We here at MindMuze we are really excited about a new web-based authoring system called Shift being added to our repertoire of tools.  It represents a real departure from the traditional client-based applications because it allows anyone to create an eLearning course. And I mean anyone! Basically, if you can use Powerpoint, you can use Shift.

It really is an amazing piece of technology. It lets you create completely professional content. You can create drafts, and reviewers can add comments right in the learning materials, where they can be aggregated with other comments. It can therefore be as collaborative and interactive as you like. It also includes a powerful gallery of content templates that cover everything from straightforward presentations to complex scenarios and software simulations.

We recently used Shift to put together a special H1N1 awareness package. Our clients were stunned by how quickly we were able to put it together — it went online during the first wave of news reports, when people were only just hearing of H1N1 and few people yet knew what to do about it. As a public service, we quickly began offering the course as a free download (it’s still available), all thanks to this amazing system.

And if we were able to rush together an eLearning course of such importance in so short a time, imagine how easily it will be for anyone to create similar packages in response to frequently asked questions, even if those questions are constantly changing.

Shift will be officially launched very soon. Having worked with it myself, I can tell you this will be a huge, potentially game-changing event. Stay tuned!