Short, effective, and engaging, it’s no surprise microlearning has become the darling of corporate training. But to create it, you need the right authoring platform. Don’t get overwhelmed by the options. Instead, read our expert round-up of what to look for and the best microlearning platforms available.

What is microlearning and why use it?

Microlearning is simply learning that’s shorter than usual – a micro version, if you will. A good rule of thumb is that it takes no longer than 10 minutes. 

Microlearning is popular for employee training, and for good reason:

• Fits around busy schedules: Bite-sized learning slots into even the smallest gaps for on-the-job performance support.
• Increased engagement: Attention fades fast when learning drags on. Microlearning maximizes focus and boosts knowledge retention with its ‘little and often’ approach.
• Quick to create: Less content means faster development, saving time, resources, and money.

What is a microlearning platform?

Ready to create microlearning content? You’ll need an authoring platform. 

This is a tool that lets you build learning using customizable components, editing the look and feel to match your brand. For the best results, you’ll need to choose a platform that’s optimized for microlearning. 

There are two types of authoring tool:

• Integrated platforms are built into a learning management system (LMS), letting you develop simple learning within the LMS itself. 
• Standalone platforms are dedicated tools designed specifically to create digital learning content that can be hosted anywhere.

Integrated or standalone platform: Which is best?

While an integrated authoring platform within your LMS might seem convenient, these tools often fall short for creating effective microlearning. 

Why? Integrated platforms are typically basic and limited, resulting in dull, repetitive, and often clunky learner experiences.

For high-quality microlearning, standalone platforms are your best bet. Unlike LMS add-ons, they’re purpose-built for creating digital learning. That means they offer richer features, greater scalability for larger teams, and a vastly improved learning experience. Plus, leading providers continuously improve their software.

That’s why, in this article, we’re focusing exclusively on standalone authoring platforms optimized for microlearning – giving you the insights you need to choose the best one.

How to choose the best microlearning platform

How do you choose the right authoring platform to create microlearning? Ask these five questions before you commit. 

1. How easy is it to use? 

Microlearning platforms vary hugely in how user-friendly they are. Some are suitable for the complete newbie, while others require technical expertise. Consider your team’s skills and how quickly you need to produce microlearning.

2. How customizable is the look and feel?

Some tools offer only basic branding options, like fonts and logos. Others give you ultimate design flexibility for serious visual flair. If you’re craving extra pizzazz, just make sure you won’t need a graphic design degree to pull it off.

3. What components does it offer? 

Most authoring platforms include standard components like text, images, and multiple-choice questions. Some go way further with advanced interactive features that let you truly customize how you present your microlearning.

4. Does it facilitate collaboration and feedback? 

Got multiple team members working on the same microlearning? How about stakeholders who need to review before launch? If so, collaboration features are crucial. Look for software with central asset sharing, version management, and review tools.

5. Does it support mobile learning, accessibility, and translation?

For do-anywhere microlearning, seamless performance on mobile devices is a must, and most top platforms offer this by default. Accessibility and translation features can vary greatly though, so be sure to pick a platform that meets your learners’ needs.

The 5 best microlearning platforms

Lots to think about, right? Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. Read on to discover the top five microlearning platforms and find your perfect match.

1. Elucidat

Summary: Elucidat strikes the perfect balance between ease of use and customization, making it an excellent all-rounder for creating slick microlearning.

Notable features: PowerPoint import, ready-to-use templates, free stock images, and an Auto-Translate feature make for a rapid authoring experience.

Pros:  It’s quick and easy for anyone to create quality microlearning with Elucidat – even complete beginners. The plethora of component options prevents microlearning experiences from feeling repetitive, and visuals are highly customizable, with no graphic design expertise required. Built-in features make collaboration, reviews, accessibility, and translation a dream.

Cons:  Elucidat is less cost-effective for small projects, making it better for producing content at scale. Some of Elucidat’s cooler features, like social learning, take time to master. 

2. Articulate Rise

Summary: While Articulate Storyline gives advanced authors ultimate flexibility, its little sister tool Rise offers a beginner-friendly way to create basic microlearning. 

Notable features: Pre-built course templates and an image library help streamline development.

Pros:  If you already have an Articulate 360 license, Rise is included at no extra cost, making it a great go-to for simple, clean-looking microlearning. Its review and collaboration features keep development hassle-free.

Cons: Very limited visual design and component options can leave microlearning feeling repetitive. Rise also lacks strong translation and accessibility features.

3. EasyGenerator

Summary: The clue’s in the name. EasyGenerator makes developing microlearning straightforward while foregoing the frills offered by some other tools.

Notable features: Along with an image library and pre-built templates, there are built-in options to record video and an auto-translate feature.

Pros:  For creators looking to build a small amount of simple microlearning, Easygenerator makes development, well, easy. Video and screen capture features are a bonus for creating multimedia microlearning.

Cons: Customization is limited, leaving content looking pretty similar, with more exciting interactions simply unavailable. An extra preview step slows down development. EasyGenerator isn’t optimized for managing large-scale content, so it’s not ideal for big teams.

4. Adapt Learning

Summary: Open-source platform Adapt offers the Adapt Learning tool. There’s one big advantage: it’s free! But to unlock the full potential of Adapt, you’ll need a developer’s help. 

Notable features: An online community offers support instead of professional assistance.

Pros: Did we mention it’s free? Plus, Adapt Learning makes it reasonably easy for beginners to create microlearning. With access to a developer, you can dial into the full power of the Adapt framework, hugely increasing your options.

Cons: The authoring experience is somewhat clunky, with an extra preview step slowing things down. Without developer input, microlearning feels basic and repetitive. Adapt lacks any review or translation features, and there’s no support team if you get stuck.

5. Evolve

Summary: Evolve avoids the middle ground, instead catering to two groups: beginners creating basic microlearning and skilled creators seeking advanced features.

Notable features: Pre-built templates help novice authors, while advanced options include novel interactions not found in other tools.

Pros: It’s quick to create basic courses using Evolve’s templates, but customization is where the platform truly shines. Authors with enough time and the right skills can create tailored, highly interactive learning experiences that make microlearning feel different.

Cons: The features that set Evolve apart can be time-consuming and challenging for less experienced authors. Without the right skills, you’re restricted to very basic content creation. Evolve also lacks an image library, and its weak collaboration and translation features make it suited only to smaller teams.

