How to Get the Most Out of E-learning Authoring Tools?
Here’s How Authoring Tools Can Help You Create Impactful Corporate Training Programs
Pre-made, off-the-shelf e-learning modules may not be for everyone. According to research, 91% of training seekers want their professional e-learning experiences to be relevant and personalized.
Authoring tools are specialized software designed to help companies create bespoke content for their learning and development programs.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the best ways to take advantage of authoring tools to create stellar content for your company.
5 Tips to Get the Most out Of Your Authoring Tools
Choose the Right Authoring Tool
There are two distinct types of authoring tools that companies can invest in.
Stand-Alone Authoring Tools
Standalone authoring tools are standalone software that offers powerful authoring capabilities that support your content development needs.
Take Hurix, for example. It’s a content distribution system that allows users to create custom multimedia content and securely publish it on any digital platform of their choice.
With this type of authoring tool, you will need to select a standalone learning management system (LMS) that supports the authoring software and its content.
LMS with Built-In Authoring Tools
Some LMS programs do come with built-in authoring capability. One of the biggest advantages of an authoring tool built into an LMS is that you can directly publish your e-learning content across platforms without investing in separate software.
Take the example of Hurix again – they have developed powerful LMS with built-in authoring tools that allow companies to securely create multi-type content courses for diverse audiences and versatile use cases.
Focus on Micro-Content
Some research says that people’s attention span has decreased to 8 seconds – a 25% drop from what it was in the year 2000. Other research says that while there has been a drop in attention span, the exact number is unclear since everything is “task-dependent.”
Numbers aside, the fact is very few people would be open to the idea of spending long hours taking e-learning programs.
Micro content refers to any type of e-learning content that is bite-sized and very short. Typically, micro-content is between 5 and 30 seconds in duration.
With their already busy schedules and high workloads, most of your employees may not be inclined to set aside more than a few minutes each day for their L&D programs. Offering them tiny doses of content that can be quickly consumed and digested will ensure they commit to e-learning.
The right authoring tools willallow you to create micro-content in addition to macro-content. Your staff can take these tiny courses even when they’re on the move, especially if you have optimized your content for mobile.
Make Your E-Learning Visually Rich
Did you know that 67% of employees find it easier to follow instructions and complete a task when they’ve been instructed through video? It’s also estimated that companies can save $1200 per employee by improving workplace productivity through visual content.
Authoring tools allow companies to create multi-type content. Your content creators and course programmers can include a mix of text and visual elements in e-learning programs. This can make your L&D programs more compelling and understandable.
In addition to the video, be sure to include infographics. According to a Researchgate study, 65% of audiences remember what they learned through an infographic, even three days after they saw the infographic. Comparatively, only 10% retained the text-based information three days after learning.
Many authoring tools also allow you to create slides, custom screenshots/images, animations, data visualizations, memes, Gifs, and more. Interspersing these visuals amidst some text is the best way to help all types of learners get the most out of your e-learning programs.
Take Advantage of The Templates when Designing Courses
Most authoring tools have an extensive library of content templates from which course creators can choose. These diverse templates help you design e-learning material targeted toward specific learner types and e-learning goals.
Some authoring tools have intuitive programs that can recommend the best type of content structure and content formats for your learning objectives.
Many others have customizable templates that allow you to swap out elements, add new ones and even re-design their font, color, and alignment. This will enable you to create content that looks well put together and is easy to navigate for users.
Some authoring tools also have ADA-compliant templates, allowing you to create accessible courses for employees with disabilities.
The best part is that the course creator does not need to be a UX/UI/instructional designer to use these templates. Both standalone and LMS-based authoring tools have built-in guides that provide tips to creators as they are designing the e-learning program.
One of the main reasons why authoring tool templates are incredible is that they allow you to repurpose content. Now, you can create a piece of content from scratch just once and then choose to repurpose it in other formats.
Considering how e-learning content can take anywhere between 18 and 155 hours to develop, you will save a lot of time, money, and effort in repurposing existing content by changing templates.
Use Built-In Analytics to Inform Your Content Creation and Course Updates
An advantage of authoring tools is that they have a robust analytics feature. This reporting and analytics tool can help you monitor the effectiveness of the content you have created.
If you use an authoring tool built into an LMS, you will also be able to get integrated insights about how e-learning programs are shared and engaged across different platforms by different target audiences.
If the content isn’t used as it should be or isn’t bringing the desired changes within the organization, you can immediately make changes to your content on the LMS using your authoring tool.
This analytics and reporting feature will improve the quality of the content you create. It will also help you decide what type of access should be granted to users and whether there are any compliance issues with your content.
The authoring tools’ analytics feature should also show where the highest content engagement occurs and where learners lose interest. You can also find out which assessments are too easy and which ones are hard to pass.
Wrapping Up
Authoring tools have a profound impact on the way companies equip their employees with future-ready industry skills and expertise.
With standalone authoring tools like Hurix, you will be able to create rich and diverse content and make it accessible to your audiences. These tools are SCORM-compliant and LTI-compliant and offer robust DRM and IPR support.
So, give these tools and these tips a try, and let us know about your experience in the comments.
