Open source add-in for Word supports MediaWiki

The Microsoft Word add-in for MediaWiki allows users to save documents as a MediaWiki text file.
Source: codeplex.com Andrew Gordon, Microsoft New Zealand Platform Strategy Manager, has announced the release of a new open source Word extension for MediaWiki. According to Gordon, the Microsoft Office Word Add-in For MediaWiki allows learning material, developed in Office, to be saved directly to a MediaWiki based repository, such as WikiEducator.

The new extension is the result of cooperation between Microsoft, the Open Education Resource Foundation (OER) at Otago Polytechnic and the New Zealand Ministry of Education. Discussing the new add-in for Word, New Zealand Open Source Society VP Peter Harrison said, "The Internet provides humanity with an unequalled opportunity to leverage our communication technology to educate people across the globe," adding that, "Through collaborative technologies such as Wiki, people can work together to create rich common resources that are open to all. By enabling users to export their content from Word into MediaWiki, Microsoft are encouraging the availability of a far wider range of educational resources online". The add-in, written in C#, supports both Word 2007 and 2010 on Windows 7, Vista and XP.

Further information about the MediaWiki add-in can be found in a post on Microsoft's Port 25 blog. The Word add-in for MediaWiki is available to download from the Microsoft Download Center. The source code for the Microsoft Office Word Add-in For MediaWiki is hosted on the CodePlex site site and is released under the Apache 2.0 License.

(crve)