Conclusion

Who says you can’t have it all? With the right authoring platform, anyone can create engaging, effective microlearning – minus the hassle. 

Every microlearning platform has its pros and cons, so the best choice depends on your organization’s unique needs. Consider ease of use, customization, and scalability when deciding. 

To get started, check out a versatile authoring software like Elucidat. Book a demo and get a free trial to see microlearning creation for yourself.

Keen to see some microlearning examples that have been created in Elucidat? Check out these inspiring microlearning examples.

Choosing the right elearning authoring tool for your business can feel overwhelming. With a vast range of platforms, software, and systems on offer, you’ll need to really think about what your organizational goals are and exactly what features each platform offers – and at what price. This handy guide will help you compare the 12 most popular corporate elearning platforms on the market, so you can find your perfect match!

We have reviewed 12 of the best elearning authoring tools against the following criteria: quality of output, speed and efficiency of authoring, and scaling up of elearning production.

Read on to discover: 

• What are elearning authoring tools? 
• Is elearning software different to an authoring tool?
• Why do you need an authoring tool?
• Features of authoring tools
• Types of authoring tools
• Criteria for evaluating the best authoring tools
• 12 elearning authoring tools & software to consider
• Best elearning authoring tools – detailed review & comparison
• Business use cases for elearning software
• Conclusion
• Further Information

What are elearning authoring tools?

Elearning authoring tools are pieces of training and development software that enable the creation of digital learning content. This could be as simple as creating a Microsoft Word document, or as complex as a graphic design tool.

Instructional designers in L&D teams use elearning authoring tools to create training materials for their employees, which might cover compliance, onboarding, hard and soft skills, etc. These will typically be in the form of elearning courses, including features like click-to-reveal interactions, quizzes, and personalized and gamified content in more recent years.

Is elearning software different from an authoring tool?

Elearning software is a broad term that could be used to refer to many elements within a learning technology stack. Within the elearning software category, you’ll find software that focuses on different aspects of digital learning. For example:

• Elearning authoring tools, that are used to create effective, engaging corporate elearning courses.
• Learning Management Systems (LMSs), that automate the administration, testing, tracking, and reporting of these courses.
• Learning Content Management Systems (LCMSs), that are a one-stop-shop for creating, hosting, managing, and delivering content. These days, LCMSs can have all the benefits of an authoring tool, which is why some LCMSs, can be referred to as both an LCMS and an authoring tool.

Read more about the key differences in our guide to choosing the best LMS platform.

Why do you need an elearning authoring tool?

Unsure whether you need elearning authoring software to meet your workplace objectives? Here are the top five benefits you can expect to see from an authoring tool:

1. Allows you to personalize your content and adopt a people-centered approach to learning;
2. Enables you to collaborate with your team effectively, allowing authors, SMEs and stakeholders to work together seamlessly;
3. Makes it easy to roll out corporate elearning courses in different locations and update content to comply with new regulations quickly and with ease;
4. Allows you to continually improve your elearning courses by analyzing data and collating feedback on how your content performs;
5. Enables you to adapt to new demands and produce supporting digital learning content quickly.

Authoring tools features

Once you’ve decided elearning authoring software is the answer, you need to find the right tool. There are a number of features you need to consider:

• User-friendly interface: An intuitive interface means you can start building content straight away. Some products offer a free trial, so you can assess how easy it will be to build, share, duplicate, and update content.
• Collaboration capability: Effective collaboration produces better learning courses. Find out whether the authoring tool supports multiple users building, reviewing, and amending courses at the same time. Also, how easy it is to share your bespoke templates and company assets for re-use across your content and authoring teams. 
• Translation and localization features: If you’re reaching international learners, you’ll want to create courses in the right languages. Check to see whether the tool has a translations workflow – and even better, an auto-translate feature. Some tools also offer course variation functionality to help you manage localized or translated versions of a course.
• Authoring toolkit: If you’re looking for people-centered learning experiences, you might want to explore what options the tool provides for things like gamification and personalized learning. Check out some of the example courses created by the tool to get a good idea of the content output. 
• Ready-made templates: Expert-designed templates can help you choose the best interactions for your learning and save you time in development. Explore the templates the tool offers and how it recommends these to you. 
• Scope for customization: Some tools are designed to offer granular control over course layouts (the course interface, colors, fonts, positioning of assets etc.) – but at the expense of being complicated to use. Some offer more of a compromise. Take a look at user reviews of each tool to see what scope for customization there is, and how complex it’s likely to get. 
• Multi-device: Nowadays learners want to complete content on any device. Find out whether the tool produces content that works across desktop, tablet, and mobile and what additional effort authors need to invest to optimize the learning experience for these devices.

Types of authoring tools

There are many different elearning authoring tools to choose from. Understanding which type of tool is best suited to your organization could be a good starting point. Take a look at the different solutions available and find the best fit for you:

• Cloud-based tools: Flexible online or web-based authoring tools that allow authors to collaborate and work on the same digital learning content simultaneously. No installation is required, and all edits are saved to the cloud.
• Desktop-based tools: Powerful authoring tools that are run locally on desktops and require a download. These elearning platforms are typically run offline, meaning all edits are saved locally.
• Open-source tools: Web authoring tools where the original source code is made freely available. This gives flexibility to experienced developers who want to dig into complex code.
• Authoring tools built into Learning Management Systems (LMS): Simple elearning authoring tools that are included as part of an LMS package. They are often simple to use but limited in output.
• Free tools: Authoring tools with no cost required to start creating elearning – this often results in decreased quality and lack of scalability.

