The Need

Learning Tree International is a world leader in hands-on training for Management and Technology Professionals. Since 1974, over 1.9 million course participants from over 65,000 organizations around the world have enhanced their skills through intensive hands-on exercises under the guidance of expert instructors with real-world experience. Learning Tree needed their students to be able to validate their computer capabilities prior to attending a class. To do this, Learning Tree needed a validation application which was more extensive than the one Adobe offered. The ideal application would include checks for Browser, Audio, Screen Resolution, Java plugin, ActiveX plugin, and operating system.

The Brookwood Solution

After reviewing several options, including building a validation application from scratch, Brookwood designed the most cost efficient and effective solution. Using a combination of Flash and JavaScript, Brookwood created a custom flash application to act as a “wrapper” around the previously existing Adobe Validation Application. This wrapper application handles the tracking, data reporting and user interface, but gathers its data from the existing validator. To accomplish the data retrieval, the wrapper application loads the validator behind the scenes and the student is notified of each step in the validation process. The validator runs through its normal process and the data is extracted by the custom wrapper application. The results are displayed to the user as a green, yellow or red “light” to indicate pass, warning, or failure.

At the end of the process the data is sent to the .Net Validation Manager housed on Learning Tree’s web server which communicates with the Learning Tree database. The parameters for the validation checks are set in an external XML file, allowing Learning Tree to update values in the future. The current validation checks audio enablement; screen resolution; internet browser; support for Java or ActiveX within a web browser; and operating system.

Key Advantages

• Making use of existing application is cost efficient and effective
• Added features track the user and automatically send the results to Learning Tree
• Validation parameters can easily be updated by Learning Tree in the future
• The validation process adds credibility and confidence to Learning Tree’s courses