From Word to Web in a Snap

By Jane Himmel, Associate Director, Center for Distributed Learning

Have you thought about putting academic course material in WebCT Vista, but do not have the time to learn to use an HTML editor? Are you a trainer who would like to convert training manuals from Microsoft Word into web-ready interactive content without having to learn another program?

The University has purchased a site license for Horizon Wimba's Course Genie, a software tool that enables you to convert Word documents into a set of web pages (HTML) files - complete with navigation buttons and a table of contents. Clip art, tables, links to external websites, and links to files will convert neatly into a learning package ready for import into Vista 3.0. Course Genie offers additional export options for Moodle and standalone Web sites.

Sample Word to Web page

Use Word to Create an Interactive Website

It's Interactive

Add interactive exercises and vocabulary to help your students or training participants learn the material you present. Course Genie enables you to add the following types of interactive content while still working within the Word environment:

Self-test questions

Flashcards

Hyperlinks

Popups

Definitions

Windows Media, flash, and QuickTime movies

Streaming audio and video

It's Accessible

Course Genie output is fully accessible and complies with SENDA, W3C WAI and Section 508 guidelines. A built-in Accessibility Checker checks images and tables prior to course generation and walks you through the process of making necessary changes.

How It Works

Course Genie functions as a plug-in within Microsoft Word and adds special styles and dialog boxes to the Word environment - allowing you to quickly mark your document for generation into a clean HTML file. Users may then upload the produced output - saved as a zip file - into WebCT Vista. Vista unzips your file and voila - an easily readable Learning Module is generated and ready for placement into your course!

From Word document ... to Word styles ... to online course materials!

Find out More about Course Genie

Visit http://www.horizonwimba.com/products/coursegenie/ for a quick demonstration. Contact the Center for Distributed Learning or your Instructional Consultant at 940-369-7394 if you are interested in using this tool.

Course Genie is so easy to use that extensive training is not necessary. However, Horizon Wimba offers live training through their Desktop Lecture series. The webinars are free and if you're not able to attend, archived sessions are available. Visit http://www.horizonwimba.com/community/upcoming.php to view session availability or to listen to an archived lecture.

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various Websites. To make sure you have the most current information on a specific topic, it may be best to search

the UNT Website - http://www.unt.edu . You can also search Benchmarks Online - http://www.unt.edu/benchmarks/archives/back.htm as well as consult the UNT Helpdesk - http://www.unt.edu/helpdesk/ Questions and comments should be directed to benchmarks@unt.edu

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