Foreword

People have a thirst, an unrelenting thirst for knowledge, learning, and understanding; from the mundane how-tos of life, like changing the washer of a leaking faucet, to learning about the possibility of life on habitable exoplanets millions of light-years away. Computers, e-books, tablets, and smartphones with their access to the Internet have all changed the way we learn in incredible, simply amazing ways; here's a personal example of what I'm talking about.

I recently moved from sunny Ventura, California, to sub-zero degrees Myersville, Maryland, in the U.S. In Ventura, I rented a house with a fireplace I never used; however, in freezing cold Maryland, where I purchased my first home, the fireplace has become a huge deal to keep my family and me warm during extremely cold days and nights.

Renters know when something goes wrong with your rental, it's usually a matter of picking up the phone, calling your property manager who sends out a plumber, electrician, and so on to take care of the problem. This is not so when you're the home owner! As a home owner (if you're lucky enough to be handy), you start wearing dozens of tradesperson hats to fix stuff and perform maintenance on your home. And if you're anything like me, the do-it-yourself (DIY) type on a budget, you rush out and buy a bunch of DIY home repair books with a chapter titled, for example, How to Unstop a Toilet in Three Easy Steps, in order to save money.

However, what if your many DIY books don't cover some home maintenance you need insight on? Case in point, fireplaces and how to determine if I need to sweep out the build-up of explosive creosote (wood tar) after burning up cords of wood in the fireplace? So where did I turn to learn about fireplace maintenance? Did I make my way to another bookstore and hope for the best in finding another DIY guide that might cover fireplace maintenance? You know where I'm going with this. The Internet of course! Where thousands of websites, blogs, and videos abound, including wonderful YouTube how-to videos (many made with Adobe Captivate, which publishes directly to YouTube with a few mouse clicks), which provided me with the answers I was seeking in a matter of seconds; all viewable on my phone while sipping my beloved grande extra hot-whipped mocha at my local Starbucks!

I love books. Don't get me wrong, books are incredible (I purchase dozens and dozens each year). But in our short attention span and "blurry-eyed-glued-to-multiple-devices era," printed books must extend their reach from the printed page (such as e-book readers) to the Internet or suffer obsolescence in the future.

Thankfully, you hold in your hands a book that accomplishes this! A book that successfully bridges the gap of the printed page wonderfully to the exciting world—the futuristic world of eLearning and mLearning on the Internet and back to the printed page for all of your answers about the incredible world of eLearning and mLearning creation with Adobe's award winning Captivate 7!

As an eLearning solutions consultant for Adobe, I've seen countless incredible examples of what Captivate authors and developers have done with Adobe Captivate 7. From people working in our state, local, and federal government agencies, to K12 through higher education institutions, nonprofits, healthcare, finance, the military, and commercial enterprises worldwide, I'm always knocked out by the fantastic Captivate projects they share with me. And hands down, I've heard countless times a resounding, "I wanted a powerful solution to create my eLearning and mLearning projects, but I also needed the solution to be easy-to-use—both of which Captivate delivered to me."

I'm excited as heck to re-read this book cover to cover since Damien has jam-packed it with so many best practices, tips, and tricks, which even I don't know and it's my job to know! Don't delay, start your reading today, and jump into the wonderful world of the eLearning and mLearning authoring tool of choice used by your peers the world over.

Sitting by a safe cozy fire,

Richard John Jenkins

eLearning Solutions Consultant

Adobe Systems