Criteria for evaluating the best elearning authoring tools

What makes a great elearning authoring tool? In this guide, the key criteria we have used to assess the best authoring tools are:

Quality of elearning output:

• The level of customization available
• The variety of formats to choose from
• Whether in-built design guidance is offered
• Options for gamification, personalization, and social polling 
• The level of data and reporting offered 

Speed and efficiency:

• How quickly you can produce high-quality elearning that’s optimized for all devices
• Collaboration options for streamlining the feedback process 
• Whether multiple authors can work on a project simultaneously
• The level of authoring experience required 
• How quickly you can publish and update courses 
• Whether there’s a translation workflow and/or auto-translate feature

Scalability:

• How easy it is to reuse, copy, and scale your corporate elearning content
• The level of control you have over your authors 
• Cost-efficiency for producing elearning content at scale
• Options to update assets and branding centrally

12 elearning authoring tools to consider

In this review, we’ll be taking a deeper dive into 12 online learning software examples you might want to consider. Specifically, we’ll be looking at: 

1. Elucidat – Helps teams to create an impactful elearning quickly and easily by unlocking expertise from any employee
2. Adobe Captivate – Gives experienced authors the power to create high-quality content
3. Articulate Storyline 360 – Ideal for individual users who prefer PowerPoint, with an added layer of customization
4. Articulate Rise 360 – Users with access to Articulate 360 can produce simple elearning courses fairly quickly
5. Gomo – Best for experienced learning designers that are not looking for advanced customization
6. Lectora – Gives traditional, capable authors an effective tool for producing HTML5 content
7. Adapt – Designed for technical authors who are looking to design bespoke HTML5 authoring through back-end design
8. DominKnow – Perfect for teams whose focus is on responsive screen capture and software simulation
9. Easygenerator – Authoring software designed for learning teams who need to create elearning content, easily
10. iSpring Suite – Desktop PowerPoint-based tool that’s a great option for novice learning designers who don’t have to worry about updating content regularly
11. Evolve – Built for teams who need to collaborate together and don’t mind putting in the time to learn how to use it
12. Camtasia – Video editing suite most commonly used for screen recordings, tutorials or product demos.

Save time comparing elearning software companies by downloading our authoring tool comparison template. We’ve completed the Elucidat column for you!

And here’s a handy comparison table to help you along.

Elearning software	Type of solution	Quality of output	Speed	Scalability
1. Elucidat	Elearning authoring platform	High	Fast	High
2. Adobe Captivate	Standalone authoring tool	High	Slow	Low
3. Articulate Storyline	Authoring suite	Medium	Slow	Low
4. Articulate Rise	Online authoring tool	Low	Fast	Medium
5. Gomo	Online authoring tool	Medium	Fast	High
6. Lectora	Standalone authoring tool	Medium	Slow	Medium
7. Adapt	Online authoring tool	Low	Fast	Medium
8. DominKnow	Online authoring tool	High	Average	Medium
9. Easygenerator	Online authoring tool	Medium	Fast	Medium
10. iSpring Suite	Authoring suite	Medium	Average	Medium
11. Evolve	Online authoring tool	Medium	Fast	Medium
12. Camtasia	Video authoring software	Medium	Medium	Low

Best elearning authoring tools – detailed review & comparison

1. Elucidat

Elucidat makes it easier for ambitious teams to produce quality workplace learning at scale. Being a fully cloud-based elearning authoring platform, organizations can open up and streamline their elearning production– without sacrificing quality.

With Elucidat you can empower anyone of any skill level to create digital learning ready for any device. From product training to compliance – Elucidat helps reduce costs and increase business performance. Read our guidelines to elearning best practices here.

Get to know Elucidat in this short video:

2. Adobe Captivate

Captivate is a desktop application known for its advanced authoring capabilities, particularly in creating simulations and systems training. However, it comes with a steep learning curve and isn’t set up well for collaborative working.

3. Articulate Storyline 360

Storyline 360 is a desktop tool that’s purchased as part of the Articulate 360 suite and uses a PowerPoint-style slide-based approach to elearning development. It’s very flexible in terms of what you can create, though comes with a steep learning curve and limitations when working collaboratively.

4. Articulate Rise 360

Rise 360 is a web-based authoring tool included as part of an Articulate 360 suite. It’s designed to be really easy to use and great for creating mobile-friendly learning experiences, but offers a limited authoring toolkit.

5. Gomo

Gomo is a cloud-based authoring tool that allows you to create web-style content that’s automatically optimized for mobile users. It’s a great tool for collaboration but there are a few small hurdles and restrictions in regards to authoring. 

6. Lectora Online

Lectora Online is an authoring tool by ELB Learning, that sits alongside it’s desktop equivalent. It can be powerful when you know how to use it, but comes with a steeper learning curve than many of the other tools.

7. Adapt Learning

Adapt is a free elearning authoring tool that creates responsive HTML5 content.

There are two component parts to the Adapt offering: The Adapt Framework is an open-source, front-end framework designed for use by developers. The Adapt Authoring Tool is the web-based application aimed at your average instructional designer with no coding experience. Neither can be used to host content – you’ll need an LMS for this.

8. DominKnow ONE

DominKnow ONE brings together its traditional authoring tool, Claro, with its responsive authoring tool and simulation creator, DominKnow Flow. This elearning software offers a vast authoring toolkit as well as some handy features for working at scale, though it may not be the easiest tool to pick up.

9. Easygenerator

Easygenerator is an elearning platform focused on creating straightforward digital learning content quickly. It doesn’t host content for you, making it more difficult to make content updates, though does benefit from some cloud-based collaboration features.

10. iSpring Suite

iSpring Suite is a desktop-based authoring tool that integrates with PowerPoint. While it’s easy for seasoned PowerPoint users to start using, it’s worth bearing in mind some technical hurdles, including that the tool is optimized for use on PC rather than Mac.

11. Evolve

Evolve is an online digital learning authoring tool designed for novice authors. It makes it quick and easy to create simple courses, though isn’t so efficient when creating very bespoke, large-scale content.

12. Camtasia

Camtasia is an all-in-one software suite for screen recording and video editing. Although foremost a video capture tool, content can also be exported as SCORM packages.

Due to its primary focus on video, Camtasia does not perform all the usual functions of an authoring tool, and so is often integrated, or used alongside other elearning authoring software.

Business use cases for elearning software

Elearning software can be utilized in a number of ways, across multiple business verticals to provide impact. We’ve highlighted some areas below: 

Compliance training

For finance companies, providing engaging, digestible compliance training is critical. Elearning software enables organizations to produce powerful elearning material at scale, and quickly, to keep pace with the ever-changing regulatory landscape. 

Retail training

Keeping pace in a rapidly shifting industry such as retail can be impossible without the right elearning software. With the right tool, retail companies can produce exceptional learning that addresses the big challenges and ever-changing needs of retail customers. 

