Elearning authoring tools are the cornerstone of elearning and creating interactive multimedia educational experiences. With build in text to speech and visual recognition capabilities, Edusoft’s Authoring Tools allow the creation of interactive learning content without technical skills. Edusoft tools can be used to create eLearning courses with voice narration, animations, images and videos builtin flash cards or an interactive knowledge map.
Here are a couple good e-learning content creation tools.
Articulate Rise
Articulate Rise is a web-based authoring tool that allows instructional designers to create training modules or entire courses in the “longread” form using their browsers. Although originally limited to a fairly small selection of interactions, Rise gets updated regularly, so more and more assets become available for creators over time.
Learning curve
Built as a cloud-based application for eLearning authoring, Articulate Rise is a level of magnitude easier to learn than the desktop Storyline. It offers an intuitive interface that won’t be any hassle to master.
Assessments
So far, there are only 4 question types available in Rise: multiple-choice, multiple response, fill-in-the-blank, and matching. Same question types can be inserted into a module, not just as rated quizzes, but also as quick knowledge checks.
Interactions
There are 10 interaction types, including accordion, flashcards, and timeline. Plus, content creators who use Storyline on their PCs can import an interaction of any kind from the desktop authoring tool.
Video and audio editor
Being a web-based content authoring solution, Rise doesn’t have a video or audio editor, so one would have to resort to using a desktop program for that. But it at least allows users to upload and manage subtitles via its web interface.
Conversation simulations
There’s a built-in dialogue feature that allows you to create “scenarios” – interactive dialogues that serve as educational segments in training courses. These, unlike in iSpring Suite, are not rated and thus can’t be used as assessments.
Mobile learning
Content created with Articulate Rise is well-suited for mobile devices with a built-in responsive player that can automatically adapt to any screen, be it tablets or smartphones.
Publishing options
- HTML5
- eLearning formats: SCORM, AICC, xAPI, and cmi5
Pros
- Ability to create responsive training content quickly with a simple web interface
- Access to content library with lots of visual assets like backgrounds and characters
- OS agnostic: works on Mac, Windows, and Linux
- Support for all major eLearning standards allows one to create training content quickly and upload it to any LMS
- Allows you to collaborate on courses with your team members
Cons
- Limited content customization capabilities – an understandable tradeoff of a streamlined web application
- Only a single format of a training module (longread) can be created with it
- Just 4 question types to use in quizzes
Best for
Articulate Rise will be an equally good fit for new instructional designers and experienced industry cats. When your projects don’t have strict requirements on what content should look like and how it should function, Rise will allow you to pump out training courses quickly.
Price
$1,299/year (for teams) or $999 (for individuals)
Camtasia
TechSmith’s Camtasia is a desktop powerhouse for recording and editing instructional videos. It’s available for both Mac and PC, and is considered to be one of the most popular authoring tools for screencasts and other types of training videos. It doesn’t just allow you to record your screen and edit the captured video – there’s a quiz editing tool, a bunch of stock video/audio, and various visual effects, all at your fingertips.
Learning curve
For someone who has never worked with a video editor before, Camtasia might come across as a bit overwhelming. However, this authoring software is well known by the community and there’s a handful of video tutorials and help articles that will help you grasp the basics of working with the app quickly. After you’ve come to grips with Camtasia, it actually becomes pretty easy to operate and allows you to churn out high-quality training videos in short order.
Assessments
Camtasia can be used to insert quizzes and surveys to videos. There are just 4 question types available: multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, true/false, and short answer.
Interactions
This product is not the typical authoring tool that includes all sorts of interaction templates. Focused on video editing, it doesn’t provide any interactive elements other than quizzes and surveys.
Video and audio editor
Camtasia has been the top performer in the casual video editing market for a while now. It’s safe to say that this application is much more capable than the usual video editors included with other authoring tools.
Conversation simulations
Cannot be created in Camtasia.
Mobile learning
The program doesn’t offer any special tools or perks for mobile learners. But since its only output is video, it doesn’t need to, because all modern smartphones and tablets can play these formats just fine.
Publishing options
- video formats, including MP4 and AVI
- eLearning formats: SCORM 1.2 and 2004
Pros
- Available for both Mac and PC
- The most advanced video editor compared to all other authoring tools on the market
- Gives access to a library of stock music, intros, transitions, and other assets that will help you get the job done in less time
- Built-in quiz maker that allows you to create quizzes inside your training videos
- Supports SCORM; can export training modules for use in an LMS
Cons
- Limited to producing video content
- No interactive elements can be used in output content aside from quizzes
- Built-in quiz tool only has 4 question types to select from
- Not half as capable as true video editors like Adobe Premiere Pro or Davinci Resolve
Best for
This authoring software will come in handy for anyone who makes training content about computer software. Recording the screen and the webcam, editing the output with a bunch of stock effects, exporting the finished lesson to SCORM – Camtasia has everything you need for a good video tutorial that can act as training material. However, if the project you’re working on requires something other than a screencast with visual hints and annotations, look for a different solution.
Price
Lifetime license + one year of updates for $299
Lectora Online
In this comparison, we’ll look at Lectora Online, the cloud-based version of Lectora, which offers content authoring plus similar eLearning development tools that are comparable to the other products in this article.
A big focus of the Lectora product range has always been compliance with web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG). This ensures that any course created with this online eLearning tool will be accessible to those with disabilities, such as hearing or vision impairment. If you work in or develop content for federal government organizations, this is a good choice.
Lectora’s popular Getting Started templates are a great shortcut for authoring. Each template includes built-in navigation, interactive samples, page layouts, and instructions for use. Plus, these built-in templates offer different learning styles and course types such as basic linear, non-linear, microlearning, scenario-based, adaptive, time-of-need/just-in-time training, multimedia, and more.
