3 min read
2018/02/14
After introducing the Maths Quizzes Activity Type and enhanced feedback options in Avallain Author 4.6, today’s update to Avallain’s comprehensive authoring tool adds new Activity Types and options that put learners into a more proactive role while simultaneously improving mobile device usability. We know from listening to our customers’ feedback that many of them already have great plans for these new features.
Avallain Author 4.7 gives them the tools to provide their learners with the most individualised learning experience yet.
New Activity Types
Dialogue Recording
To allow learners to not only listen to but also produce speech as part of their digital education, Avallain Author 4.7 enhances its audio recording options by adding the ability to create dialogue using recorded speech. Thus, learners can take part in a virtual conversation with a pre-recorded partner, honing their language and social skills in virtual scenarios.
The Dialogue Recording Activity Type allows learners to record, play back and re-record their lines individually, as well as swap roles. In addition, they can play back and download the whole conversation after the recording is completed.
In order to provide even more options to individualise the learning experience, content creator can enable learners to adjust the difficulty level by hiding their lines or all lines.
Proofing
Many learners enjoy being allowed to play the part of teacher themselves. Avallain Author 4.7 introduces a new Activity Type in which users are given a text filled with mistakes that they have to identify, categorise and correct.
As of now, there are 9 categories of errors that learners can be asked to correct:
- Capitalize
- Lowercase
- Add period
- Insert
- Remove
- New paragraph
- Spelling
- Grammar
- Indent
The total number of mistakes as well as the number identified so far are displayed to the learner. Thus, learners gain immediate feedback, which has a beneficial effect on their motivation and learning outcome.
New Options
Aside from new Activity Types, Avallain Author 4.7 also introduces various new options for already existing Activity Types, such as:
Gap Behaviour for Drag-and-Drop activities
When it comes to mobile devices, intuitive control schemes are imperative. Thus, we have introduced a new Gap Behaviour Specific Option which makes Drag-and-Drop Activity Types easier to use on touchscreens.
Using the Tap Item Behaviour, learners can simply tap on an item to automatically put it into the first free slot in the target area.
Using the Tap Target Behaviour, on the other hand, allows users to tap once on the item to select it and once again on the target area to place it.
Column headings for Linking Lines activities
This is a new option that allows content creators to create individual headings for each column in their Linking Lines activities. This means they can now use Linking Lines activities to explain even more complex topics to learners.
What the future holds for Avallain Author
Aside from these new features, Avallain Author 4.7 also introduces various smaller features such as allowing voice recording on Android and iOS devices. As always, we are confident that our customers will enjoy these new features.
“Avallain Author has gained new features and activities with every single update,” says Max Bondi, Product Manager Avallain Author, “and our customers never cease to amaze us with the creative ways in which they put these features to use. We are sure that this time will be no exception. Let’s see what we can learn from their feedback for Avallain Author 4.8, scheduled for release in only twelve weeks.”