Sales training 

Educating employees on effective sales methods and tactics is important for organizations looking to boost sales and attract the right type of customer. Authoring tools can help company managers to produce and manage highly customizable, branded digital learning at scale.

Employee upskilling 

Organizations looking to provide employees with goal-oriented online training designed around specific skills should take advantage of authoring tools in order to track employee engagement, success rates, and the impact of their elearning.

In conclusion

There’s a lot of overlap in the functionality of the best elearning authoring tools shown here, but your requirements – such as the quality and scale at which you want to produce digital learning – will narrow down your shortlist. Ultimately, finding the best corporate elearning authoring software for you and your team will depend on your needs.

If you need to produce high-quality content at scale, then an authoring tool like Elucidat would be a great fit for you.

Let us know your specific authoring needs, book a demo to learn more, and get set up with a free trial account.

Further information

To help you make the right choice and also to get you thinking about your wider elearning tech stack and strategy, check out some of our other top content:

Overview of tools that includes LMS’s:

• Choosing the best SCORM compliant LMS 
• How to implement an effective employee training program
• The free elearning templates that will save you hours
• A guide to HTML5 elearning authoring tools
• The 8 best SCORM authoring tools

In a digital landscape dominated by cloud-computing, the embrace of cloud-based elearning marks a significant evolution in how we approach corporate learning and development. Moving beyond the limitations of traditional methods and scattered training materials, this shift harnesses the cloud’s vast potential to deliver a more accessible, efficient, and integrated learning experience. Ready to see how this transformation is reshaping professional training at its core? Let’s dive into the advantages of this pivotal change.

What is cloud-based elearning?

Cloud computing refers to using a network of central remote servers hosted online to store, manage, and process data.

What does this mean in terms of elearning? While desktop tools require a download and will run locally on each user’s device, their cloud-based counterparts are hosted online. This means that content is created, saved, managed, and delivered over the internet, through a central repository. And it’s all done in real-time. Read more about elearning best practices guide.

So, let’s explore the implications of this for enterprise organizations, and ask why they should be investing in cloud-based elearning.

The benefits of cloud-based elearning

Below we have outlined six key benefits you can expect to see from cloud-based elearning.

1. Accessibility

Desktop applications run locally, which means you need adequate hard drive space and an installation to get started. Cloud-based elearning systems, on the other hand, enable you to access learning content from any location and device – all you need is an internet connection.

This means content creators, reviewers, and learners can easily switch between viewing a course on their laptop, home PC, and smartphone.

What’s more, new features and releases are automatically rolled out, without your users needing to do anything. That means no more tiresome downloads slowing down your devices.

2. Speed up production

Cloud-based elearning means more efficient collaboration – particularly when it comes to content creation. What does this look like in practice? For a start, all your organization’s digital content will sit within a single location, and as many users as required can go in and make changes to a particular online course.

Additionally, they can work simultaneously. So, while your subject matter experts (SMEs) input the text, your graphic artists can upload the images. And everything they do will be instantly fed through in real time. The result? Your L&D teams can expect shorter development timelines and avoid the inevitable headaches associated with version control.

Use of the cloud also means your organization’s images, logos, and videos can be saved online for easy access, so your content creators can browse, select, and drop files straight into a training course. From this central repository, it’s easy to make global updates. For instance, in Elucidat, if a company logo needs to be updated, only the original file needs replacing, and this change will be reflected wherever that asset sits.

3. Scalability

Cloud-based elearning also makes it easy to scale up your content; making it easier to manage on a larger scale compared to traditional, desktop-based elearning solutions.

Using a cloud-based elearning platform means you can quickly adapt to the changing needs of your organization. As your number of learners grows or decreases, the platform can scale up or down, ensuring that resources are efficiently used without overburdening your organization’s infrastructure.

Launching new elearning courses or updating existing content can be done quickly and efficiently on cloud platforms. This agility supports scalable learning strategies by enabling organizations to respond promptly to emerging training needs or changes in corporate strategy. What’s more, because everything is stored in the cloud, if a user’s device crashes whilst they’re developing a course, their efforts will have been saved.

4. Cost savings

Ultimately, cloud-based tools help keep costs down. They remove the reliance on computer hardware and infrastructure, making implementing your elearning strategy more cost-effective. Cloud-based elearning means you can increase your number of content creators, courses, and learners for less.

And that’s not to mention the costs saved through resourcing when you consider how much faster and more efficient it is to use a cloud-based tool.

5. Consistent content

The cloud enables you to establish and control your branding centrally. You can set your organization’s preferences for colors, fonts, and more, and save this as a pre-approved style for your team of content creators to use. Tools like Elucidat automatically update this style, applying the changes to consistent branding across all projects.

Some cloud-based elearning also offer content creators the chance to save their custom-made interactions, pages, and templates centrally, so they can be re-used by their peers. This helps speed up content development across the board, whilst ensuring a sense of continuity from one online course to the next.

6. Employee retention

When you embrace cloud-based elearning, your employees will benefit from more fulfilling learning experiences.

For a start, they can access learning materials on any device at the point of need. And because development timelines are much faster, this content will better reflect their ever-changing training requirements.

Many cloud-based tools also offer an auto-translate feature. This is a machine translation service that uses deep learning models, hosted in the cloud, to instantly translate your content into one of many languages. This means courses can easily be created in each learner’s required language, so no one is left behind.

The best part of the cloud is that it provides opportunities for learners to generate and share their own content. Tools like Elucidat enable social polls, where you can ask learners questions, collect their responses, and then show how their answers compare to their peers. The chance to connect learners in this way helps create engagement and boost learning retention.

The short of it? Better online learning experiences mean happy learners, and happy learners means better employee retention.

Examples of cloud-based learning management systems

Now we’ve looked at the benefits of cloud based elearning, let’s look at the top tools that will help you create, manage, and deliver impactful elearning content.

Elucidat

Elucidat is a multi-award-winning, cloud-based authoring tool that enables you to produce impactful elearning courses at scale.

Elucidat is a cloud-based tool, which means it allows multiple contributors to work on a course simultaneously, with all their changes instantly feeding through to a central version.

This is where Advanced User Management comes in handy, as it allows you to assign and customize the User Roles for each person in your Elucidat account. With full control over which users can edit your brand styles, delete projects, or upload assets, you can ensure everyone is working to their strengths, and open up your production without risk.

