There’s an ocean full of different authoring tools out there. Each one is tailored toward a different audience with its strengths and weaknesses. So, how do you know which authoring tool is right for your next project?
1 - How easy is the authoring tool to use?
Authoring tools can be very complicated to learn. It doesn’t make any sense to purchase an authoring tool that will cause stress and frustration while your team attempts to learn it. When considering an authoring tool, think about if a novice will be able to learn how to use it? Can your team collaborate and work on the same project at once? Will it allow you to preview your final product to help give you a visual and get stakeholder buy-in? Are there any technical or learning support provided? Does it include built-in comment and review tools? The harder your authoring tool is to use, the less productive your team will be. And considering the time of covid, it's imperative that your authoring tool is easy to use.
2 - What are the capabilities of the authoring tool?
Think about what the authoring tool has to offer. What features or capabilities does it have? And I mean more than just the normal features, such as assessments, text, templates, graphics, etc. All of the authoring tools have those basic features. Go beyond basic and see if it offers social-learning tools like polling, non-linear features such as branching, scoring mechanisms, gamification, interactive video and audio, simulations, multiple language translations, etc. These are the things that will engage your learners.
3 - How efficient is the authoring tool?
As an instructional designer, you expect your authoring tool to be able to handle large workloads. Check to see how many projects it can handle? How large projects can be? Another important feature is understanding how many team members can work on it at once.
Also, consider how easy it is to access projects and make changes. Is the authoring tool cloud-based? How fast can it publish? Is there a rapid-release function that will automatically update the LMS?
4 - Is it mobile friendly?
Being able to access courses on mobile devices such as phones and tablets is critical today's world. You want to make sure that your authoring tool can seamlessly deploy on both computers and mobile devices. Providing your learners with multiple ways to access content makes their lives easier and increases your audience & audience engagement.
5 - What can the authoring tool integrate with and track?
Check to see if your authoring tool will integrate into your desired LMS (Learning Management System). Does it need to be a SCORM authoring tool? Or can it be integrated into multiple platforms? For example, Articulate Storyline supports Tin Can API, SCORM 2004, SCORM 1.2, and AICC.
Also, see if the authoring tool offers analytics in regards to tracking data on its users. Data such as screen time, assessment scores, locations, course completion and success rate, etc.
Authoring tools come in all shapes and sizes. These are some of the key components and questions you should be thinking about. But it really comes down to your audience, team and SMEs creating the content.
If you're new to developing courses and hiring SMEs, check out our post on managing SMEs. This way you'll be prepared for your next eLearning development project!