iSpring Suite 9: A Whole New Level Of Best eLearning Authoring

iSpring Suite 9: A Whole New Level Of Best eLearning Authoring
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Summary: iSpring has recently unveiled the 9th version of iSpring Suite authoring toolkit. It introduces 6 video formats for creating advanced eLearning content, which means you’ll be able to implement twice as many eLearning scenarios. We’re going hands-on with the tool to find out what it’s all about.

The Best eLearning Authoring: 6 Features For Lightning Fast eCourse Development

Let’s face the truth. Given the large overlap in features between modern authoring tools, you can get similar results (to some extent) using any of them. What’s usually not really obvious is the amount of effort you’ll invest to reach your goal. At iSpring, we believe that nowadays, time is more precious than anything else. And that’s why we’re truly striving for a zero learning curve so that you can boost eLearning in your company. No tedious studying of monstrous user manuals. No costly pre-trainings.

Anyone who has ever created presentations in PowerPoint will intuitively know how to work with iSpring Suite. Simply install this add-in, and you’ll be able to create your first eCourse. It’s so easy to get started, it feels like a secret superpower within the familiar interface.

1. Seamless Integration With PowerPoint

iSpring Suite has taken PowerPoint as a solid foundation to provide you with a powerful, yet user-friendly authoring experience. Imagine you’re an eLearning beginner, and you have several PowerPoint presentations on various topics. (Okay, you’re an experienced eLearning expert, but we bet you still have a handful). Does it make sense to start creating an eCourse from scratch when you’ve already done a ton of work?

Being a PowerPoint add-in, iSpring Suite allows Instructional Designers to use their pre-existing content. It keeps intact all the PowerPoint animations and effects you’ve spent hours on and takes ordinary presentations to a new level, turning them into professional eCourses. Or you can create a course slide-by-slide and then add quizzes, simulations, talking head videos, and other eLearning modules. In other words, you get the best of both worlds.

iSpring toolbar in PowerPoint

Credit: iSpring

2. Snazzy Quizzes

The QuizMaker in iSpring Suite 9 is even more helpful than it was before. With the all-new drag-and-drop feature, you can not only ask questions, but also train skills. Ask your learners to equip a first-aid kit with all the necessities, or set a table with the flatware placed correctly.

In total, iSpring QuizMaker features 14 question types, from traditional multiple choice questions to Likert scales and hot spots. Plus, the quiz design can be customized. But what’s far more important than changing fonts, layouts, and text labels — you can configure testing rules and provide detailed feedback. Set passing scores, number of attempts, and time limits, and create individual assessment scenarios by setting up branching. With iSpring Suite, it’s much easier in practice than it may sound. And this is what makes it a flexible tool for knowledge checks and skill building.

Quizzes in iSpring

Credit: iSpring

3. A New Way To Practice Customer-Facing Scenarios

Is there a way to handle sticky situations with customers before they happen? Absolutely. The iSpring Dialogue Simulation tool together with the iSpring Content Library reproduces real-life cases in order to perfect your staff’s communication and negotiation skills.

The dialogue editing process looks pretty much like creating a mind map, which makes this feature perfect for practicing corporate scripts. Given the variable nature of communication, your company will benefit from some forward thinking in dealing with challenging scenarios. With iSpring Suite, you can create branched dialogues with multiple endings that depend on learners’ decisions, so that they can flawlessly handle common customer issues.

Plus, there’s the iSpring Content Library, which saves you from spending time on looking for the right visuals for your simulations. Initially released in 2017, it now includes over 50,000 assets to choose from: templates, characters, backgrounds, and icons. There are salespeople in offices, lecturers in classrooms, construction workers at a construction site, doctors in a hospital, and more.

iSpring dialogue simulation

Credit: iSpring

4. An Advanced Take On Video Courses

People do love video content. With this in mind, we encourage you to make video lessons, especially when it’s so simple with iSpring Suite:

  • Record screencasts and talking-head videos
  • Record video from your screen and webcam simultaneously

The smart video editor handles all the boring parts of the process. For instance, when you record a screencast, it automatically detects when you use hotkeys and adds visual hints for these actions to the video.

Picture-in-picture video

Credit: iSpring

5. Awesome Interactions, No Fuss

iSpring makes sure that Instructional Designers won’t find themselves spending a lot of time dealing with technical details rather than getting Instructional Design done. iSpring Suite 9 comes with 12 types of interaction templates for implementing in different training tasks.

Among the novelties, there are interactive tabs, labeled graphics, guided images, and hotspots, as well as a significantly upgraded FAQ, glossary, and timeline. Just choose a suitable template and fill it with your content. Plus, all the interactions have a customizable design that’s easy to fine-tune to match your corporate style.

Interaction sample

Credit: iSpring

6. True Mobile Learning

iSpring makes it easy to go mobile. You don’t need to do any extra work remaking the course for different devices, as all the elements on the slides adjust to the actual screen size. The smart adaptive player automatically recognizes the most important parts of the content and provides learners with a high-quality mobile version that lets your course look equally good on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone devices. Tap, swipe, or zoom elements to get the most out of mobile learning.

The free mobile app lets learners download and then browse, manage, and complete courses even without an internet connection.

Adaptive courses for any device

Credit: iSpring

Conclusion

iSpring Suite is a do-it-all toolkit for quick and easy eLearning authoring. You won’t need any special training to get started, since the tool is based on PowerPoint and most of the functions are intuitively clear, and the result is great; even ordinary presentations tap into a whole new interactive eLearning dimension.

Perhaps you’ve been using multiple authoring tools to create courses, record videos, build assessments, and add interactions. iSpring has gathered all the eLearning essentials under one roof so that you can develop engaging learning content without wasting time (and money) on switching between apps. This is a case when less is more.

Ready to explore the capabilities of new iSpring Suite 9? Try it out for 14 days.

eBook Release: iSpring Suite
iSpring Suite
An all-in-one software solution for creating versatile learning content and teamwork on eLearning projects. Super easy to use; no coding or design skills are required.