Creating content for online training has never been easier. Thanks to the various authoring tools that are available at your expense, you don’t need to know codes or be tech-savvy to create some stellar training sessions for your learners.
There are plenty of eLearning authoring tools to choose from. It can often get overwhelming. Out of the many, there are four types of authoring tools that rule the industry. These include locally hosted authoring tools, screen capturing and recording authoring tools, cloud-based, and multimedia.
Before you choose the tool that works best for you, it is important to know three things. The features that you are looking for, the advantages of using the tool, and the cons that are associated with it. It is important to know the pros and cons so that you can make an informed decision regarding the purchase. You can also look into open source elearning authoring tools before spending hundreds or thousands.
If you don’t leverage the tool to its full potential once you have bought it, it’ll only become a liability for you.
Here are the pros and cons associated with the above-mentioned 4 authoring tools.
- Locally Hosted eLearning Authoring Tools
The locally-hosted authoring tool was once the only type we had. It is directly installed on your local hard drive. We have come a long way from downloading it from a disc to directly from the sites of various vendors.
Pros
- Offer advanced features and act as a one-stop solution.
- Makes it easy to create immersive eLearning course layouts.
- You can easily create interactive training sessions.
- Quickens up the content building phase by offering a library full of ready-to-go content.
Cons
- Can get a little tricky to master.
- The learning curve can get greater with greater flexibility.
- The package you choose might not offer the new updates. You might need to pay extra for additional assets that are updated.
- Most follow the pay-per-product pricing model.
- Screen Capturing And Recording eLearning Authoring Tools
You will find tools that have been designed for your screen-capturing needs. You can capture anything that is happening on your screens with this tool and develop tech tutorials or software simulations.
Pros
- Transform your screenshots into a walkthrough.
- Add transitions and filters to make it more attractive.
- Make your training session look more polished.
- Makes the pre-recorded training feel like a real-time session.
Cons
- Very limited tools are available.
- Difficult to understand controls and features for many.
- You will still need a website or LMS to deploy.
- Cloud-Based eLearning Authoring Tools
This is one of the best and highly recommended authoring tools in the market. Also named as SaaS tools, cloud-based authing tools can be accessed by simply logging in to the system. You don’t need any downloads on your hard drive for this. You have a dashboard with everything compiled in one place. This is a mobile-friendly tool.
Pros
- Many vendors will offer free updates.
- You will get remarkable post-purchase maintenance and support.
- Easy payment plans like monthly or an annual subscription fee.
- You can keep your content fresh without paying additional charges.
Cons
- They are more vulnerable to cyber crimes as they are online.
- It is highly recommended to avoid adding sensitive information on any of such platforms.
- Multimedia eLearning Authoring Tools
Multimedia eLearning authoring tools can be either cloud-based or locally hosted. However, their main focus is only one aspect of design. It could either be designed to create slideshows or animated videos. You can often import data from other platforms to this tool.
Pros
- Since it’s design-specific, you have plenty of creative freedom and design options.
- A wide variety of templates and themes to choose from.
Cons
- Difficult to export data to an LMS.
- Tricky to find tools that will be compatible with your training software.
Conclusion
It is best to take a look into the pros and cons of authoring tools before making the final decision. This will make sure that you choose a tool that will work well with your organization.
