iSpring Suite

iSpring Suite

iSpring Suite Ribbon in PowerPoint
Developer(s) iSpring
Initial release As FlashSpring Pro in 2005 (2005)
Stable release
8.3.0.15546 / 26 July 2016 (2016-07-26)
Development status Active
Operating system Microsoft Windows
Type Educational software, Presentation software, Authoring tools
License Proprietary
Website www.ispringsolutions.com/ispring-suite

iSpring Suite is a rapid learning authoring toolkit produced by iSpring for developing professional e-Learning courses in PowerPoint with embedded (or standalone) quizzes, surveys, and interactions. Output is compatible with mainstream LMS standards (SCORM/AICC[1][2]), and there is also an option to publish courses specially for BlackBoard LMS. The new xAPI (Tin Can) format for LRSes is supported as well.[3] Output can be a solid SWF file(s), EXE file, HTML page or ZIP archive. Additionally, the cross-platform output format (Flash + HTML5) allows published content to be viewed on any type of modern device.

History

The history of iSpring Suite goes back to 2005, when the team released Flashspring Pro, the prototype of all iSpring products. It was a simple PowerPoint-to-Flash converter with free and commercial versions. Later, iSpring released Flashspring Ultra and SCORM compatibility became available. The companion products FlashSpring Lite and FlashSpring Server were released in 2006 and 2007, respectively. In 2008, FlashSpring was rebranded and got a new name – iSpring. 2009 was the year when the company unveiled a totally updated e-learning tool called iSpring Presenter. This tool found market acceptance due to the high quality of generated courses[4] at a reasonable price. In 2010, iSpring Presenter took the Gold in the Brandon Hall Excellence in Technology Awards in the Rapid Authoring category.[5] In 2011, iSpring products were introduced at European exhibitions for the first time. In the same year, iSpring Suite was released as the successor to iSpring Presenter.

In 2012, Joe Ganci of eLearningJoe[6] published a review of iSpring Suite in Learning Solutions Magazine.[7] In May 2015, Ganci hosted a webinar for Training Magazine Network comparing iSpring Suite alongside five other leading PowerPoint-based e-Learning development tools.[8] Ganci published the final results of his research in an article for Learning Solutions Magazine.[9]

The current version of iSpring Suite, iSpring Suite 8.0, came out in October 2015.[10]

Innovations

iSpring Suite 7

One of the most notable enhancements made to iSpring Suite 7 was the support of combined, cross-platform Flash + HTML5 format. It allowed users to create mobile-ready projects that adapt to any screen size and orientation.

iSpring Suite 7 came with free mobile apps for iOS[11] and Android,[12] which allow offline content viewing. The apps collect statistics on learning activity even with no Internet connection and send them to an LMS once the connection is restored.

Another recent innovation is the capability of adding characters. The built-in character library provides a wide range of characters, both illustrated and photographic. The iSpring Character Wizard helps users create custom characters to fully correspond with the topic of a presentation or an e-Learning course.

iSpring Suite 8

iSpring Suite 8 introduces several unique features to the toolkit.[13]

In version 8, a brand-new conversation simulator was added, allowing users to create simulated dialogues. Also, iSpring Suite 8 was enhanced with a screen recording tool, allowing users to capture the screen and insert the recording on a PowerPoint slide, an audio/video editor both for screen recordings and audio/video narrations, and a video lecture player to show PowerPoint slides and lecture video side by side.

iSpring 8 has passed all compliance tests with the latest versions of Microsoft products, and supports Windows 10 and Office 2016.[14]

Features

iSpring Suite includes 5 authoring components: the iSpring add-in, iSpring QuizMaker, conversation simulator, screen recording tool and iSpring Visuals — a set of standalone tools that can be used both separately and together. Additional components available in the publishing interface are PowerPoint-to-Video/YouTube (available separately as iSpring SlideAlloy), and iSpring Cloud hosting and sharing platform.

iSpring Pro and iSpring QuizMaker are also available as separate products. iSpring Visuals can be used only as a part of iSpring Suite. A free 30-day trial version of iSpring Suite 7 is available for download from the iSpring website.

iSpring Pro

iSpring Pro helps turn PowerPoint projects into mobile-ready online presentations. It supports the standard PowerPoint features such as animation, transition effects and narration facilities[15] and contains additional features that aren't provided by PowerPoint, such as publishing to the Web or an LMS. Additionally, iSpring Pro provides multi-stage content protection against unauthorized browsing and distribution: password, watermark, time restriction and domain restriction. There's a free version of iSpring Pro called iSpring Free, which is also able to generate SCORM-compliant courses, however doesn't offer the more advanced capabilities of iSpring Pro.

