Raptivity

Raptivity is a programme which allows you to create rapid e-learning modules.

To download a free trial click here

The Raptivity Software is available to buy in a vast range of packages with different add ons available. See here for pricing.

The cheapest package available comes in at $395 and this contains only 12 interactions (with the option to purchase add on packs later on)

The trial version that I tested also has just 12 interactions which is a fair amount to experiment with.

I set about creating a short e-learning module on 'blogs' with interactive segments and quizzes. Unfortunately my trial has now expired and I have failed to export all of the slides I made in the correct format so the only one I can show you is below (anyone in the office can come have a look at the other ones if they like!)

Click here to download the PowerPoint

Now I personally have never created an e-learning module before although I have seen different softwares that are on offer and have tried different types of e-learning courses. I found Raptivity rather confusing to use, for computer novices I would say it is a complete non starter!

It has a very clinical interface with far too many complicated looking functions involving numbers (most of which don't really need to be altered, I would put them in an 'advanced' category if at all)

As far as useability is concerned I would rate Raptivity pretty low unless you are already quite coherent with coding and design.

The options available were fairly limited on the trial version, it seems that to get some of the fantastic interactive segments that are demonstrated on the website you have to spend a fair amount of money.

The templates I had access to were pretty standard. You could change the look and feel of them but not particularly easily, for example to change the background colour on my slides I had to go through each one individually and colour pick my selection for each one.

The potential is definately there to create some fantastic looking slides but I you would have to be very confident with using software like this and have a knack for online design in order to make anything look vaguely good!

The different slide templates I had access to included several types of quizzes, these had a good range of answer types and marking systems but weren't very easy to set up.

The information slides like the one in my example again have the potential to be quite engaging but the difficulty of performing simple processes such as changing the font size and colour make it a hard task to get the look and feel that you would like.

I think Raptivity has a lot of potential, from looking at the interactive slide templates available with the more expensive packages on the website, there are some really engaging ideas. However I think it needs to rethink the interactivity of the software itself. As someone who is fairly confident with new software and adapting to new technologies, I found using the software tricky, frustrating and confusing. It is definately not suitable for people with novice IT skills.

If you are confident with IT and design then I would say that it might be worth your while downloading the free trial, it is quite interesting and the results are good after a lot of perceverence. Be warned though you will recieve a lot of pushy phone calls from the Raptivity team in the days following your sign up!!

So all in all mixed reviews, potentially a fantastic rapid e-learning tool, I thing Raptivity need to pay as much attention to the creators interaction with their product as they do to the learners.