Content creation is the process of generating content for businesses, educational institutions, corporate training, healthcare training, etc. It involves creating eLearning modules, documents, presentations, and interactive elements using the best content authoring tools.

The corporate digital learning sector has grown from a $86.78 billion industry in 2018 and is expected to reach $153.41 billion by 2028. Considering this massive development, the digital learning industry is looking for the best solutions to optimize content.

Content creators have a wide variety of the best authoring software available in the market that comes with specialized applications, user-friendly interfaces, and unique experiences without applying extensive technical know-how. The best eLearning authoring tools support the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM), which is well integrated with Learning Management Systems (LMS) and can be easily published and distributed. Let us dive deeper into learning about the best content authoring tools!

Table of Contents:

What are Content Authoring Tools?

Content authoring tools, or eLearning authoring tools, empower learning content creators to develop effective courses in select digital formats. These platforms provide authors with drag-and-drop functionality to build a course instead of having them code every feature of the modules themselves.

Authoring tools come in two formats: standalone or Built-In.

  1. Standalone Authoring Tools: These authoring tools are available as standalone solutions. You can create your own course using these tools, export the file in the chosen format, and upload it to your learning management systems.
  2. Built-In: Built-in authoring tools are part of larger software, like a learning management system (LMS). These solutions are more integrated and provide smoother workflows, as you can create your course and use it directly on the LMS without exporting it anywhere.

9 Features to Consider When Selecting an eLearning Creation Tool

Some of the top considerations that you need to review before choosing the right eLearning creation tool for your organization:

1. Learners’ Needs

To choose a suitable tool, you need to consider the requirements of your target learners first. Different tools are available to choose from, depending on the type of content you might need to create, the skills and technology you require for that, and the learning needs of your learners. Whether you need to create an interactive simulation or a simple PowerPoint presentation to satisfy your learners’ needs, you can get a suitable tool for each type of content development.

For instance, Adobe Captivate, Articulate 360, and Lectora Inspire are some of the eLearning content development tools that can be helpful in developing different types of courses and need to create original, customized pieces for their learners.

2. Development Time

Time is a crucial factor when it comes to eLearning course development. If you need a quick turnaround time for your courses, rapid eLearning creation tools are the most suitable option for you. Compared to a traditional authoring tool, rapid tools can reduce the development time by up to 40%. Tools with readymade templates and pre-built functionalities can help in the quick integration of existing data for repurposing or the easy development of fresh content.

3. Online Asset Library

Most eLearning creation tools come with an in-built online asset library that contains different types of images, characters, videos, and even chart formats. To subscribe to the right tool for your organization, you need to do some homework. Opt for a free trial or explore online reviews to know about the quality and availability of an asset library in the tool.

A good understanding of the built-in multimedia assets will help you choose the right tool, so that you can create engaging training content for a variety of learning and development purposes.

4. Multiple Language Support

These days, with several organizations preparing eLearning courses for global audiences, supporting multiple languages has become a desired feature for eLearning tools. Such tools come with multiple language support or optional language add-on features that are required to create multilingual eLearning courses.

5. Budget and Maintenance Cost

Pricing or subscription charges can determine, to a large extent, whether you will opt for that eLearning creation tool or not. You may love the features of a tool, but the cost can act as a barrier. Some tools come with a one-time purchasing facility, while others come with subscription-based pricing plans. Depending on project-specific requirements, or the number of users, or the number of complex features, the subscription charge may vary.

6. Instructional Strategies

When choosing an eLearning course development tool, you need to make sure that it supports your project-specific instructional strategy. Different tools support different types of interactivities such as quizzes, animations, puzzles, games, and so on. If your eLearning courses require interactive simulations or other engaging items, you should go for tools that can support your needs.

