Xerte open source tool review
You get what you pay for….so when you pay nothing, should you alter your expectations? Read how head of e-learning development Theo Cardiff fared with Xerte, the open source tool developed by Nottingham University.
A bit about Xerte
There are actually a few free authoring tools out there: we've reviewed Udutu and eXe as two other examples. The Xerte project team won ALT’s ‘Learning Technologist of the Year Team Award 2009’ and that was why I wanted to give this a go.
How did we get on?
Downloading the tool and installing from the Xerte site was easy. Starting a new project was easy. Adding content to my e-learning? Well, not so easy. I got as far as adding a page, typing some text and then I got stuck. I couldn’t work out how to add an image. Click Help to continue.
The ‘Getting Started’ section explained what I needed to do. Simply import the image into the application. I decided to keep reading and came across this: “You can produce content with Xerte without doing any programming, but there are limitations...Xerte is a great place to start to learn some scripting...” Hmm. Not really what you expect from an authoring tool…
I managed to create pages, add media, add text. I even managed a little bit of scripting. I found a couple of quirks – moving things around in WYSIWIG mode can be tricky.
I muddled along and, despite my scepticism, I scripted a little bit - the help around how to script is actually quite useful. And then, I got stuck. I wanted to create an interaction and couldn’t work it out at all. And we do this for a living...
Xerte versus Xerte Online Toolkit
There is an alternative to Xerte - the Xerte Online Toolkit. It is server-based and aimed at people who can’t or won’t learn scripting. It is easy to use and, being server-based, it is great for collaboration. The one downside is that you lose a lot of control over how things look.
The Xerte website suggests working with both tools. A developer sets up your custom templates and interactions in Xerte, you create content in Xerte Online Toolkit. So you might need to invest a bit in your free tool, but it still offers pretty good value.
Kineo rating: Worth a try
We love the fact that it is open source, available to everyone. We aren’t sure how easy it would be to add branding and customise if you were going to use this tool as your primary development engine. It’s a bit tricky to work with but with the right level of support you can get there. It depends on how branded and customised you need your e-learning to be.
|
Criteria
|
Rating
|
Comments
|
|
Ease of use
|
Poor (Xerte), Good (Xerte toolkit).
|
Xerte was hard to use, but the Xerte Toolkit was easier.
|
|
Instructional design flexibility
|
Good
|
There are a range of question types and presentation screens that you can use. Some of them are difficult to use though.
|
|
Ability to incorporate existing content
|
Poor
|
You can import media, but you can’t import PowerPoint slides (for example) – quite a weakness. .
|
|
Ability to handle variety of topics
|
Good
|
It’s great for product knowledge. You might need to script outside the tool for scenarios.
|
|
Ability to incorporate graphics and media
|
Excellent
|
You can import many types of graphic, animation, video and audio.
|
|
Ability to publish SCORM/AICC compliant courses
|
Very good
|
Courses are fully SCORM compliant and you can create aggregated SCORM packages.
|
|
Technical support available
|
Good
|
Support is available via the community area on their website. It is more geared towards the developer than the programming novice..
|
|
Accessibility
|
Very Good
|
It is relatively easy to create keyboard accessible content. Learners can change the colours on the screen to make it easier to view the course. Text to speech provides an alternative to screenreader accessibility.
|
Tried Xerte? Agree or disagree with this review? Let us know.
Got an authoring tool, and need get some help in making the most of it? Kineo’s Rapid E-learning Design Team can help. Contact Kineo.
Kineo has accepted no payment or reward of any form from any tools company for this independent review. |
