Jack, thanks a lot. Will check it out now. One concern I have is with the longterm viability or life of what I end up producing. That’s why I’ve been looking at SCORM etc. and the possibility of transferring in the event of a site’s closure, or some other issue (perhaps not maintaining current web standards as they evolve). Any thoughts on this with respect to Schoolshape? Thanks again.



Jeff



Jeff Ruth

Professor of Spanish

Chair, Dept. of Modern Languages

Stroud Hall 208

East Stroudsburg University of PA

+1.570.422.3419/3407

http://www.esu.edu/ml

OFFICE HOURS: TR 12:30-2, F 10:30-12:30



On Mar 18, 2017, at 3:13 AM, Jack Burston <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:



Dear Jeff,



I would recommend taking a look at Schoolshape (schoolshape.com<http://schoolshape.com>). It's a commercial system, but one that is relatively inexpensive and offers a free basic version that will do just about everything you've asking for. Schoolshape is entirely cloud-based, so requires the downloading or installation of no software. Likewise, it requires no local technical infrastructure support. All that is needed is a broadband Internet connection. Its authoring and course management modules run on Apple or Windows computers and the student module runs as well on iOS and Android mobile devices. Schoolshape is exceptionally easy to use and very flexible in the range and combination of tutorial exercise types it supports. If need be, student work can be archived locally. However, materials created on Schoolshape will not run on any other platform. That's pretty much the case with all multimedia authoring programs of any complexity, commercial or otherwise. Have a look, I'm sure you'll be impressed with Schoolshape. If you're interested, I have some demo lessons that can give you a better idea of what you can do with it.  Just let me know, Jack







----- Original Message -----

From: "Jeff Ruth" <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>

To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>

Sent: Friday, March 17, 2017 9:46:51 PM

Subject: authoring tool/platform for activities/quizzes?



I hope to create a bank of online, multimedia activities for my language students, and possibly another for students of a linguistics course. Does anyone have a suggestion for a good tool/platform to use? Here is my wishlist of features:





 *   easy interface to create—no coding

 *   low-cost or no cost

 *   portable: if the original host or site closes, the activity can be placed elsewhere easily

 *   auto-graded

 *   maybe a gradebook

 *   results emailable to instructor

 *   other minor features, such as randomized questions, timed answers, etc.



This is lots to ask—just hoping for something that comes close. I hope to make this a public resource if it is successful.



A tech detail:  I’ve been reading that SCORM-conformant quiz-type activities means that they are portable (can be moved from, say, a Canvas site to a personal site to Moodle, etc.). However, now I’ve also seen that the post-SCORM world is Tin Can API (or xAPI), and that this new standard can be met by a variety of authoring tools. One example I’ve read about is WordPress using the free H5P authoring tool. Maybe some LLTIers have used this, or something like it?



My reading is way ahead of my experience in this, so any comments are welcome… Thanks.



Jeff Ruth

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--

Jack Burston

Honorary Research Fellow

Language Centre

Cyprus University of Technology

+357 25002708