It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words, or in this case a video. I’ve come across several videos on YouTube in the last few days that have inspired me to share my list of the best software for e-learning. In addition to all the great training software offerings from Wistia, you should also consider the following list of other options:
There are many tools for E-Learning available in the market today. However, most of them lack a strong foundation and hence they fail to deliver. In this blog, I’ll discuss why these so called E-Learning courses don’t work. Also I will explain what a truly usable product is, and conclude with my recommendations for some useful tools you can use to improve your teaching skills.
Explore And Compare The Top eLearning Authoring Tools
You might think that it’s relatively easy to pick the best eLearning authoring tools. After all, there are so many options to choose from. However, the abundance of choice makes it even more challenging to create a shortlist. There’s simply not enough time to vet all the vendors one-by-one or take test drives to see how they perform in the real world. Fortunately, our Top eLearning Authoring Tools List takes the stress out of software buying. All the vendors have earned their spot with stellar CX and standout features.
In fact, our list can help you determine which providers are RFP-worthy based on your evaluation criteria, such as which companies deliver all your must-have features and support services. This way, you can spend less time searching and more time implementing your new authoring tool solutions, as you should be. Below are just a few benefits our list can bring to your organization.
Check out eLearning Industry’s Top List to:
- Compile a shortlist of authoring tool vendors for your use case
- Evaluate authoring software selling points
- Analyze user reviews and ratings to establish social proof
- Compare top authoring tool solutions to get top value for money
- Check out pricing options to find the best software in your price range
- Qualify vendors that specialize in your customer type
In the following list, we’ve gathered the top software for your needs. If you want to compare authoring tools side by side, go straight to our directory!
Top List: The Best eLearning Authoring Tools
If your company is listed among the Best Authoring Tools, feel free to add this badge to your website!
Here Are The Top Authoring Software For eLearning
1. Adobe Captivate 4.5/5 (71 reviews)
Adobe is a global leader in digital media, digital marketing, and eLearning solutions. Their tools and services allow their customers to create groundbreaking digital content, deploy it across media and devices, measure and optimize it and achieve greater business success. Adobe Captivate is a rapid authoring tool that enables eLearning content developers to create mobile-ready, engaging, interactive courses in minutes.
Ready to give it a spin? Click here for a free 30-day trial.
Curious to see why it is one of the best eLearning authoring tools?
Visit our directory to read Adobe Captivate Reviews.
Highlights
- Jumpstart compliance and soft skills course creation with ready-to-go slides
- Create future-ready eLearning courses using Virtual Reality and responsive design
- Out-of-the-box assets, interactions, and quizzing
Read more2. iSpring Suite 4.6/5 (241 reviews)
iSpring Solutions is an international software company founded in 2001. They focus on providing solutions for eLearning content authoring and training management to both corporate and educational clients worldwide. The company is recognized by over 59,000 clients for its easy-to-use yet swift and reliable products, and exceptional technical support. The superior quality of iSpring products is recognized by authoritative industry awards and ratings.
Learn more about iSpring Suite’s capabilities.
You can also check out iSpring Suite reviews in our directory.
Highlights
iSpring Suite Max is a fast and easy-to-use toolkit for creating eLearning content for any learning objective.
- Quick creation of eLearning courses, quizzes, video lessons, and role-plays
- Enjoyable online workspace that enhances teamwork
- Easy content delivery (LMS, YouTube, HTML5 conversion)
Read more3. Lectora 4.4/5 (16 reviews)
eLearning Brothers is a leading company in learning technology solutions. They enable organizations to conquer performance and development challenges. Their team offers a one-stop shop for learning development and delivery, ranging from strategic consulting to authoring tools. eLearning Brothers is helping everyone create and deliver eLearning that rocks!
Sign up for a free trial of Lectora and each Authoring Suite tool by visiting the eLearning Brothers website.
Care to see why users think it is one of the best eLearning authoring tools?
Explore Lectora reviews in our niche directory.
Highlights
- Modular development tools (to boost productivity)
- The accessibility leader
- Adaptive learning with assessment and tracking
Adobe Captivate
Captivate is a desktop application available for both Windows and Mac. It’s one of the most powerful elearning authoring tools in this list, but comes with a steeper learning curve and its own set of challenges.
Quality of elearning output
Experienced authors can create learning content using customization options from the (relatively limited) themes available. The themes are similar to PowerPoint, with color palettes and slide masters defining the look and feel.
