A summer guide to Xerte opportunities
For many, the academic year winds down and summer holidays approach, and many educational technology developers find themselves with a rare commodity: time. Whether you're a seasoned Xerte veteran or relatively new to creating interactive learning objects, the summer months can present an ideal opportunity to enhance your skills and prepare for the year ahead.
Refresh and revamp your existing content
Summer is the perfect time to revisit your learning object library with fresh eyes. Take a critical look at your most popular Xerte projects and consider:
- Which interactions generated the most student engagement?
- Where did learners struggle or drop off?
- What feedback have you received from educators and students?
Use this quieter period to update content, fix issues, and implement improvements based on user feedback. Consider refreshing outdated examples, updating imagery, or enhancing accessibility features.
Explore advanced features and build templates
If you've been relying on familiar page types, summer offers breathing space to dive deeper into Xerte's sophisticated capabilities. Challenge yourself to experiment with complex branching scenarios, integrate multimedia elements, or explore data visualisation options.
Simultaneously, develop a robust collection of reusable templates for course introductions, assessment activities, case studies, and interactive demonstrations. Having these ready will significantly speed up development when the busy academic year begins.
Connect and collaborate
Summer conferences, webinars, and online communities are buzzing with activity as educators prepare for the new year. This is an excellent time to participate in Xerte community discussions, attend educational technology events, and connect with other developers to share ideas and best practises.
Focus on accessibility and innovation
Use the summer months to audit your learning objects for accessibility compliance - adding alternative text, ensuring proper heading structures, and testing colour contrast. With diverse student needs, making content inclusive should be a priority.
This is also the perfect time to prototype those creative project ideas that got pushed aside during busy teaching periods. Test new pedagogical approaches, develop proof-of-concept projects, or create demonstration materials for stakeholder presentations.
Professional development and documentation
Consider expanding your broader skill set with UX design principles, graphic design tools, or learning analytics. These complementary skills will enhance your Xerte development capabilities.
Finally, document your summer development journey through blog posts or case studies. Sharing your experiments and successes contributes to the educational technology community and can become valuable resources for conference presentations, grant applications, or professional portfolios.
Getting started
The key to a productive summer is setting realistic goals. Start by identifying 2-3 specific areas where you'd like to grow, then create a loose schedule that allows for both focused work and creative experimentation.
Remember that the Xerte community is active year-round, so don't hesitate to reach out for support or collaboration opportunities. The investment you make during summer holidays will pay dividends when the new academic year begins - your students, colleagues, and institution will benefit from the enhanced skills and improved resources you develop during these valuable months.