To some people elearning is a magic word, heralding interactive screens and animations, embedded audio and YouTube video. To others it strikes a deep seated fear in the pit of their stomach. Whatever your feelings towards what elearning has to offer, it is a huge topic filled with wonder, creativity and fantastical development tools.
Elearning, when it is done well, is a very powerful learning medium. The problems arise when it is unplanned and thrown together. Who benefits from a poorly planned programme? No one, and least of all the learner.
Tools for developing elearning have been gathering momentum over the last few years. Originally, it was all about animated PowerPoint slides, colours and jazzy fonts. The content (and the learning objectives) were sometimes lost in the barrage of clipart, charts and images. Now it is all about engaging the learner, giving them a media rich experience at the same time as depositing some learning into their attentive brain.
Animated PowerPoint slides you might say, "I can do that!", does that make you a elearning developer? Not in this day and age, although starting out with solid PowerPoint knowledge will help. Being a developer draws on multiple creative skills, solid IT knowledge and industry trends in elearning.
So when I started looking into the development (also called authoring) tools, which are now commercially available. I had flashbacks to learning Visual Basic VI at University. Let's get this straight, I'm not a developer, the very words 'writing code' bring me out in a cold sweat. Research and testing the tools was going to be a rocky road of discovery.
I've found the majority of tools fall into one of 3 categories;
- PowerPoint Plugin tools
- Desktop based software packages (Creative Suites)
- Server based online tools (sometimes referred to as collaborative authoring tools)
PowerPoint Plugins
These tools use PowerPoint as the authoring environment, but allow you to add interactivity; and to publish your content, packaged ready to track, in a learning management system. These are very easy to use as most people are familiar with PowerPoint. One of the most popular tools in this market is Articulate. Relatively cheap (still around the £500 mark), you buy a license and it's away you go.
Desktop Tools
These are installed on your desktop and are generally more complex than the PowerPoint tools, but they give you more control over the style and interactions. Examples of these tools include Adobe Captivate, Lectora and Articulate Storyline. Again, you have to buy these by the licence and if you have multiple people developing materials, the initial outlay can be expensive.
Server Based Tools
These tools are hosted on a server and are typically accessed via a browser over the Internet. They can be very easy to use and because they are server based you can easily control content, update materials and manage your files in one place. They are also good for collaborative and dispersed teams who can work on content together and review in one place. Examples of these tools include Coursebuilder, Mohive and Atlantic Link. The drawback is these tools are usually the most expensive of the three options (we're talking £1000s a year).
All these tools have their Pros and Cons - the biggest pull for me was being able to open it up and start using it straight away. With this in mind I decided to test 3 tools:
- Adobe Captivate
- Articulate Storyline
- Udutu (free authoring server based software)
Some of the tools can be a bit hard to get started unless you have some prior knowledge in authoring. I found this particularly evident with Captivate. Very powerful tool, but hard to get screens created without a steep learning curve. Captivate had a distinctive PowerPoint feel and whilst it was familiar I found myself stumped after a certain point. This led to frustration and ultimately I decided this wasn't the tool for us.
Articulate Storyline, on the other hand was a breath of fresh air. It was intuitive and within 20 minutes I was adding screen after screen with integrated animations, video and quizzes. The character bank was fantastic, with a choice of illustrated or photographic characters in various poses. Template screens were easy to create and your theme bank was also a helpful addition. In my humble, inexperienced opinion I thought it combined the power and usability which Captivate lacked. This might not be shared by the experienced developer community, but I liked it.
I was pleasantly surprised by Udutu - after all it is free to use. Costs come in when you want to remove their watermark or publish large scale programmes. They have page templates, media embedding and various publishing options. On the whole the tool was relatively easy to use, but the finished product definitely did not look as slick and professional as what I had created in Storyline. The saying, 'you get what you pay for' was appropriate in this case.
I was pleasantly surprised by Udutu - after all it is free to use. Costs come in when you want to remove their watermark or publish large scale programmes. They have page templates, media embedding and various publishing options. On the whole the tool was relatively easy to use, but the finished product definitely did not look as slick and professional as what I had created in Storyline. The saying, 'you get what you pay for' was appropriate in this case.
So what did I learn from all of this? My advice if you're thinking of getting into authoring programmes is as follows;
I hope you found this enlightening - I certainly came away with a healthy respect for elearning developers. Combining technical skills and creativity doesn't always come easily.
- Pick 3-4 tools and play around with them, get the trial versions and test out, thoroughly.
- Research your tools but don't be swayed by expert opinions or reviews. With so many choices available, I think if you find a tool which works for you, then that's what you should go with. Forcing yourself to use something which feels 'clunky' just because the reviews say it's the best isn't going to get your creative juices flowing.
- Plan ahead, work out a good structure for your programme and trial run it on a few people. Does it flow well? Does it make sense? Did it achieve the learning objectives? Getting your material straight before you start will save a great deal of development time. Read a few articles on the web about good practice in design and try out some free elearning modules. This will help you understand what works and what doesn't.
~Vikki
