The eLearning landscape has changed for many businesses and organizations. Companies and organizations are now trying to do more with fewer resources while still providing adequate training for their teams. Therefore, it’s essential to choose the right eLearning tool. This creates the most engaging and effective training while balancing time and resources.
What are eLearning Authoring Tools?
An eLearning authoring tool is software that enables you to create and arrange content into a standardized structure. You can export this structure in several different multimedia types.
What to Look for in an eLearning Authoring Tool
Each organization/business will have its requirements for an effective eLearning Authoring tool. There are, however, five requirements that are consistent overall industries when searching for the right authoring tool.
How easy is it to use?
Many organizations cannot spend hours learning how to use an authoring tool. These organizations prefer to be able to jump right in and start building. If you select an easy-to-use eLearning authoring tool, you empower anyone across the organization to develop their own eLearning. This will help scale learning offerings faster.
Is it consistent?
When choosing an authoring tool with many “themes,” you can apply consistent branding throughout your learning suite. This can be done while still maintaining creativity and engagement. The use of templates and libraries also ensures that your learning is consistent. Be sure to opt for tools that have inbuilt libraries.
What templates and libraries are available?
Rapid authoring tools are top-rated. This popularity indicates how important it is for organizations to build fast and effective eLearning. This is easily achievable with the use of templates. Some tools offer pre-built modules. These pre-built modules can be customized and recontextualized to your own organization. In addition, some tools offer screen or interaction templates.
What publishing options does it offer?
When looking for authoring tools, consider how the learning will be delivered. Explore the ease of publishing and compatibility with your own LMS.
What Are Some Examples of eLearning Authoring Tools?
It may be challenging to decide on which eLearning tool to use. There are many to choose from, but it’s best to read about each one. This will ensure you find one that is well suited for your needs.
Examples of eLearning Authoring tools:
- Articulate Storyline 360:
This is a well-known name in the world of authoring. The storyline is clean, modern, and provides many powerful features. It not only allows you to storyboard your courses, but it dictates the path that your learner takes. It takes some time to get used to using Storyline, but it provides a balanced quality of results.
- Articulate Rise 360:
This is another top-quality authoring tool presented by Articulate. The prime focus of Rising is mobile-responsive content. It is the best choice for those who want courses compatible with every device. Provides a clean interface with visually pleasing results.
- Adobe Captivate:
This tool is one of the most feature-rich tools. It is interoperable with other Adobe tools. With Captivate, you can storyboard your courses and utilize advanced transitions and triggers. This results in engaging content for any scenario or subject. A must-use feature for anyone with content in this format is the powerpoint integration. This fast tracks your course creation process.
- Elucidat:
This cloud-based authoring tool focuses on producing effective eLearning fast. This user-friendly tool is made for big employers, therefore offers a wide variety of features. There are pre-built blueprints for authors to use. Authors can build courses from scratch as well. The content is responsive to all screen sizes, making it ideal for mobile learning.
- iSpring:
iSpring has become very popular for taking PowerPoint content and converting it to eLearning courses. It is extremely user-friendly. You can incorporate video capture, interactions, and assessments to build engaging content. The data generated gets fed into the reporting suite of your LMS.
- Camtasia:
This is a video capture tool before anything else. The content can be exported as SCORM packages. This is an excellent option if you’d like to improve PowerPoint presentations. In addition, Camtasia provides you with the opportunity to record narration, as well as your face simultaneously.
- Composica:
Composica is an authoring tool that focuses on smooth collaboration. This tool allows you to work with your colleagues directly. Composica will enable you to add different users, assign tasks, and always have the most up-to-date version of your content at hand. Moreover, it’s an affordable option for your business with its competitive pricing.
- Knowable:
This simple yet powerful authoring tool has all the features someone new to eLearning might need. It provides drag and drops content creation and quick customizability. In addition, it is mobile responsive and enables you to organize your content within one system.
- Lectora Online:
Lectora is a cloud and windows based solution. This eLearning authoring tool works well for SCORM content. In addition, it can integrate with Camtasia and Snagit. This simplifies screen recordings, image editing, and voiceovers.
- Gomo:
“Mobile-first” is how Gomo describes themselves. This is another simple-to-use authoring tool. It is highly recommended for beginners interested in optimizing their content to be mobile responsive. Moreover, Gomo has a drag and drop interface available. Finally, the media assets available are visually attractive and could help make content more engaging.
All on E-Learning
Using eLearning Authoring Tools could be made much more accessible if you have the right tool on your side. Take the time to go through multiple authoring tools. This will ensure you choose the most user-friendly one.
