Microsoft Tools for Educators

     Technology-savvy teachers welcome the opportunity to develop their own educational programs, but time and cost are prohibitive.  Microsoft hopes to rectify the matter with a software environment called "Grava."

January 30, 2007—Microsoft is developing a new suite of tools that will allow developers and publishers of educational software, as well as educators themselves, to create their own instructional programs easily and intuitively, the company says. Users would control these programs on their computer screens, using a media player that Microsoft expects will ship with all Windows-based computers in the near future. The entire software environment is code-named "Grava."

The Grava development tools, which Microsoft previewed at the British Education and Training Technology Conference in mid-January, are meant to stand alone as separate applications. A Grava SDK (Software Developer Kit) tool is designed for publishers and developers of educational software, while a different authoring tool will give those with less programming experience--such as many educators--the ability to create their own media-rich content to be viewed with the Grava player, Microsoft says.

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