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3 authoring tools for developing e-learning

Within the world of e-learning, there is a plethora of authoring tools, software to design, build and implement e-learning. Although there is often overlap in the offerings, each software manufacturer tries to capture its own piece of the market segment by meeting a number of needs.

As a result, the offerings are enormously diverse, which makes it complicated to determine which tool is best suited for a learning solution. After all, what one authoring tool can do easily may not be possible at all in another. The varying prices and subscription types don't exactly make things easier either. To make the forest among the trees a little more visible, we therefore compare a number of popular authoring tools. We will briefly look at their capabilities, ease of use and cost.

Lectora Desktop 21

The battleship Lectora from the eLearning Brothers, formerly Trivantis, which has served faithfully since 1999. Where other authoring tools are streamlined and minimalistic, Lectora is unwieldy but decisive. At first glance, Lectora displays an interface much like Microsoft PowerPoint or similar software. It relies on desktop, tablet and mobile designs, but switching between these platforms is not always pleasant. Lectora is therefore primarily based on the enormous depth and almost unlimited possibilities that can be obtained with front-end knowledge and conviction; customized styling elements, exotic assignments and all the bells and whistles you would expect from a modern website, for example. Although you can easily set up a standard design using templates or some creative talent, you won't be able to get everything out of Lectora without design knowledge.

In addition to Lectora Desktop, there is also an online version, where teams can work on e-learning solutions within the cloud. This version is largely similar to the desktop version.

Usability: Average
Capabilities: Extremely high (With CSS, javascript knowledge)
Price: €900 per user per year.

Articulate Rise 360

As early as 2016, you build within Articulate Rise in an online environment, where usability and an approachable entry point are the starting point..In fact, you use pre-designed blocks that you can fill with your own content. These blocks can then contain text, images, questions or other elements. This low entry point has the advantage that little prior knowledge and experience is needed to still achieve a fresh and professional-looking end product. With a responsive approach and scalability of the content, the e-learning content remains of the same quality on virtually any device. Speed and ease of use from set-up to implementation is therefore what Articulate Rise likes to advertise and certainly the strongest facet of this authoring tool. And because it is a cloud-based application, of course, the entire team can work on one project. This eliminates the need for a designer to wait for a consultant, or for feedback to be conceived in real time.

What Articulate Rise sacrifices is depth. For although one can quickly modify a template to one's taste and create one's own house style or identity through images and text, this authoring tool chooses to keep larger modifications out of the user's reach. This obviously offers some self-protection to novice developers, but also means that one is stuck with the layout of content blocks and the select number of didactic solutions baked into Articulate Rise. However, when speed and adaptability is a priority, and the learning need can be facilitated just fine with standard didactics, Articulate Rise may be the appropriate tool.

In addition to Articulate Rise 360, Articulate Storyline is also a very interesting package. But this one deserves more explanation at another time.

Usability: High
Capabilities: Average
Price: €1100 per year per user

Adapt Learning

Adapt also entered the market in 2016 and constitutes an open source authoring tool for a diverse range of learning formats. The open source aspect is therefore directly Adapt's flagship feature. Not only can one make use of a growing number of content blocks, but also insert customizable HTML-5 elements and other applications. This makes Adapt slightly less restrictive than Articulate Rise, but follows the same workflow. Adapt does need to be installed on a server. This process consists of many steps and can take quite a bit of time. A smart ICT person is therefore a must-have. The biggest advantage of Adapt Learning is that use of the software is completely free. A custom-designed e-learning solution can thus be rolled out a lot more economically, especially if the number of hours spent on design and working forms can be kept low.

But is cheap ultimately expensive? Perhaps it is. Using the standard content blocks means that a design quickly starts to look angular and less dynamic. And this shows itself in Adapt Learning just a bit more than in its counterpart Articulate Rise. Also, the working forms are limited to what can be fit within the content blocks. Without extensive knowledge of HTML-5, for example, it is therefore challenging to introduce exotic assignments or learning elements. For standard work, however, the entry level is very low. This, along with price aspect, makes Adept Learning an interesting software solution for certain situations.

Usability: Average
Capabilities: Average
Price: Free, use of a server at €120 per year.

And the winner is...

Clearly, there is no one ultimate authoring tool. It's a lot more nuanced and one software package or platform is better suited to serve certain learning needs than another. Want to learn more about the possibilities of e-learning? Or what Précon is doing to get the most out of these tools? Then feel free to contact us without obligation at info@precongroup.com or +31 (0)30 - 65 66 010.

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