WGU partners with Muzzy Lane Licenses Author for its online curriculum
Western Governors University (WGU) has licensed Muzzy Lane Author. WGU is a private, nonprofit, online university based in Salt Lake City that uses a competency-based learning model. The first WGU courses built with Author launched this month, and the Author license opens the way for WGU to build activities across a wide range of subjects.
Author platform to power MSK ComSkil digital training initiative
Muzzy Lane Software and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) announced today a collaboration and licensing agreement. MSK has licensed the Muzzy Lane Author platform to create digital trainingactivities for their medical personnel as part of the MSK ComSkil program.
Muzzy Lane Author provides course developers with do-it-yourself web-based tools for building accessible, mobile first assessments they can rapidly prototype, easily edit and update, and share instantly on any device.
The MSK ComSkil program’s goal is to develop and test new digital training solutions. MSK is creating a suite of digital role-playing activities built with Author to develop and improve the communication skills of MSK doctors and nurses.
As part of the project, MSK will study the effectiveness of the new digital training approaches and compare them to existing in-person training scenarios to determine how they can be applied to other education goals within MSK.
Author activities "highlight important real life scenarios for families."
Excelsior students apply their nutrition knowledge through role-play
Excelsior College's Nutrition for Wellness course uses Author activities to help grad students understand the challenges that families with strict dietary constraints and limited budgets face during an ordinary trip to the grocery store.
Nutrition for Wellness is taught by Carmen Roberts, MS, RD, LDN. "The gaming element of this course adds a new level of practical application to the student's experience. In both of these games, students need to make 'real life' decisions about meal planning, grocery shopping, and budgeting while staying within the parameters of a therapeutic diet. Through these activities, students gain a better understanding of the challenges faced by many Americans who are living with chronic disease."
Student responses to the Author activities in the course:
"I felt that the gaming activities highlighted some important real life scenarios for families, as most of us have money struggles at some point in our life. These activities really made you sit down and consider a variety of elements in making the best food decisions on multiple levels." "Learning about food insecurity in the USA was both troubling and alarming. One is aware that minimum wages cannot adequately sustain a family of four, particularly if members of the household suffer from chronic illnesses, but this course opened my eyes even wider. Stimulated by the game, I tried to spend only $25.00 for a week’s meal plan. This was frustrating and led to anarchy in my household." "The biggest challenge that I encountered while selecting appropriate foods consistent with the DASH diet guidelines was staying within the daily sodium restriction, but selecting foods rich in fiber and protein. As I read my classmates’ posts, I noticed this was a common challenge that most of us encountered."
AUTHOR UPDATES
Author now integrates with Google Classroom
Millions of educators and students use Google Classroom to simplify the creation, distribution and grading of online assignments. Those assignments can now include micro-learning assessments built with Muzzy Lane Author.
Detailed Category Scoring added to Align Template
With Category-specific scoring, Authors can give more weight to the most important categories in the activity.
AUTHOR DEMO
The Align template supports formulas
When creating your Align activity, just enter your formula in the Item Formula box, save, and it appears in the activity properly formatted.
The activity "Number Lines" showcases the template's ability to use formulas. Try it out! Just click on the image below to play.
