps tab:

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Authoring Requirements for the WPS Mobile Style

4. Enter Flash_Cards for the Map Title. The Map Title is not case-sensitive. Leave the ID check boxes cleared.

5. Enter the terms as Pair Elements and enter the definitions as Values. Click the Add Additional Pair button to add as many pairs as you need.

Previous/next buttonsNavigating on a mobile device can be cumbersome. To save space, the style does not include the typical left navigation found in traditional Companion Websites, which compounds the problem.

To make navigation easier, the mobile style gives content authors the ability to place previous/next navigation inside any container element where it makes sense. For example, you could add previous/next navigation between one Basic module and the next or between multiple quizzes.

One way to add previous/next navigation is to create a group module and place objects inside it. Then set the navigation mode of the group object to Daisy-Chain. This approach, while easy to set up, does not allow you to customize the text of the Previous and Next links. If you want to add a label following the words previous and next, you can use the Style Attributes Manager (SAM) to define the labels you need.

To add previous/next navigation and the optional label:

1. Log into WPS and navigate to the object whose children you want to connect using previous/next navigation:

Example

Choosing Chapter 1 in this example leads to previous/next navigation between Quiz, Flash Cards, and Tutorial.

2. Select Style Attributes:

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Authoring Requirements for the WPS Mobile Style

3. Select the Custom Options tab:

4. Enter previous_next for the option title. The option title is not case-sensitive. Leave the ID check box cleared.

This produces previous/next navigation using the words previous and next only:

5. Optionally, if you would like to add a word or words to appear with the previous/next navigation, add the word or words as the Option Value. This value will appear exactly as you type it, including spaces and case. Try to keep this value short. Do not select the ID check box.

Example

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Authoring Requirements for the WPS Mobile Style

This adds your word choice to the previous/next navigation:

Using Study PlanThe use of a study plan with the mobile style is not supported.

Using SMSWPS uses the Pearson Subscription Management System (SMS) to protect content at published Web sites. Details for setting SMS protection and how it works are in the WPS Authoring Help. You may also need to refer to the SMS Project Workplace if you need to set up one or more access codes for your Companion Website.

Of the three page sets that WPS supports (Pearson_Default, which allows users to register for an SMS product, Pearson_No_Registration, and Mobile_No_Registration) you can only use the Mobile_No_Registration page set with the mobile style. Also, custom page sets (supported by WPS) are not supported with the mobile style.

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Authoring Requirements for the WPS Mobile Style

4 Testing and LaunchingAs you develop your Companion Website, be sure to test it to ensure it operates as you intend. You can test your site in several different ways:

Preview individual an object – enables you to view the current object with the mobile style applied. The object will work as if it had been launched and you can navigate to other parts of the site too. To preview an object, click its Preview button.

Launch the site to the WPS Content QA (CQA) environment – lets you stage the entire site on a WPS server so you can access as if it were live and in production. The CQA team does not have a mobile web-testing program at this time but can test your site on the CQA server using standard WPS testing actions.

Using ValidatorsOnce you launch a site, verify that the HTML coding of each object is XHTML-compliant using an HTML validator. The World Wide Web Consortium provides validators at http://www.w3.org/QA/Tools/. Use the Markup Validator, the Mobile OK Validator, and the Link Checker to verify the site adheres to mobile standards.

Testing on Different DevicesAs you test your Companion Website in the CQA environment, be sure use the different devices and browsers you plan to support. While testing with every possible device and browser is impossible, selecting a few representative devices and browsers will ensure that students will encounter few problems when your site is launched live.

Testing with SimulatorsIf you developed your mobile site with mobile simulators, be sure to use them to test the site too. If you have not used any simulator up to this point, you can use them to test. For information on getting started with simulators refer to Using Simulators While Developing on page 3.

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Authoring Requirements for the WPS Mobile Style

A Marketing your Mobile SiteOnce you complete development of your mobile Companion Website, test it, and request it be launched to the live server, you are ready to start marketing it. Marketing your site ensures your intended users know about it and can navigate to it.

The most common way Pearson business units promote their sites is:

By email

By another web site

Regardless of the method(s) you select, we suggest you include the hardware and software requirements for your mobile site. Be sure to also include a list of supported devices and any special operating instructions.

For example, if you create a site that uses Flash Lite, be sure to include that in the list of software requirements. Likewise, if you test your site against Nokia cell phones and the Opera mobile web browser, include this information in your list of supported devices and supported software.

Other information to include will be items that produce a poor user experience. For example, if you find that Motorola cell phones do not perform well on your site, be sure to state that information too. In this way, you can attempt to reduce the number of support calls you would otherwise receive.

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