Introduction

Please refer to this documentation during the setup and testing of your subscription content. We want your learners to have a positive experience with the content you select, starting with their first launch, and this information helps ensure that course assets load and operate as expected.

We recommend checking back when adding a new OpenSesame Plus publisher to your program or if you significantly change your elearning environment, such as switching from one Learning Management System to another. (If you do switch learning platforms, please contact us for best practices to smooth the transition.)

When in doubt, or if you encounter any problems along the way, reach out to us at support@opensesame.com!

 

In this document:

• Getting started
• Receiving emails from OpenSesame
• Desktop and laptop systems
• Mobile devices
• Connection speeds
• Network settings
• In-course assets and supporting software

Getting started

Legacy operating systems and browser versions

The versions listed in this document are recommendations to optimize the learner experience. OpenSesame content will often still perform on older versions. If a version is no longer actively supported by the company that created it, we cannot guarantee compatibility.

If your audience uses devices with legacy software, we recommend testing content there before delivering courses to learners.

File formats

If you will be using a Learning Management System (LMS) or a similar learning platform, please confirm which elearning file formats it supports. OpenSesame can provide course files in two standards: AICC or SCORM 1.2.

We recommend AICC because its server-to-server communication is the most reliable. That method also allows AICC to work consistently in LMS mobile apps, which is an advantage over SCORM. eLearning trends strongly favor mobile use, and switching out package types later would require significant manual LMS work on the customer side.

If you start out using files in one format and decide to switch, be sure to contact support@opensesame.com before updating that setting in your OpenSesame Dashboard.

If you will be using OpenSesame CourseCloud Legacy, you do not need to worry about file formats.

Content delivery

OpenSesame uses our patented method for the secure delivery of course content. When a learner launches an OpenSesame course, their access is checked by our system. Once their seat license is validated by OpenSesame, the content is served on demand via our secure global Content Delivery Network (CDN).

Some OpenSesame publishers host assets on their own CDNs. For details, see Network settings.

System status

To opt in to notifications about OpenSesame’s system status, history, and scheduled maintenance, see How can I get notified about site outages and planned downtime?

Receiving emails from OpenSesame

Automated, account-related messages are sent from info@opensesame.com to the email address on file. You can add other addresses to an account’s Notification List by navigating to Account Settings when logged in. (If you share access to OpenSesame with a Team, Team administrators are automatically opted in to notifications.)

If you use CourseCloud, messages are sent from noreply@coursecloud.opensesame.com.

Any email correspondence with our Support team will be sent from support@opensesame.com.

Please allow messages from these addresses past any firewalls or spam filters.

Desktop and laptop systems

Hardware

• 1 GB of RAM or greater
• 2 GHz processor or greater
• Audio support (speakers and/or headphones)
• Minimum screen size available for course: 1024 px x 768 px

Operating systems

PC

• Windows 8.1 or newer
• Set system’s zoom to 100%

Mac

• macOS 10.14 (Mojave) or newer
• Set system’s zoom to 100%

Browser support

Fully supported browsers

• Chrome (versions 73 and higher recommended)
• Firefox (versions 66 and higher recommended)
• Microsoft Edge (versions 79 and higher)
• Safari (versions 14 and higher recommended)

Browser settings

• Accept third-party cookies*
• Turn off pop-up blockers
• Set browser’s zoom to 100%
• (Safari only) Allow cross-site tracking**

* While the majority of OpenSesame publishers do not require cookies, in rare cases cookies may be necessary for a course to operate.

** On Apple desktop and laptop devices, Apple’s Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) will continue to block cookies even when they are allowed in Safari’s Settings > Privacy menu. To allow cookie-requiring content to play in Safari, turn off “Prevent Cross-Site Tracking” and "Block all cookies" in that menu.

Mobile devices

Planning for mobile

If you expect your learners to take courses on smartphones or tablets, we recommend using the AICC file format. AICC uses server-to-server communication, which allows for more consistent performance across apps.

While all OpenSesame courses are compatible with mobile devices, be sure to consider the factors that impact a mobile experience, such as screen size, LMS or browser apps, course length, course format, and legacy devices. We highly recommend thoroughly testing all courses on these devices to ensure compatibility and optimize the learner experience prior to launch.

Hardware

• Android devices running Android 10 or newer
• iPhone and iPad devices running iOS 12.5 or newer
• Audio support (speakers and/or headphones)
• Wi-fi support

Operating systems 

• Android: 10 (released September 2019) or newer
• iPhone: iOS 12.5 (released December 2020) or newer
• iPad: iOS 12.5 or newer, or iPadOS 14.6 or newer

Browser app support

• Chrome app 72 or newer
• Firefox app 15 or newer
• Safari app (automatically updated with iOS)

Browser app settings

• Accept third-party cookies*
• Turn off pop-up blockers
• Set browser’s zoom to 100%
• (Chrome and Safari) Allow cross-site tracking**

* While the majority of OpenSesame publishers do not require cookies, in rare cases cookies may be necessary for a course to operate.

** On Apple mobile devices, Apple’s Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) will continue to block cookies even when tracking is allowed in the iOS or iPadOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking menu. To allow cookie-requiring content to play in the Chrome and Safari apps, allow tracking in that menu and make the following adjustments:

• Enable "Allow Cross-Website Tracking" in Settings > Chrome
• Turn off "Prevent Cross-Site Tracking" in Settings > Safari
• Turn off "Block All Cookies" in Settings > Safari > Advanced

Connection speeds

• We recommend a high-speed Internet connection of no less than 1.5 Mbps
• For mobile devices we recommend avoiding cellular data, which can be unreliable, and instead using a strong wi-fi connection

If your learners will be taking courses on low-speed connections, reach out to support@opensesame.com for assistance with finding courses that require lower bandwidth.

Network settings

If you know that your IT environment has security restrictions, a breakdown of publisher-specific content delivery addresses for the OpenSesame Plus subscription can be found here.

If your learners will be taking courses from restrictive or high-security IT environments—such as those found in banking, health care, or government settings—it might be necessary to allow content delivery from our publishers’ dedicated content servers. Common restrictions can include blocking certain websites, such as Wistia.

If you’re unsure whether allowing publisher domains is needed on your network, we recommend proceeding with testing courses to verify that your network is already configured to play OpenSesame content. If the courses don’t work, you may need to adjust security settings, including the following:

• Allow https://www.opensesame.com and https://player.opensesame.com
• Allow publisher-specific delivery addresses as needed (found here)

Your IT team should be able to update these settings on a network-policy level.

In-course assets and supporting software

Some of our publishers include downloadable assets within their courses.

Most of these are PDF files, and in order to view them it would be necessary to have a PDF reader installed, such as Adobe Acrobat (available as a free download from Adobe). Some publishers include a .docx version alongside PDFs, which would require a copy of Word 2007 or newer to preserve the formatting.

For courses centered around specific software programs, publishers may occasionally include tutorial files—in such formats as .xlsx, for Excel courses—allowing learners to follow along with a course’s instructions. In such cases, for a learner to make use of those files it would be necessary for them to have the relevant program installed on their machine.

 

If you have further questions, our Support team is here to help via email at support@opensesame.com or via live chat and phone. Feel free to reach us at (503) 808-1268, ext. 2, or at +44 203 744 5541 in Europe.