Some of the interactive features that you might need for eLearning content are:

  • Quizzes and surveys
  • Video lectures and screencasts
  • Interactive elements
  • Branching scenarios
  • Dialogue simulations

7. Delivery Method

A good eLearning course needs to be accessible from all kinds of devices. For that, your eLearning course creation tool should support a responsive design. A lot of these tools come with a preview option that lets you check the content layout on different platforms.

Therefore, you should go for tools that allow you to create responsive resources that can automatically resize the content to fit different screen sizes.

8. Scalability

A good eLearning tool must be equipped to scale up the quality of resources by adding new features when you wish to upgrade a course or want to add advanced features. An eLearning tool with advanced features will allow you to create resources with complex interactive sessions or simulations.

9. Customer Support

Customer support is also a crucial factor to consider before you opt for a tool. You need to find out how much vendor support you can expect or if there is any round-the-clock client support system available. A quick chat support from trained professionals or 24*7 call services can be beneficial for the learning and development teams.

Free vs. Paid: The Choice of Better Investment

Traditionally, organizations’ L&D departments have had to justify their work and existence in the ecosystem. However, this landscape has changed after the pandemic. Individuals are seeking quick and effective ways to learn and grow their skill base, turning to digital courses.

Organizations today are thus under pressure to find effective solutions that can help them deliver impactful courses at a reasonable cost. While most authoring tools look cost-effective on paper, real-world expenses can skyrocket, leading to budget overruns.

Here is a breakdown of five considerations you need to make between free and paid authoring tools for cost-benefit analysis:

1. Administration of LMS

In a world where learners want updates quickly, downloading, updating, and re-uploading content to the LMS can be a pain. Between free and paid authoring tools, favor the one that provides quick solutions to modify your courses and launch them just as quickly.

Standalone tools may increase a few steps in your content management process by requiring you to export and import courses to the platform. Adopting an integrated tool can solve this challenge.

2. Collaboration and Project Management

Collaborating with professionals is key to creating well-rounded and in-depth courses. Many free authoring tools provide collaborative features; however, they often come with restrictions such as team size or cross-platform compatibility. On the other hand, paid tools may have lock-ins that restrict your business from exporting the material to your LMS.

Assess the paid or free versions of your chosen tools for collaboration support. Ascertain that the collaborative environment supports the workflows and tools that you use at your enterprise and that all the necessary integrations are included.

3. Updates, Variations, Maintenance

Many authoring tools aren’t designed to handle updates, content variations, and periodic maintenance effectively. This is especially true for free tools, where the typical modus operandi is what you see is what you get.

Suppose your content is dynamic and requires frequent updates (like general knowledge or current affairs courses). In that case, you may want to consider a paid tool that allows you to set up course variations and make cascading changes more efficient.

4. Translations and Localization

Digital courses have eliminated geographical boundaries by making the Internet a carrier of knowledge. However, for the course creators, this has translated into added work by necessitating content localization for all audiences.

Free authoring tools offer multi-language support, but you should check whether they contain the languages of your target audience. Consider the number of free localizations available.

Regarding paid tools, content localization is usually included in the deal. You also get unlimited translations and downloads. In this situation, your budget sets the final constraint.

5. Scalability

Authoring tools do provide content creators with features to manage heavy workloads. However, sometimes, software alone cannot manage the workload during peak learning seasons. Free authoring tools usually provide limited scalability by restricting the number of courses that can be run in parallel on the platform.

Even with the paid versions, you would find packages with increasing premiums for better scalability. In this situation, it is smart to consider tools that provide features like templates that aid high-volume production. It makes the tool capable of handling multiple online profiles simultaneously, increasing the output.

Also, consider the software’s user-friendliness so that your entire workforce can use it without prior training to maximize production.

Top 9 Content Authoring Tools

Created by different companies, these content authoring tools offer various features and options to cater to different eLearning needs.

1. Elucidat

This cloud-based e-content development tool offers an extensive library of pre-built templates you can manipulate in sync with your brand, using the layout designer feature to build custom pages without any code. Elucidat also includes flexible rules and branching options to create personalized learning paths and deliver highly immersive experiences.

