Office Mix Soon to Release in Preview, Targeted Toward Educators

Building on the momentum of a popular and growing Office 365 service, Microsoft stated recently that it was time to expand its dominant Office suite and to expect new offerings and even new apps. We've already experienced a sort of expansion with recent announcements around SQL Server 2014 launch and how Office is the interface for big data, but also the release of Office for the iPad and a pending releases for Android and Windows touch.

Now, another new piece has emerged. Office Mix has shown up as an early Preview product through the Microsoft Connect site.

Office Mix, targeted toward the education sector, turns PowerPoint presentations into interactive, online lessons that can be shared with anyone. The intent is to turn PowerPoint decks into classroom content (including quizzes) using an add-on that supplies audio and video recording and a screen capture tool. Completed "MIX" presentations are converted to streamable collateral stored in the Office Cloud and shared from there, allowing students to participate in the prepared lessons using any device with a web browser.

Office Mix works with PowerPoint 2013. If you don't already have a subscription, you can request a 180-day trial during Preview sign-up.

Sign-up at the Office Mix website and be notified when the Preview is ready. The Passphrase (required to actually sign-in) will be sent through email when the Preview is officially launched.