eLearning Authoring Tools
EDUA 6382 - Basic Applications Media & Technology
With the advancement of technology, e-learning authoring tools have made it possible for educators and trainers to create engaging and interactive e-learning content that can provide excellent learning opportunities for students and workers, depending on the educational context.
What is authoring software?
According to Kelvin Loh (2016), in the video "Elearning authoring Software," E-learning authoring software is a computer program that enables users to develop or design e-learning content or materials. He further elaborated that this e-learning software allows you to insert all kinds of media objects like tags and multimedia and one of the main differences between learning or training tools and other or training tools, he states that it would this part, they allow you to publish the content in industry-standard like scum or tin can API so this one reason why PPT cannot be considered as an e-learning authoring tools even though PPT is a very good authoring tool. (Kelvin Loh, 2016)
In the article “9 Myths about e-Learning Authoring Tools and How to Use Them Properly,” Masterchief (2016) debunks nine of the most common myths about e-learning authoring tools. For instance, the author indicated that copying and pasting content into a PowerPoint presentation is not an instructional design. Masterchief (2016) Moreover, Masterchief did a comparative study on authoring software, including the cost, time to learn the basics of how to use the software, and days of training and learning to become proficient. Some authoring software is relatively cheap; there was one that was even free, but it had limited capabilities, so time and resources played a big part in determining if a company can afford an e-learning type of training program.
Like all commercial software, there are differences in what authoring software can do for the business in building your e-learning program; therefore, any business attempting to set up an e-learning training program needs to factor in how much time can be dedicated to this project and are there sustainable resources for payment of the authoring software, especially since there different methods to purchase, depending on the business needs. There are subscriptions, just like with any other software, or there are authoring software that has a one-time cost and can be loaded onto your computer. Some of this software has limitations in supporting or obtaining the latest upgrades. So, caution and research are required so that the business acquires the appropriate authoring software to meet their e-learning training needs.
The article "The Best eLearning Authoring Tools" by Martinez (2017) mentions ten tools that can help educators improve training within their agency or district by adopting authoring software to enhance their training programs. Martinez (2017) provides an impressive assessment because it has a wide range of templates and other assets for effective course creation, easy to understand and easy to use. One example of an eLearning authoring tool is Articulate Storyline 2, which is an authoring software with tools for PowerPoint users. Given that most current training modules are in PowerPoint presentation format, this feature allows for the integration of essential training information that an agency or district has already developed and creates e-learning training opportunities for its staff.
For future reference:
More information about the software Trivantis Lectora Inspire. Please see the link below:
References
Kelvin Loh. (2016, May 13). ELearning authoring Software [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPBSqDrNbt8
Martinez, J. (2017). The best eLearning Authoring Tools. PCMAG. https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-elearning-authoring-tools
Masterchief. (2016, April 13). 9 Myths About eLearning Authoring Tools And How To Use Them Properly - ITyStudio. ITyStudio. https://itystudio.com/9-myths-elearning-authoring-tools-use-properly/
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