iSpring QuizMaker

iSpring QuizMaker allows users to create smart quizzes and surveys, using such advanced features as branching scenarios, learning metric controls, and feedback customization. It offers 23 types of questions, including multiple choice, true or false, fill in the blank, drag-and-drop questions, and more. It is possible to fully customize the appearance of a quiz as well as record and insert audio and video files, images and formulas. A flexible scoring system allows teachers to make a unique evaluation of a given student's knowledge. For example, the quiz author can set a point- or percentage-based passing score, award custom points for correct answers, and set custom rules to deduct points for incorrect answers or partially answered questions. In 2011 iSpring QuizMaker got a Brandon Hall Bronze Medal in the "Best Advance in Technology for Testing or Learning Evaluation" category.[16] On the model of iSpring Free, there is also a Free QuizMaker that provides all the basic features of iSpring QuizMaker, and generates SCORM-compliant courses.[17]

iSpring Visuals

iSpring Visuals is designed for enhancing PowerPoint presentations with rich media interactions to serve as explanatory tools in an e-learning course, business presentation, advertisementetc. The software contains interactive templates which are immediately ready to populate with content: a 3D book, Directory, FAQ, and Timeline. All interactions will be available for viewing from any modern device. Content can be published standalone directly from Visuals or inserted as part of a larger presentation in PowerPoint via iSpring Suite.

iSpring TalkMaster

iSpring TalkMaster is a conversation simulator that allows users to create simulated dialogues for customer support training and other purposes. The tool includes characters in various costumes and poses with adjustable emotions to guide learners through the dialogue.

iSpring ScreenRecorder

iSpring ScreenRecorder allows users to capture all or part of a screen and insert the recording on a PowerPoint slide, save it to MP4 video, or publish it to a YouTube account.

iSpring SlideAlloy

Available for purchase as a separate PowerPoint add-in, iSpring SlideAlloy is built into iSpring Suite as a separate "Video" option in the publishing interface. With this option, users can convert PowerPoint presentations to videos in .mp4 format, or publish to YouTube directly from the interface. Compression and resolution options can be adjusted up to 1080p HD quality.

iSpring Cloud

iSpring Cloud is a hosting and delivery platform designed for PowerPoint presentations, Microsoft documents and spreadsheets, images, video, audio, and PDF files. Users can publish content directly to iSpring Cloud from iSpring Suite and view the content on iPad from a folder-based content library or carousel view. iSpring Cloud also allows users to share content via short link, social media, email, or embed code.

Audio/Video Editor

Available for editing audio/video narrations and screen recordings taken with the screen capture tool. Includes trim/delete effects for audio and video, plus noise reduction, fade-in/fade-out, and volume adjustment for audio.

Video Lecture Player

The Video Lecture Player is a new method for showing PowerPoint slides and lecture video side by side. Can be set to automatically adjust the ratio between presentation and video, and allows viewers to adjust the ratio on the fly by clicking and dragging.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Creating SCORM Content". http://docs.moodle.org. External link in |publisher= (help)
  2. ↑ "LMS support". http://ispringsolutions.com. External link in |publisher= (help)
  3. ↑ "Adopters". http://tincanapi.com/. External link in |publisher= (help)
  4. ↑ "Making Sense of PowerPoint Pandemonium". http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com. External link in |publisher= (help)
  5. ↑ "Winners of the 2010 Brandon Hall Excellence in Technology Awards". http://brandonhall.com. External link in |publisher= (help)
  6. ↑ "Reviews". http://www.elearningjoe.com/. External link in |publisher= (help)
  7. ↑ "Toolkit: iSpring Suite – Lots of Features at a Great Price". http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/. External link in |publisher= (help)
  8. ↑ "The Battle of the PowerPoint Authoring Tools". http://www.trainingmagnetwork.com/. External link in |publisher= (help)
  9. ↑ "Toolkit: Battle of the PowerPoint eLearning Development Tools". http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/. External link in |publisher= (help)
  10. ↑ "What's New with iSpring Suite". http://ispringsolutions.com. External link in |publisher= (help)
  11. ↑ "iSpring Viewer on the App Store on iTunes". http://itunes.apple.com. External link in |publisher= (help)
  12. ↑ "iSpring Mobile Player - Android Apps" – via Google Play.
  13. ↑ "iSpring Suite 8: Massive New Features Not Found in Standard eLearning Packages". http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/. External link in |publisher= (help)
  14. ↑ "iSpring Suite 8 has officially been released!". http://elearningbrothers.com//. External link in |publisher= (help)
  15. ↑ "10 cool add-ins for Office 2007 and 2010". http://www.techrepublic.com. External link in |publisher= (help)
  16. ↑ "Winners of the 2011 Brandon Hall Excellence in Technology Awards". http://brandonhall.com. External link in |publisher= (help)
  17. ↑ "iSpring Announces "Free QuizMaker". http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com. External link in |publisher= (help)

External links

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