PowerPoint Quizmaker 2009

Introduction
About PowerPoint Quizmaker 2009
Download and Installation
Using PowerPoint Quizmaker 2009
Pricing and Support
Conclusion

Introduction

Creating a quiz in PowerPoint normally entails one of two approaches: the first is to learn VBA and code a quiz with responses, and the second one is to keep things simple, and create a basic quiz. Also some users tend to use Flash based products like Quizmaker or YawnBuster for the quizzes, thus ending up with an embedded Flash quiz on their PowerPoint slides.

While all these approaches get the task done, a specialized product like Atrixware's PowerPoint Quizmaker can help create quizzes that look like they were created in PowerPoint without having to spend long hours creating them.

About PowerPoint Quizmaker 2009

PowerPoint Quizmaker 2009 is from Atrixware, a company based in Blackwood, New Jersey, USA that creates e-learning software, quiz makers and authoring Tools. Learn more about their products and download a free trial version of PowerPoint Quizmaker 2009 from their site (link no longer exists).

My contact at Atrixware for this review was Frank Dunleavy - thank you, Frank.

Download and Installation

Download the installer, run the setup routine and follow the instructions. You'll end up with a PowerPoint Quiz Maker 2009 group in your Windows Start menu (see Figure 1 below).

Figure 1: PowerPoint Quiz Maker 2009

Using PowerPoint Quizmaker 2009

Launch Microsoft PowerPoint. If you end up with a blank presentation that contains a single slide, delete the initial blank slide before you start working with PowerPoint Quizmaker 2009. Remember that although PowerPoint Quizmaker looks like it is working as a standalone program, you need have PowerPoint open so that the program can work properly.

Follow these steps to work on PowerPoint Quizmaker 2009:

1. Make sure PowerPoint is launched as explained earlier. Then, launch the PowerPoint Quizmaker 2009 program. Figure 2 shows you the interface of the program with the Start Page tab active on the left side of the interface.
2. 
   Figure 2: Start Page
2. Choose the Create a New Question option (refer to Figure 2 above).
3. This opens the Question Slide screen, as shown in Figure 3.
4. 
   Figure 3: Question Slide
4. Here you can add the question, and provide four answers for the choices. Select the radio button next to the answer choice that you want to designate as the correct response. You can add Back and Next buttons on the question slides themselves by checking the relevant options -- this enables the user to navigate back to the previous slide or question, or move on to the next one.
5. Select the Wrong Slide tab (see Figure 4) to bring up a screen where you can customize the title and message for the error or “you answered wrong” slides for any question. Also you can customize your Back and Next buttons to read Try Again and Continue respectively -- or anything else.
6. 
   Figure 4: Wrong slide tab
6. Similarly, you can work with the options in the Correct Slide tab, as shown in Figure 5.
7. 
   Figure 5: Correct slide tab
7. The next tab relates to Visual Settings, as shown in Figure 6 -- here you can customize the font style, size, colors, PowerPoint effects etc. for quiz components like headers, messages, questions, and choices.
8. 
   Figure 6: Visual Settings tab
8. The Question Bank tab is what you can see in Figure 7. Each time you insert a question into PowerPoint, PowerPoint Quiz Maker will by default save your question into the question bank for later use.
9. 
   Figure 7: Question bank tab
9. The last tab is the Configure tab (see Figure 8) -- here you can choose the insert options on how you want to add the quiz slides into PowerPoint.
10. 
    Figure 8: Configuration
10. Once done, click the Insert Quiz Question button -- this inserts the question in PowerPoint. Similarly, add more questions, and save the presentation.

Pricing and Support

PowerPoint Quizmaker 2009 costs $59.99 for a single user license, and is available as specially-priced multiple user licenses as well.

Support is through email, online FAQ, phone, and a user forum.

Conclusion

I like the fact that PowerPoint Quiz Maker does not add any extra non-PowerPoint stuff to my slides, and the price is right too. If it worked from inside PowerPoint as a full fledged add-in, that would be the icing on the cake.