If you want to offer an e-learning course but don’t have technical skills to develop it, authoring tool can come to the aid.
Continue reading to discover more.
What is an authoring tool?
Authoring tool is an application software used to create, manage and publish didactic content. The authoring tool functions are many, from the simplest text editor to the creation of cognitive maps. Authoring tool exists to make educational content creation feasible for those without design experience. Instead of using code to manually create a course, an authoring tool lets you use drag-and-drop and other user friendly interfaces.
So, e-learning authoring tools are generally pre-programmed and offer a ready-to-use interface complete with templates, media, tools, interactions, and tests that the user can easily arrange and manipulate.
Types of authoring tool
Authoring tool can either be ‘stand-alone’ or ‘built-in’. With a stand-alone authoring tool, you create content in the authoring tool, export it, and then import to your learning management system (LMS). On the other hand, as the name suggests, built-in authoring tool is integrated directly into your learning platform, so you don’t need to worry about compatibility when exporting and importing.
When using a stand-alone authoring tool, you need to ensure the file output matches your learning platform. If the file output isn’t the right fit with your learning platform, you won’t be able to use the file. This means you need the right e-learning platform and the right authoring tool. If you’re using a learning platform with built-in authoring capabilities, the content output will work on the platform because it’s native. This takes worries of compatibility off your plate and allows you to focus on creating effective learning materials.
Some examples
Two of the most popular examples of stand-alone authoring tools are part of Articulate 360. Articulate 360 is a suite of authoring tools that is incredibly popular. The most popular authoring tools within this suite are Storyline and Rise. Storyline is incredibly comprehensive and lets you custom design your course. Meanwhile, Rise has a smaller learning curve and focuses on responsive learning that works across devices. Another stand-alone authoring tool is Adobe Captivate. The focus of Captivate is turning PowerPoints into courses.
If you have an external course, then a good example of a buit-in authoring tool is Kajabi. Kajabi is an LMS that also lets you market and sell your course. You can also author your course in it.
Authoring tool benefits
Authoring tool makes content creation possible for anyone, but there are many other benefits.
Easy to use
Without an authoring tool, you need a developer or coding skills to create professional eLearning courses. This is a time and money sink in itself. If you or someone on your team has a topic for a course or training module, an authoring tool gives them the freedom to act on that idea, independently.
Scale faster
As your company grows, your learning and development needs will also augment. Keeping up with demand requires the ability to create content quickly. Outsourcing to a developer isn’t just costly, it’s also going to slow you down. Anytime your course needs a refresh, you’re at the mercy of your developer’s availability. Authoring tools allow you to keep up with a growing demand for more education and training within your company. This means you don’t have to waste time bug testing or waiting on development.
Make course iteration easier
With an authoring tool, you can copy a previous piece of content, change whatever you need to change, and publish a new piece far easier than when manually updating eLearning material.
Enjoyment from any platform
Among the strengths of authoring tools is the export format. Almost all of them, in fact, allow the course to be exported in one of the formats most commonly used by LMSs, whether SCORM, HTML5 or xAPI. This, together with the use of one of the many available platforms, allows anyone with the right credentials to access the course from any computer, smartphone or tablet, without having to install the software locally.
Customized branding
Using an authoring tool, you can fully customize and configure training packages to align them perfectly with your brand identity. You will then be able to optimize your learning experience, linking it to your corporate culture.
Take advantage of authoring tool
Whether you are a company, an online training organisation or a freelancer wanting to deliver your own courses, we recommend the e-Logos e-learning platform from VITECO.
The software house converts e-learning courses to SCORM format and develops FAD platforms and serious games. Please note that we do not provide online courses, but make our platforms available to schools, universities, companies and CME providers:
- e-Logos;
- MedicalFAD;
- JO Docet Easy;
- JO Docet Medical;
Choose VITECO, choose JO Group.
For further information send us an e-mail via the contact form below or call us at +390955865339, we will get back to you as soon as possible.