For more experienced developers, Lectora Online supports scripts, custom libraries, fonts, and CSS, so the sky’s the limit in terms of customization.
Learning curve
The interface will look familiar to Windows users, since it uses the Windows toolbar format and folder structure icons to represent the different sections, topics, interactions, quizzes, and assets in a course. Compared to other tools, the menu system looks a bit confusing and the layout will take some getting used to.
Getting a standard eLearning course up and running using some of the templates provided should be within most people’s reach, but there’s definitely more complexity involved in creating and editing courses compared to the other course development tools.
Assessments
Lectora lets you build quizzes or surveys using a selection of 12 question types. They range from simple ones like true/false to more interactive varieties such as drag-and-drop or rank sequence.
Interactions
There are form elements like list box and radio button that you can insert to your course and link to certain variables and actions, thereby setting up a custom interaction. If you’d like to start from a template, eLearning Brothers offer a library of readymade interactions like Puzzle and Drag & Drop that you can easily customize.
Video and audio editor
Lectora has a very capable video tool that lets you record from both your screen and/or webcam and edit the results: you can create transitions from one segment of video to another, add effects, record narration, etc.
Conversation simulations
This eLearning design software doesn’t have a dedicated instrument for building dialogue simulations. You can try to find a suitable template in the eLearning Brothers library or create your own from scratch using the advanced programming capabilities of the tool.
Mobile learning
Lectora is perfectly capable of publishing responsive content, and so is suitable for mobile-oriented usage. However, it doesn’t have an app for downloading published content and viewing it offline like iSpring and Articulate do.
Publishing options
- HTML5
- eLearning formats: AICC, SCORM, and xAPI
Pros
- WCAG compliant
- Supports conditional branching and sequenced events
- Ability to add your own scripts, custom libraries, fonts, CSS
- Built-in versioning for collaboration
- Robust quizzing options
- Getting-started course templates that include navigation and sample interactions
- Global content management and update of assets
- Reviewing integration with review link
- Stock images and templates from eLearning Brothers
Cons
- More expensive than its competitors
- Clunky, outdated UI
- Not the most intuitive authoring tool on the market
- Advanced features don’t support Section 508
- In order to create a responsive course, you need to edit the same content in 5 (!) different views
Best for
Lectora has a legion of fans, but they mostly fall into the ‘power user’ category, meaning they’ve spent considerable time learning the tool and are truly experts with it.
It doesn’t offer a user experience as clean as iSpring Suite or Articulate Rise, but certainly offers a great degree of power and flexibility for experienced and more technically inclined eLearning developers.
Most suitable for larger and geographically dispersed organizations with a mature L&D model encompassing multiple authors and reviewers.
Pricing
$500/year (Starter), $900/year (Pro), $1390 (Team)
Elucidat
Elucidat’s cloud-based eLearning authoring tool lets you produce responsive SCORM-compliant eLearning content that they claim will work with any modern LMS.
Being an online course authoring software, your whole team, from content designers to subject-matter experts, can contribute to, review and take part in the eLearning authoring process at any time.
Elucidat aims to be an all-in-one cloud-based solution for creating high-quality eLearning, managing content at scale, and analyzing performance. It has all the features you’d expect from an authoring platform: templates, resources, video and audio management, a mobile responsive editor, a layout designer, and the usual interactive elements you’d expect such as buttons, flip cards, and input boxes.
There’s also a focus on collaboration with multiple authors, and powerful features for role-based development and translation projects across multiple regions. These include separate modular views for team leaders, SMEs, designers, and reviewers, who all get access to feature sets relevant to their roles and position in the development process.
Learning curve
The user interface is clear and uncluttered so you can get started building projects immediately using templates and content blocks, and applying style elements with great looking results.
For more experienced developers, there’s a lot that can be done, but this will require an investment of time and training.
Assessments
Elucidat boasts a wide range of question types for your rated quizzes. You can also download one of their templates to come up with some other type of assessment, like an interactive game with a branching scenario.
Interactions
This content development software has just a couple of available interaction types that you can use in your courses: these are Hotspot and Flashcards.
Video and audio editor
Unfortunately, Elucidat lets you neither record nor edit audio or video.
Conversation simulations
The tool also doesn’t feature a dedicated conversation simulation feature.
Mobile learning
Elucidat is mobile-ready with all content it publishes being fully responsive, but it doesn’t feature a dedicated mobile app that can download and run courses offline.
Publishing options
- HTML5
- Video
- eLearning formats – SCORM (1.2, 2004) and xAPI (TinCan)
Pros
- Management of eLearning content at scale
- Streamlined workflows for teams
- Page transition effects
- Ability to create single courses that are responsive on any device
- Personalized learner clips
- Flexible item animation; it’s possible to animate almost any course element
- Easily access data and insight into how users engage with learning content
- XLIFF Translation support for automatic course localization
Cons
- Cloud-based means you have to store all your contents on the vendor’s servers
- Lacks flexibility in comparison to other toolkits, so experienced content authors may find themselves limited in their abilities
- Doesn’t give too much control over custom interactions in your content
- Can get more expensive than any of its competitors according to user reviews
Best for
Elucidat is well suited to organizations with dispersed L&D teams and requirements to deliver course variations by locality.
The variations manager allows an author to create a central “master course”, which has full control over its “child courses.” Once an edit is made to a master course, the child course will then follow — edits can still be made locally in a child course. Elucidat authors can manage several course variations within one location, saving the hassle of creating numerous versions and editing each one individually.
Price
No price listed; must contact the vendor.
Conclusion
In summary, it’s worth noting that there’s no perfect eLearning authoring tool. While there are many different tools out there, and even though the market is constantly evolving, it may be best to evaluate your needs before choosing a certain software.