The first test is whether the objective survived
Compare the source and target version using the learner performance, not topic labels. A webinar called “source evaluation” and an article with the same title may teach different decisions. Write what each version asks learners to do, with what support, and how success is checked. Objective drift occurs when the new container preserves information but drops the action or evidence standard.
How People Learn II supports examining context and transfer. It does not mean every format should produce identical behavior. The diagnosis asks whether the intended relationship is explicit: equivalent objective, narrower role, prerequisite, reference, or promotional entry. Ambiguity is the failure.
Evidence: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Branch 1 and 2: interaction loss or modality mismatch
Interaction loss appears when live questions, feedback, prediction, or practice are converted into passive text or video without a replacement. Modality mismatch appears when material depends on a strength the new medium lacks: a transcript may not show motion, while a video may be poor for scanning a complex table. Identify the missing teaching function rather than adding length.
Create a function inventory for every removed element: orient, explain, model, elicit, feedback, verify, or support transfer. Replace only functions necessary to the target objective. CAST’s guidelines can inform varied engagement and expression, but more formats or interactions do not automatically restore the mechanism.
- Interaction-loss trace: learner never makes the target decision.
- Modality-mismatch trace: essential evidence is difficult to perceive or revisit.
Evidence: CAST; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Branch 3: accessibility regressed during conversion
A source article may have semantic headings and keyboard navigation, while a pasted PDF or video version loses structure, captions, description, or control. Conversely, a captioned video may be converted to email with inaccessible images or confusing reading order. Test the delivered version independently.
W3C’s media guidance supplies specific checks when the target uses audio or video. CAST’s UDL Guidelines support alternative representations and responses. Keep the substantive objective stable while repairing access. An alternative that is obsolete or incomplete can create a new instructional path and should not be counted as coverage.
Structure and reading order valid.
Media captions and transcript current.
Essential visuals described.
Controls and links operable.
Response path accessible.
Evidence: W3C Web Accessibility Initiative; CAST
Branch 4: rights did not follow the asset
An adaptation may add images, music, clips, screenshots, participant contributions, or translations with different permissions. The CC BY-SA deed explains conditions for material under that license, including attribution and indicating changes, but does not make unrelated content reusable. Verify each asset and the scope of permission in the target format.
Look for missing creator, source, license, change notice, ShareAlike handling, performer or participant permission, privacy, and platform terms. A rights failure is not an optimization experiment. Stop distribution, correct the record, and seek appropriate guidance. This article is not legal advice.
Evidence: Creative Commons; W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
Branch 5 and 6: version conflict or false performance signal
Version conflict appears when claims, examples, links, or instructions differ across formats without a clear canonical source. Learners may follow an obsolete email after the article changes. False performance signal appears when reach, opens, views, or attendance are used to claim learning. Those measures describe distribution and attention, not changed-context use.
Build a dependency map from canonical claim or objective to every derived asset, owner, version, and correction route. Pair distribution measures with a relevant learner attempt when the objective warrants it. Preserve missing responses and assistance. Do not force every promotional asset to function as a full lesson; label its role honestly.
Evidence: Creative Commons; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Use a six-branch adaptation trace
Record objective, interaction, modality, access, rights, and version or evidence as six rows. For each, add observed trace, competing explanation, affected assets, owner, immediate protection, and next check. Repair the earliest hard failure first. A rights or access problem may require stopping distribution before instructional refinement.
This diagnosis can identify design gaps but cannot prove causal learning effects. Start with one target format and compare a changed-context task where appropriate. Do not claim a TenMultigure adaptation result. Review by 2027-02-10 or sooner when the canonical source, rights, platform, or learner context changes.
Evidence: Creative Commons; CAST; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Sources and further reading
These references informed this article. A source supports a claim; it does not imply endorsement of TenMultigure or any future product reference.
- Deed — Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 InternationalCreative Commons · Accessed August 10, 2026
Provides the primary reference for conditions applying to actual CC BY-SA 4.0 material, used to diagnose missing attribution, change notice, or ShareAlike handling.
- Making Audio and Video Media AccessibleW3C Web Accessibility Initiative · Accessed August 10, 2026
Provides official media accessibility checks used to identify caption, transcript, visual-description, and player regressions after conversion.
- CAST Universal Design for Learning GuidelinesCAST · Accessed August 10, 2026
Supports multiple representation and expression paths used to distinguish a legitimate adaptation from an incomplete or inaccessible copy.
- How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts, and CulturesNational Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine · Accessed August 10, 2026
Adds independent context for learner activity, feedback, and transfer, preventing reach or shared topics from becoming learning evidence.
Reviewed by TenMultigure Editorial Team. See an error or a source that has changed? Tell the editorial team.
Review method: AI-assisted desk research with editorial checks. Reviewed ; next scheduled review . Rebuilt TM-248 as a six-branch adaptation diagnosis covering objective, interaction, modality, access, rights, and version or evidence failures with stop-distribution boundaries.