Mobile Compatible Courses Now Available!

Your SafetySkills library is now mobile compatible!

We are proud to announce that the SafetySkills library has been updated and can now be launched on mobile devices and tablets. This will be a huge advantage to our clients, but we understand that some of you may have questions or concerns. Please see below for a list of commonly asked questions on what you may need to know about this update.

Important information about Internet Explorer 8

Our new courses are built using HTML5, rather than Flash. This new technology is what allows the courses to play on mobile devices/tablets. HTML5 is not compatible with some older internet browsers, particularly Internet Explorer 8 and below. Considering this web browser is over 6 years old and has some significant security risks, Microsoft will be ending support for this browser on January 12, 2016. For more information on support for Internet Explorer version 8, please CLICK HERE.

Users will need to access the courses from a device that complies with our minimum technical requirements.

Frequently asked questions

1. Can I still take the courses on a PC?
   • Yes, all SafetySkills courses can still be taken from a PC in addition to your mobile device and/or tablet.
2. Does this affect my current assignments?
   • Yes, any assignments that were currently assigned have been replaced with the new HTML5/mobile compatible courses. Additionally, anything new that is assigned will be mobile compatible. Since these are new courses, if a learner had completed a portion of a Flash course that was converted to HTML5 during this update, the bookmark will be lost and the learner will be required to start from the beginning of the course. Any bookmarking after that point will be preserved.
3. How do I know if my phone/tablet is compatible?
   • Our courses have been tested on numerous devices including Apple, Android and Windows devices. If your phone/tablet can support the latest software updates from the manufacturer, they should be able to launch our courses without issue. Please refer to FAQ #4 to learn more about any known issues/incompatibilities.
4. Are there any known issues with this update?
   • Unfortunately, there are a few instances where users may experience some incompatibility issues. Please see below for a list of any known issues:
     • Users completing courses on mobile devices may report inconsistent “Total Times” if they stop on the survey frame.The SCORM and AICC standards have 2 times that are used for tracking, Session_time and Total_time. The total_time can only be set by adding the session_time to it in the LMS when the LMSFinish or ExitAU functions are called. The issue is that mobile devices removed the ability to wireup an event that fires when the window closes, this has traditionally been the best way to capture when the course is finished so the corresponding function can be called. Without a closing event to capture the user leaving the course there would be no way to add the session_time to the total_time, until the course is completed.This has only been discovered with users leaving the training once they reach the survey slide (not going all of the way to the “Congratulations” slide). If they stop on the survey slide and close the course, the course will mark as complete, but will report a total time of 00:00:00. As long as the learner goes to the last frame of the course, the total time should be tracked properly.
     • Known issue with Safari 9.0.1 on a Mac (not on iPhone or iPad).SafetySkills courses work by allowing the learner to watch a section of content, and then asking a few questions. If the learner gets the question wrong, the course will “kick-back” to the related content frames to replay the information for the user. In Safari version 9.0.1 on a Mac, this kick-back feature does not work and will essentially “freeze” on the incorrect question frame to prevent the learner from moving forward. In this instance, we suggest upgrading your browser, or using an alternative browser that complies with our minimum technical requirements.
     • Internet Explorer, version 9 communicates differently than any other browser.IE9 communicates with our SafetySkills courses using SCORM. All other browsers, including mobile devices communicate using AICC. A learner taking a course on IE9 should not have any issues, although if they start the course in IE9 and try to complete the course using any other browser (or vice-versa), the course will not load properly and will require the user to finish the course on the initial browser.
     • Internet Explorer, version 8 is not compatible with HTML5 courses.Any user accessing the courses from IE8 will not be able to load the courses. To learn more about our end of support for IE8, please read this article: SafetySkills Ending Support for Internet Explorer, Version 8.
5. If I take the course on my phone/tablet, will the system still track my progress and supply a certificate of completion?
   • Yes! Taking a course on your phone/tablet will still track just like it would on a PC. You will also still have access to your certificates from either a mobile device or a PC no matter which platform you originally completed the course from.
6. Were ALL courses converted?
   • All SafetySkills courses were converted, except for any courses in the Canadian, Traditional or International series.
7. Where did my Spanish courses go?
   • A major benefit of having HTML5 courses is that our courses can now be “Bundled”. This means if there are multiple languages available for a single title, the languages can be bundled into one course. Admins will just need to assign the single course to their learners and the learner will have the ability to choose the desired language when they launch the course.You can see which languages are available for courses by clicking the “Course Filter” drop-down on the courses tab, and selecting a language.
8. Why was this change made?
   • As SafetySkills grows and evolves, customers have raised questions about when we would be able to include certain features into our course library, such as mobile functionality, multiple language bundling and accessibility functions for learners with disabilities. Adopting HTML5 is a major step towards full implementation of these features. When SafetySkills began creating courseware in 2007, Adobe’s Flash was the main way graphical content was displayed online, and most of our course catalog is in Flash format. However, Flash’s insistent drain on system resources and battery life led many tablet and phone manufacturers to phase out support for Flash as HTML5 became a reliable replacement. For a more detailed explanation of the differences between HTML5 and Flash, and SafetySkills’ reasoning for undergoing these conversions, click here.

Please contact [email protected] for more information or if you have any questions.