Free! CURATR makes it easy to introduce game mechanics while producing online courses. The course creation side is right in line with many web2.0 tools -- instructors may add images, videos, PDFs, audio, or web artifacts which constitute ‘learning objects. But the course consumption side gets a nice twist. Instead of watching video and answering questions, users are invited to interact with learning objects and comment on them to earn XP points. Once they’ve earned enough XP, they can attempt to level up through a test and unlock the next level of learning objects. Users may also bookmark learning objects to build their own personal multimedia collection across courses. Overall the tool is intriguing though effective usage requires some serious instructional design skills. The platform, which supported the Best Academic Course at DevLearn 2011, starts at ~$300/month but parent company HT2 offers a fully functioning version to teachers free of charge!
