11. Previewing Your Specification as an RLO

As the specification develops and content is worked in to the resource, the specification can get quite large and dense. The RLO Specification System enables the author to preview their specification in a way which replicates how the RLO will begin to look as a developed RLO.

This preview offers the opportunity for the author get a feel of how their content begins to look and behave as a multi-page online resource. This alternate view of the specification allows the author to switch role from that of a content author to content consumer or in the case of an RLO, the learner.

This provides an opportunity for the author to utilise all of their experience of consuming and interacting with online material and then decide if their specification is working in this alternate format. Aspects such as large amounts of text, confusing content separation or problematic content flow can be much easier to spot in this view of the specification.

Once the user has selected their RLO Specification to work on there’s a button titled “Preview RLO (New Window)” which opens a new window in which the author can preview their RLO specification as a mock working version.