In terms of outputs, Elucidat offers a rich authoring toolkit, lots of room for customization, and options for gamification, personalized learning, and social polls. These key features help your authors create people-centered, engaging learning experiences. And all content is automatically optimized for mobile view, meaning it’s super easy to create great mobile learning experiences, without additional effort.

Once a course is ready for review, cloud-based hosting means you can invite any stakeholder to access a ‘review only’ version online. There’s no download or license required – all reviewers need to do is follow a link. From there, it’s super easy for them to share feedback amongst each other. Comments will be logged in situ against each element of the page, making it easy for your authors to interpret and action their change requests.

Having all your online courses stored centrally also makes it easier for novice authors to hit the ground running; Your L&D team can set up and share pre-approved company templates, packed with inline guidance. This makes it easy for newbies to start creating courses, whilst embedding quality and consistency into their content.

Elucidat is also one of the few tools to offer an Auto-Translate feature, instantly translating content into 75 languages. Combined with Translations Variations Manager, rolling out and controlling multilingual projects becomes a breeze.

Easygenerator

Easygenerator is a cloud-based authoring tool, designed to simplify the creation of elearning courses.

With Easygenerator, you can jump into course development by using pre-built templates or the inbuilt PowerPoint converter. What’s more, it’s super easy to create quizzes, voiceover narration, and explainer videos.

Once a course has been built, cloud-based reviews will help streamline your workflows. However, because Easygenerator doesn’t host content in the cloud, updating your courses will involve several steps, making the tool less efficient than other, fully cloud-based offerings.

Elucidat vs Easygenerator

Articulate Rise

Rise 360, part of the Articulate 360 package, offers a simpler and more streamlined approach to authoring than its desktop sibling, Storyline 360.

It provides a straightforward authoring experience, whereby courses are built through the selection of pre-built blocks, which are automatically optimized for mobile view. Plus, like most cloud-based tools, multiple authors can work on the same course at the same time and make instant updates to content.

Reviews are smoothly executed via the Articulate Review feature, an online collaboration tool (and part of the Articulate 360 package) where contributors can collate feedback. This feedback is made in situ against each page element, so everyone can clearly see what changes need to be made.

Whilst the simplicity of Rise 360 is its biggest selling point, the tool is not so strong in terms of output. There’s little room for things like gamification and page layouts are very restricted. As a result, courses built in Rise 360 can start to feel a bit repetitive, which is intensified when working at scale.

Elucidat vs other authoring tools

The future of cloud-based elearning

So, now we’ve looked at the benefits of going cloud-based, as well as some of the products on the market, let’s consider what the future of cloud-based elearning might look like.

Use of AI

Cloud computing is key to the development of AI systems; Cloud vendors provide the resources and infrastructure to store and analyze vast amounts of data – exactly what’s needed for AI systems to operate. It’s no wonder then that as cloud computing has expanded, we have also seen huge developments in AI. But what does AI mean for the future of elearning?

We’ve already seen how some elearning authoring tools are using AI to generate things like course summaries, knowledge checks, and translations. But these features aren’t fool-proof; Like any AI-generated content, the outputs will need reviewing and finessing by a human. But as the industry continues to refine these machine learning models, and they grow more intelligent, we can expect AI to deliver more advanced results, meaning authors can become more reliant on AI for more applications.

More collaborative learning

Our 2024 State of Digital Learning report found there’s increasing pressure on L&D to respond quicker to business needs and to do more with less. Organizations need new, more efficient ways of working, with an emphasis on collaboration, so they can harness the expertise of the right people to meet the right training needs.

As a result, enterprise organizations might expect to see smarter ways of capturing expertise, upskilling new authors, and rolling out content quickly. Social learning and user-generated content may continue to be explored as part of this, empowering learners to meet their own training needs.

Key takeaways

Cloud-based elearning will benefit everyone at your organization:

• It offers fast and efficient ways for your SMEs to create and manage digital content, rivalling traditional desktop approaches. This will become more apparent as we start to see AI playing a greater role in content generation.
• Learners can benefit from more accessible courses, delivered in their required language and on any device. And they can be sure this content is up to date and reflects their current training needs.
• Use of the cloud improves your data security while reducing the risks of data loss, unexpected costs, and technical difficulties, keeping your business leaders happy.

You can kickstart your transition to cloud-based elearning by investing in a cloud-based authoring tool, like Elucidat.

Getting started with cloud-based elearning with Elucidat

Elucidat is the ideal cloud-based elearning authoring tool for enterprise organizations, giving them the power to scale their content and create impact.

In the rapidly evolving world of digital learning, online courses have revolutionized how knowledge is shared and acquired. This transformation has led to a surge in demand for efficient course creation software, enabling course creators to easily produce, manage, and distribute impactful digital learning content.

However, the many options available can make choosing the right course creation software an overwhelming task. This comprehensive guide will help clarify what course creation software is, what features to consider, and spotlight ten leading software solutions in the market. Doing so aims to help you find the best course creation software that aligns perfectly with your digital learning needs and aspirations.

What is course creation software?

At its core, course creation softwares, also known as online course builders, are a specialized set of tools that enable users to design, create, manage, and distribute online courses. These platforms offer an end-to-end solution that significantly simplifies the entire learning process, from creating engaging online course content to delivering it, managing users, and tracking their progress. 

The beauty of online course creation software lies in its ability to enable the creation of interactive, immersive, and engaging content without requiring you to be tech-savvy. Whether you’re an individual instructor brimming with knowledge to share or a large organization aiming to train your workforce, the best platform for creating online training is one that syncs perfectly with your unique needs and goals. Great course creation software ensures a seamless, enriching experience for the course creator and the learner, leading to enhanced learning outcomes.

What should you look for in course creation software?