Some brilliant eLearning examples are included in the free trial account that you can use as a template. The tool also has an analytics dashboard to provide detailed data on how learners interact and respond to the course. The simple yet comprehensive list of features allows you to create high-quality eLearning content smarter and faster. The tool supports SCORM-compliant HTML5 eLearning, advanced xAPI data reporting, and mobile-responsive content.

2. Adobe Captivate

This desktop application is compatible with Windows and Mac. Its customization options, themes, color palettes, and slide masters allow you to create fit-for-purpose eLearning content. This e-content development tool has built-in recording, which you can use to create videos and system demos and build screens on which users can practice their skills.

The Fluid Boxes feature allows you to create responsive content that can be viewed on multiple devices. Mobile gestures, complex interactions, and geo-location features help to build a high-quality learning experience. While this authoring tool has several benefits, it also has a steep learning curve, which implies significant training time for new authors.

3. Articulate Storyline

This e-content development tool offers a PowerPoint look and feel and has a modest learning curve. As in the case of PowerPoint, you can control the theme pages with slide masters and a color palette for branding.

Various triggers, which are activated by tapping, clicking, and rolling over a screen object, allow you to achieve interactivity in the content. When a user action is detected, other objects on the screen can be shown or hidden. These features allow you to add interactivity without coding. Articulate is one of the oldest e-learning tools and supports most e-learning formats, including SCORM.

4. El Design

This innovative e-content development tool supports a blend of approaches like AR, VR, next-gen gamification, interactive videos, social learning, microlearning, blended learning, and mobile learning. You can use its various features to create sticky learning and provide room for practice and proficiency gain.

5. Gomo

This cloud-based e-content development tool allows you to create web-style eLearning courses that you can host online via the web or offline using the Gomo app. The tool offers a range of themes you can tweak to look on-brand. There is also a library of interactive templates that you can use to bring your content alive. Authors can also collaborate while creating courses.

6. Lectora Inspire and Lectora Online

Lectora Inspire is a Windows desktop e-content development tool, while Lectora Online is the cloud-based HTML5 version. While it offers an interesting set of tools and features, it has a steep learning curve. Several built-in templates can be tweaked or used as they are. The tool includes a responsive course design feature that lets you develop courses in the desktop view; the tool then automatically rescales them for mobile devices.

7. Adapt

This open-source e-content development tool can be used to create highly responsive HTML5 content. Since it is open source, the tool makes available the tried and tested components from the user community. You can produce content using pre-built templates or create your own themes. It also has a range of interaction and assessment features and an asset library, making it easy to update content quickly.

8. DominKnow One

This tool builds on the features of its traditional e-content development tool, Claro. DominKnow One includes screen capture, responsive authoring, and simulation capabilities. You can use a range of built-in themes and templates, and also import your PowerPoint content. The responsive design capabilities are strong, and you can also create varied page types and interactions.

9. Easygenerator

This cloud-based e-content development platform is focused on quickly and efficiently creating eLearning content. You can leverage the predefined templates to produce responsive content with simple interactions. Using the co-authoring feature, you can assign roles to different team members and collaborate on a course. This SCORM-compliant tool can be used to create basic HTML5 content.

Key Takeaways

The integration of AI in eLearning courses is still in its early stages, but the future promises exciting possibilities. Imagine AI-powered tools that automatically adapt content based on real-time learner emotions, create personalized learning experiences based on individual strengths and weaknesses, and even proactively diagnose learning gaps and difficulties. However, this requires responsible development and ethical considerations.

As AI continues to evolve, it’s our responsibility to ensure its usage promotes inclusivity, accessibility, and a safe learning space for all. AI-powered eLearning authoring tools are revolutionizing the way we create and deliver learning experiences.

Hurix Digital leverages some of these tools to offer highly flexible, high-value custom content development services. Our team will help you develop custom content for your learners.