Tips for choosing the right e-Learning Authoring Tool for e-Courses

Increasing adoption of technology-aided learning has given rise to e-Learning companies which specialize in custom e-Courseware development. More and more organizations are becoming serious about adopting technology to create and deliver training for their employees. It not only saves money, but is also a more effective solution to the growing number of employees and their geographical spread. e-Learning authoring tools are often utilized to create e-Learning material- quickly and efficiently. But what to choose from the wide array of development tools is often the question we all ask.

Here are some of the popular e-Learning authoring tools which most e-Learning companies utilize to create e-Learning courses for different clients and varied learning needs.

Adobe Flash

• This is a dependable option for most e-Learning developers and is also one of the first e-Learning authoring tools to gain the popularity it enjoys.
• Most e-Learning developers have the existing skill and expertise to work with this tool.

• It has multiple features to create animations and multimedia content with superior visual finery. Courses created in Flash are usually befitted with visuals, imagery and graphics.
• E-Learning developers can also build on a variety of interactions with Flash to make the e-Course appealing to the Learners.
• The final output in Flash is a little heavy, which is a downside if the end-users have limited bandwidth and cannot open heavy files.

Articulate Storyline

• Articulate Storyline was launched in early 2012 and has fast gained popularity on account of its wide array of features.
• Being a new e-Learning authoring tool, it is extremely easy to use and developers can quickly acquire expertise in it and utilize it for custom content development.

• Storyline allows a lot of interactivity in the e-Course. It includes features like slide layers, triggers and screen recordings which are very useful in creating e-Courses with high interactivity level.
• With more than 40,000 combinations of illustrated as well photographic characters, it is easy to include them in e-Courses to make them more interesting. The characters can be given multiple expressions and poses which brings the character to life.

Articulate Studio

• This is a rapid authoring tool that is utilized widely to convert existing content created in MS PowerPoint into SCORM or AICC complaint e-Learning courses.
• Articulate Studio is very easy to work with as the user interface is very similar to of MS PowerPoint. This helps new users get a quicker hang of the tools and features to create interactive e-Courseware.
• inter activities can also be created with this tool, to make the e-Course more interesting and impactful.

Trivantis Lectora

• This rapid authoring tool creates content with HTML5. Developers can utilize this tool to create content for web-enabled courses across multiple devices — desktops, laptops, smartphones or tablets.
• Courses built with Trivantis are visually appealing with a lot of interactivity, all in limited time and effort.

Adobe Captivate

• This e-Learning authoring tool also allows developers to publish content with HTML5. It can be utilized to create e-Content for multi-device delivery.
• It also has a host of ready-to-use themes and other interactive elements that saves a lot of development time. Developers can utilize them to create variety within the e-Course.
• Branching scenarios can be built in for higher level courses. Videos can also be inserted within the development platform, making the content very appealing for learners.

Choosing the right development tool is extremely important for the smooth delivery and implementation process.  Developers prefer the tools which offer high usability. But it is also important to keep in mind the needs of the Learners and the Client. The right tool can indeed bring about the success and ROI that is expected out of an e-Learning endeavor.