Choosing the right course creation platform is akin to finding the perfect pair of shoes – it should fit well, be comfortable, and serve the purpose. Here are several key factors to consider when choosing a course creation software:

• Ease of use: Prioritizing ease of use ensures that you can create and manage courses efficiently, regardless of the technical expertise of you and your team. An intuitive and user-friendly platform allows you to focus on content creation and delivery, enabling a seamless and enjoyable experience for course creators and learners.
• Affordability: Consider the pricing structure and scalability of the platform, determining whether it aligns with your budget and growth plans. Some platforms offer tiered pricing plans or subscription models, so assess which option suits your needs best.
• Scalability: If you have aspirations of scaling up your digital learning initiatives, choosing a course creation platform that grows seamlessly with your needs is vital. It should be capable of streamlining course editing, upkeeping, and localization.
• Course engagement features: By selecting a course creation platform that offers engagement features, you can create an interactive and immersive learning experience, keeping learners motivated, involved, and committed to the course. Consider personalization options, collaboration tools, interactive elements and more. 
• Assessment and progress tracking: Look for features that enable you to create assessments, polls, and quizzes for driving engagement, as well as the ability to track and analyze learners’ progress and performance. This helps you evaluate their understanding and identify areas for development.
• Integration and compatibility: Consider whether the platform integrates well with other tools and systems you use, such as Learning Management Systems (LMSs). Compatibility with popular file formats (e.g., SCORM or xAPI) is also important for seamless content distribution and interoperability.
• Responsive support team: Evaluate the level of support and resources the platform provides. This may include documentation, tutorials, and customer support channels. Adequate support ensures you can troubleshoot issues and maximize the platform’s potential.

Who can use course creation software?

As the digital learning sphere becomes increasingly vital to company growth, course creation software stands out as a key enabler for various stakeholders. This versatile tool is designed to cater to the unique needs of professionals who are tasked with the role of fostering knowledge and enhancing skills in the workplace. Let’s delve into the roles that can harness the power of course creation software to drive corporate learning objectives.

Learning Designers

Learning designers in the corporate world often grapple with the challenge of creating content that’s both engaging and aligned with business goals. Course creation software offers them a robust suite of tools to craft impactful digital learning modules. From interactive simulations to branching scenarios, learning designers can utilize these platforms to deliver rich learning experiences that drive employee engagement and retention, thereby translating complex business concepts into digestible learning interventions.

L&D Managers

For L&D managers, course creation software is a strategic asset. It’s a platform from which they can launch and manage corporate learning initiatives, ensuring that educational programs not only meet compliance standards but also advance the company’s strategic objectives. With functionalities that allow for real-time tracking and analytics, L&D managers can gauge the effectiveness of training, tailor programs to address specific competency gaps, and measure the ROI of learning initiatives.

Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

SMEs are often the linchpins of corporate learning, holding the specialized knowledge that sets a company apart. Course creation software empowers these experts to share their insights without the need for deep technical know-how in digital learning development. With user-friendly interfaces, SMEs can swiftly create or contribute to content, facilitating the rapid sharing of expertise across the organization. This accessibility ensures that valuable know-how is captured and made available, enhancing the collective intelligence of the business.

The best course creation software

With these considerations in mind, let’s dive deep into the world of course creation software. This section outlines the top-notch software options available in the market, aimed to assist you in creating engaging learning content and course content.

1. Elucidat

Known for its powerful course authoring tool functionalities and extensive features, Elucidat has gained the trust of enterprise organizations around the globe. The authoring software enables the creation of impactful elearning courses at scale but also empowers any author, regardless of their technical prowess, to produce high-quality digital learning content. 

Pros:

• User-friendly with a minimal learning curve, allowing beginners and experts alike to use it efficiently
• Offers extensive customization options to help your courses stand out and reflect your unique style
• Provides powerful analytics tools, offering insights into learner engagement and course performance
• Offers a cloud-based solution for easy collaboration, perfect for team-based course creation

Cons:

• As the tool is built for enterprise it is not the best for small organizations or individual educators looking for cost-effective solutions
• Not the ideal solution for software simulation 

2. Articulate 360

Articulate 360 is a comprehensive suite of course creation tools that offers a solution for every step of the course development process. It’s favored by many professionals due to its flagship Storyline 360 product which has been a key player in the course creation space for many years.

Pros:

• Provides a full suite of course development tools, including Storyline 360 for course creation, Rise 360 for responsive course building, Review 360 for project feedback, and Reach 360 as a delivery platform
• Offers an extensive content library with thousands of customizable course templates and assets

Cons:

• It can be expensive for individuals or small organizations
• The learning curve can be steep for beginners due to the wide array of tools and features

3. iSpring

iSpring is a robust online course builder software designed for ease of use. Its user-friendly interface makes it an excellent choice for beginners, yet it still packs a punch with a wealth of advanced features.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface makes it easy to create courses, even for beginners
• Offers a variety of interactive features such as quizzes, dialog simulations, and interactive videos to engage learners

Cons:

• Primarily a PowerPoint-based tool, which may limit creativity and flexibility in course design
• Advanced analytics and reporting are limited in the basic plan

4. Adobe Captivate

Adobe Captivate is a feature-rich course creation platform known for its capabilities in creating highly interactive elearning content. It’s a preferred choice for experienced course creators and designers who seek flexibility and advanced functionalities.

Pros:

• Allows for the creation of software simulations
• Offers a wide range of interactive elements and quizzing options to make learning engaging

Cons:

• Steeper learning curve, especially for those not familiar with Adobe software
• Lack of supporting services, onboarding materials and help material

5. Thinkific

Thinkific, a well-reputed course creation software, is ideal for beginners and experienced course creators alike. With an array of features designed to support course creators at every stage of the journey.

Pros:

• Comes with an intuitive, drag-and-drop course builder, making course creation a breeze
• Supports various multimedia content formats, from video lectures and downloadable resources to interactive quizzes, fostering an immersive learning environment
• Allows the creation of quizzes, surveys, and assignments, enhancing learner engagement and understanding

Cons:

• Some advanced features, which can power up your courses, are available only in higher-priced plans
• Offers limited customization options compared to other platforms, which could be a limiting factor if you want to give your courses a unique look and feel

6. Teachable

Teachable, a widely-used course creation software, cleverly combines ease-of-use with powerful course creation capabilities. Whether you’re a seasoned educator or a novice with a passion for sharing your knowledge, Teachable provides the perfect platform to create and sell online courses.