Speed and efficiency of authoring
Captivate’s steep learning curve means significant training and ramp-up time is needed for new authors. Simple content is relatively quick to produce, but if you’re using more advanced interactions, be prepared to put in some hours.
Scalability
Because Captivate is a desktop authoring application, it’s not set up for working collaboratively and consistently at scale. Themes and master slides can be shared to installations on other computers, but the process is manual and can be tricky. The same applies to asset management; each desktop user is “on their own” when it comes to creating content and assets.
Supported elearning formats
Captivate is a powerful SCORM elearning software. Previously a desktop-based tool for windows, a 2019 update saw two major updates: some tool aspects were brought online and Mac users could finally access the software.
Captivate learning software supports a wide range of formats:
- HTML5, SCORM, AICC, xAPI (TinCan)
- Windows, Mac OS
Captivate Strengths
- Able to produce complex interactions (if you know how)
- Output can be location aware (i.e., you can hook into a device’s geo-location capability)
- Interactivity in the output can recognize common mobile-device gestures (e.g., pinch and zoom, swipe)
- Accelerometer-based interaction types
- Good for screen recording and simulations
- Ability to create virtual reality (VR) learning experiences
Captivate Weaknesses
- Steep learning curve with limited support
- Limitations of a desktop tool – challenging collaboration, review and version control
- Traditional linear style design compared to more modern elearning authoring tools
- Painful process to update and maintain existing content
Best for:
- Experienced authors
- Production of localized elearning
- Interactive learning experiences
- Mobile-ready elearning content
- Easy publishing options
Case studies & awards
Adobe Captivate has customer success stories from brands including American Airlines and Indiana University.
Check out our in-depth comparison and review of Adobe Captivate and Elucidat authoring tool.
Or… Check out the authoring software on the Captive website
Articulate Storyline 360
Articulate Storyline is a Windows desktop authoring application that leverages a PowerPoint look and feel. It has a modest learning curve considering the flexibility that it offers—especially if you already know your way around PowerPoint.
Quality of elearning output
If you’ve got the skills and competencies, Storyline allows you to author highly customized and engaging content. Like Powerpoint, you can control theme pages via project colors and slide masters. This makes it very flexible, but a bit tricky to control consistent branding over multiple courses and Storyline installations.
Speed and efficiency of authoring
Articulate Storyline is a complex tool, so where organizations don’t invest the time in training, authoring efficiency can be limited. As one of the most widely used elearning authoring tools, however, many designers will have experience with Storyline already.
Scalability
As a desktop-based tool, collaboration, and therefore scalability, is limited. It’s tricky to share courses with others for reuse, and assets aren’t housed centrally.
There’s an export feature that pulls out all of the text from a course to aid translation, but manual adjustments need to ensure the new language(s) still fit on the page, etc.
Supported elearning formats
Articulate is one of the oldest, and most widely used windows-based elearning authoring tools. Articulate’s primary SCORM compliant authoring tool, Articulate Storyline, is a powerful windows-based application that supports most elearning formats:
- AICC, SCORM, xAPI (TinCan)
- Windows
Storyline Strengths
- Good flexibility and control in terms of content output
- A commonly used tool, so designers tend to have experience
- Very active online community
- Reasonably powerful show me/try me/test me software simulation elearning capability
Storyline Weaknesses
- Not truly mobile responsive – it just shrinks the screen
- More traditional linear design compared to modern elearning authoring tools
- Collaboration and content updates can be time consuming
- Don’t get new features and bug fixes instantly
- Can be very expensive if you have a lot of authors and want to scale content
- Poor screen reader functionality
Best for:
- Authors with experience
- Producing highly-customized content
- Extensive design capabilities
- Flexible templates and design features
Case studies & awards
Articulate Storyline 360 has case studies from companies including Insperity and Lexis Nexis.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any specific awards for Articulate Storyline 360 on the Articulate website.
Find out more about how Elucidat compares to Storyline in our in-depth Elucidat elearning authoring software versus Articulate Storyline 360 review blog.
Or… Check out how Storyline fits in as part of the 360 suite on the articulate website
Conclusion
So, your boss told you to create an e-learning course. What software should you choose? The FACT (Funny As Canon) is that there are tons of software options available for creating e-learning courses; however; the number that actually deliver on intended uses is comparatively small. So what makes one program better than the other? Hopefully this article will help you make an informed decision.