Sounds like Microsoft might be entering the e-learning development market. I've requested an invite, but I have yet to actually see it. The marketing stuff isn't particularly clear about what it can do. Seems like you can add interactive features, including quizzes and non-linear branching. Looking to share experiences with anyone who has seen/used it.
Finally go into the beta today. Very slick. I'm impressed. I haven't played around too much with it yet, but I can already tell that there's a lot to like here. Everything is authored in PowerPoint. It seems to be able to add basic interactive quizzes (free-form, multiple choice, multiple response, true/false) as well as to embed 3rd party video content (Khan, CK-12). There's also a web content viewer. These containers use the Office Apps Store framework, so I could see 3rd parties developing and selling their own plug-ins for specialized content. Mix also allows you to do narration/video, screen recording, and to insert screen shots. Looks like you upload everything to the Mix website for viewing and tracking, but it'll be interesting to see how/whether any of it can integrate with an in-house LMS. There's also the ability to produce a video output (not sure what that would do with the interactive stuff). I'll play with it a bit and let you know more.
The lack of SCORM output means that it's probably not currently a competitor to Articulate, but the fact that it seems to eschew the traditional SCORM framework for a different style of sharing, tracking, and recording could make it a real game changer. After all, I don't know of too many of us who would say are thrilled with the performance and reliability of SCORM.
Thank you for the update Greg, I had signed up for a trial however I'm yet to receive anything. Looks like a promising piece of software however the major downside being no SCORM compliance.
I tried using the SCORM export feature for this, to compare with Articulate products. I couldn't get it to work correctly in SCORM Cloud or in CourseSites. Has anybody gotten it to work? As much as it might be helpful for instructors, I don't think it is even close to competing with Storyline or QuizMaker.
I tested this at a microsoft 'training event' and it seemed kind of useful. As stated, no SCORM things means you'd need to re-tool your entire system if you are currently using an LMS like say, moodle in order to use it effectively. I asked the Microsoft folk there if they were looking into making it compatible with such LMS systems and the answer was that they didn't have much interest in doing so, they wanted it to link into Office 365, and for everything to run through that. So, if you want to start fresh, this is probably great, if you want to integrate anything, you'll have trouble!
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Just signed up to check it out. It still says it's not ready yet for testing.
Seems to me that this is more a competitor with products such as PowToon than any of the Articulate products.
Finally go into the beta today. Very slick. I'm impressed. I haven't played around too much with it yet, but I can already tell that there's a lot to like here. Everything is authored in PowerPoint. It seems to be able to add basic interactive quizzes (free-form, multiple choice, multiple response, true/false) as well as to embed 3rd party video content (Khan, CK-12). There's also a web content viewer. These containers use the Office Apps Store framework, so I could see 3rd parties developing and selling their own plug-ins for specialized content. Mix also allows you to do narration/video, screen recording, and to insert screen shots. Looks like you upload everything to the Mix website for viewing and tracking, but it'll be interesting to see how/whether any of it can integrate with an in-house LMS. There's also the ability to produce a video output (not sure what that would do with the interactive stuff). I'll play with it a bit and let you know more.
The lack of SCORM output means that it's probably not currently a competitor to Articulate, but the fact that it seems to eschew the traditional SCORM framework for a different style of sharing, tracking, and recording could make it a real game changer. After all, I don't know of too many of us who would say are thrilled with the performance and reliability of SCORM.
Thank you for the update Greg, I had signed up for a trial however I'm yet to receive anything. Looks like a promising piece of software however the major downside being no SCORM compliance.
I would argue that no SCORM compliance is a good thing. SCORM is a 20yr old (vulnerable) standard. And "you can't teach an old dog new tricks".
@Greg : Love the add-ins in the screenshot (and kind of amazed your Office2K13 still works)!
I received the link for beta testing, I haven't tried it out yet. I am excited about the 3rd party development.
I tried using the SCORM export feature for this, to compare with Articulate products. I couldn't get it to work correctly in SCORM Cloud or in CourseSites. Has anybody gotten it to work? As much as it might be helpful for instructors, I don't think it is even close to competing with Storyline or QuizMaker.
I tested this at a microsoft 'training event' and it seemed kind of useful. As stated, no SCORM things means you'd need to re-tool your entire system if you are currently using an LMS like say, moodle in order to use it effectively. I asked the Microsoft folk there if they were looking into making it compatible with such LMS systems and the answer was that they didn't have much interest in doing so, they wanted it to link into Office 365, and for everything to run through that. So, if you want to start fresh, this is probably great, if you want to integrate anything, you'll have trouble!
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