Pros:

• Boasts built-in marketing and sales tools, empowering you to effectively promote and sell your courses
• Supports various content formats, allowing you to cater to different learning preferences and needs
• Offers customizable course pages, giving you the freedom to design your course the way you envision it
• Provides excellent customer support, ensuring your course creation journey is smooth and hassle-free

Cons:

• The basic plan charges transaction fees, which could affect your course revenue
• Limited options for automated student interactions, which could potentially impact learner engagement

7. Kajabi

If you’re looking for more than just course creation software, Kajabi is your answer. It’s an all-in-one platform offering website building, email marketing, and customer management features, making it a comprehensive solution for online educators and businesses.

Pros:

• A comprehensive platform covering not just course creation but also marketing and business management, saving you the hassle of integrating multiple platforms
• Boasts advanced automation capabilities, enhancing efficiency and allowing you to automate repetitive tasks
• Excellent customization features to help your courses stand out and create a consistent brand identity

Cons:

• The higher price point may not suit all budgets, making it less suitable for educators or small organizations with a tight budget
• The wide range of features can overwhelm users looking for a simpler, more focused course creation platform

8. Podia

If you’re a creator seeking to sell not just online courses but also memberships and digital downloads, Podia is an excellent choice. With a clean and user-friendly interface, Podia simplifies the course creation and selling process.

Pros:

• Offers unlimited courses, customers, and bandwidth in all plans, providing excellent scalability as your business grows
• Doesn’t charge additional transaction fees, ensuring that you keep all of your course sales revenue
• Built-in email marketing tools make communicating with your learners and building your community easy

Cons:

• Lacks advanced quiz and assessment features, which may be a hindrance if you wish to incorporate such elements in your course
• Does not offer certificate capabilities, which can be a drawback if your learners expect course completion certificates

9. LearnDash

LearnDash is a WordPress-based course creation platform that offers a robust suite of features and a high degree of customization. If you have a WordPress website and want to add an online course component, LearnDash is an excellent choice.

Pros:

• Fully compatible with WordPress, allowing seamless integration with your existing website
• Comes with advanced quizzing features, fostering an engaging and interactive learning experience
• Supports course content dripping and prerequisite lessons, which aids in structuring your courses effectively

Cons:

• The need for WordPress might be a disadvantage for those who don’t have a WordPress website or are unfamiliar with it
• The cost of third-party plugins can add to the overall cost of the platform

10. Coursecraft

Coursecraft is a platform designed for simplicity and ease of use. It’s a great choice for beginners looking for an easy-to-use tool to create and sell their online courses.

Pros:

• Offers a clean, user-friendly interface that makes course creation easy, even for beginners
• Provides a built-in sales and landing page builder, simplifying the process of marketing your courses

Cons:

• Lacks advanced features such as quizzes and certificates, which might be a limitation for some course creators
• The free plan charges a high transaction fee, which can reduce your course sales earnings

Need a hand comparing software? Let this handy comparison template do the heavy lifting for you. 

Conclusion

Choosing the right course creation software is a vital step in the journey of digital learning. The software you select will significantly influence the quality of your digital courses, the experience you provide to your learners, and the overall effectiveness of your elearning initiatives. Therefore, it’s crucial to analyze your options thoroughly and select a tool that aligns with your unique needs and goals in the realm of digital learning.

Remember, the best course creation software is the one that fulfills your requirements, matches your budget, and aligns with your vision of delivering impactful digital learning.

Course creation with Elucidat

Whether you’re designing comprehensive courses or focusing on engaging gamification and microlearning elements, Elucidat has got you covered.

Elucidat goes beyond just being a course creation tool. It’s a trusted partner in your elearning journey. With sophisticated collaboration tools, customizable user permissions, and refined access controls, you have everything you need to create impactful elearning content. 

Find out how Elucidat can take course creation to the next level and book a demo today.

With the rising need to develop digital training materials, tools that facilitate the creation of captivating elearning courses at speed are in high demand. Rapid authoring tools, such as Elucidat, feature extensive functionalities that can save you both time and money. Find out more about these types of authoring software and the features to consider when exploring which one is right for you.

What are rapid elearning authoring tools?

A rapid authoring tool is a piece of software designed to help elearning professionals swiftly create impactful, online training courses. These tools are equipped with numerous built-in functionalities that simplify the lives of online course designers. 

These particular authoring tools provide essential features for producing high-quality elearning courses quickly, all while requiring minimal effort to learn and navigate. Moreover, they offer convenient time-saving options such as drag-and-drop functionality and a variety of pre-designed templates that can be branded and styled to suit the needs of your business. 

Rapid authoring tools eliminate the requirement for coding skills and expertise in multimedia tools. This empowers subject matter experts (SMEs) and learning and development professionals with limited programming knowledge, to maximize their capabilities.

By utilizing quick-to-create tools as part of a business training platform, a diverse range of corporate elearning courses can be developed effortlessly, spanning everything from basic quizzes to interactive scenarios. These tools enable quick and efficient course creation, allowing for seamless and accelerated elearning development.

What types of rapid elearning authoring tools are there?

There are 3 main types of rapid content development tools to consider, namely:

1. PowerPoint plug-ins
2. Desktop-based authoring tools
3. Cloud-based authoring tools

Here, we’ll take a closer look at each type. 

Powerpoint add-ins

These authoring tools seamlessly integrate with Microsoft PowerPoint as plug-ins, making them incredibly user-friendly with minimal learning curves. They enable the creation of uncomplicated digital learning materials with basic interactive elements.

Desktop-based authoring tools

These authoring tools are widely employed for elearning design and development. They require installation on your computer. Offering an array of features, they are ideal for crafting courses with advanced interactivity and extensive customization. It’s also important to remember that all files are saved locally, so version management can be problematic.

Cloud-based authoring tools 

These online authoring tools operate on the cloud and are accessible via your internet browser. They are typically provided as Software as a Service (SaaS) and require licensing. Cloud-based tools facilitate collaborative authoring, allowing multiple individuals to log in and work on the tool simultaneously.

When should you use rapid authoring tools for elearning?

When there is a need to develop elearning courses within limited timeframes, quick and easy authoring tools can be a valuable asset. For example, Elucidat’s intuitive interface, pre-built templates, and drag-and-drop functionality enables quick content creation, reducing the time and effort required for course development.

Rapid authoring tools are also well-suited for iterative development processes. They allow for easy content updates, revisions, and enhancements, ensuring that elearning courses can be quickly modified and refined based on feedback or changing requirements.

When creating self-paced or microlearning courses, rapid authoring tools provide a convenient and efficient way to structure and present bite-sized content. These tools often include features that support interactive elements, assessments, and multimedia integration, enhancing the overall learning experience.

What to look for in rapid authoring tools

Rapid elearning tools come with their own range of features. When choosing the right platform, there are some particular inclusions that you’ll want to consider. Here, we’ll take a look at some of the most prominent things to look for. 

Responsive and mobile-friendly elearning

In today’s landscape, learners expect course materials to be responsive, allowing them to access content across multiple devices. This responsiveness is crucial as it enables learners to engage with the material anytime and from anywhere. 

When designing rapid courses that can be seamlessly accessed on various mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets, it becomes imperative to utilize authoring tools with built-in responsiveness.

User-friendly interface

When considering any software or tool, the presence of a user-friendly interface holds paramount importance. Without an interface that is easy to navigate, the utilization of an authoring tool becomes challenging, leading to limitations. 

Opting for an authoring tool with a simplified interface allows for effortless usage by individuals across the organization. By doing so, all authors can fully harness the potential of the tool.

Pre-built templates & interactions

Quizzes and gamified materials are highly enjoyable and effective learning methods. However, creating these quizzes from scratch can be a time-intensive process. Rapid elearning authoring tools can significantly streamline this task. 

An ideal rapid authoring tool also provides customization options to tailor assessments to the specific and unique learning needs of your employees. By finding an authoring tool that offers both ready-to-use templates and a library of question interaction types, along with the flexibility to customize them, you can make a well-informed choice. 

This ensures that you can create engaging quizzes that align perfectly with your employees’ learning requirements.

Benefits of rapid elearning development

There are a number of benefits of rapid elearning development for both learners and organizations. Here are 3 benefits to keep in mind. 

Saves time, money, and effort

Rapid elearning courses are not bound by limitations of time and budget. They are typically created using existing resources, such as templates, storyboards, and other relevant materials. Consequently, rapid elearning courses offer a cost-effective solution, allowing for efficient development and timely delivery even within tight deadlines.

Ease of use

Rapid elearning makes it incredibly easy for enabling both experienced and non-experienced authors to create quality content, meaning you can deliver content to learners when and where they need it.

Aids in information retention

Engaging learners and enhancing their information retention is typically the top priority for delivering a successful learning experience. Rapid elearning takes this a step further by leveraging microlearning techniques, enabling the delivery of just-in-time training in the process. 

In impactful elearning courses, extraneous data is stripped away, leaving behind only the most relevant and valuable information for learners to easily consume and effectively retain.

Rapid elearning development drawbacks

Of course, where there are pros there’s also cons to consider. Here’s a look at some drawbacks of rapid elearning development. 

Runs the risk of becoming dull or generic

As elearning courses often rely on pre-made graphics and templates, there is a risk of modules becoming monotonous over time. When an organization possesses an extensive library of elearning modules, learners may gradually lose interest due to the repetitive use of imagery or graphics. This is why intuitive rapid authoring tools, such as Elucidat, make it easy to create unique authoring in a flash. 

Less customization

The speed and efficiency of a rapid elearning authoring tool primarily stems from its user-friendly interface. These tools provide a wide range of pre-existing templates, themes, and assets that accelerate the course material creation process.

While many authoring tools offer customization options to include branded elements like logos and themes, there are inherent limitations to maintaining the rapid nature of the tool. These limitations can potentially hinder user creativity.

Lack of complex interactivity

Rapid elearning tools may not offer advanced interactivity options compared to more sophisticated authoring tools. This limitation can hinder the creation of complex simulations, branching scenarios, or interactive assessments.

3 examples of rapid authoring tools

When it comes to speed, efficiency, and user-friendliness, authoring tools that offer quick and simple solutions take center stage. Let’s explore three of the most popular rapid authoring tools that can significantly elevate your elearning development process.

1. Elucidat

Elucidat is a cloud-based rapid authoring platform that simplifies elearning content creation. Designed for both novices and experienced designers, its intuitive interface, coupled with powerful design capabilities, offers a seamless content creation process.

Pros

• Pre-built template and advance workflows allow for rapid authoring
• Highly flexible, allowing creators to craft unique, interactive elearning modules
• Powerful auto-translation tools
• Supports collaborative work, ideal for team-based projects

Cons

• The tool is designed for enterprise organizations, therefore it might be costly for small businesses or individual creators.

2. Articulate 360 

Articulate 360 is a comprehensive authoring tool that integrates the strengths of Storyline 360 and Rise. Storyline 360 is celebrated for its ease of use and wide-ranging functionalities, while Rise is known for its emphasis on speed and simplicity. Together, they create a good solution for any elearning project.

Pros

• Rise has an Intuitive interface
• It includes a built-in library of customizable templates
• It benefits from extensive community support and resources.

Cons

• Though it includes a wide range of features, it may not provide the depth of customization options seen in some other rapid authoring tools.
• It has limited integration with third-party applications, which might limit its usefulness in more complex elearning ecosystems.

3. Easygenerator

Easygenerator is a cloud-based elearning authoring tool that empowers you to create engaging courses without any prior learning design experience.

Pros

• Beginner-friendly interface.
• Includes features like quiz creation and learner tracking.
• Supports team collaboration for course creation.

Cons

• Not as feature-rich as some other rapid authoring tools.
• Advanced users might find customization options limited.

If you’re looking for a more comprehensive comparison of authoring software, read our article comparing the best elearning tools.

Currently comparing authoring tools? Let this handy comparison template do the hard work for you.

Wrapping up rapid authoring

In simple terms, rapid elearning is an approach that centers around learning objectives while eliminating any unnecessary and unrelated elements that could potentially overwhelm elearning experiences. Its deployment, of course, is made all the easier with the right authoring tool at your disposal.

To find out how Elucidat can support quick and easy elearning development, book a demo today.

The transformation of the modern workplace continues at pace. Whether you’re a large business or a smaller enterprise, your employees are unlikely to be based in one office, city, or country. Getting everyone together in a classroom isn’t feasible. Unless it’s a virtual classroom, of course. This is where corporate elearning solution comes in. But how do you pick the right platform for your organization? Read on to explore the best online training platforms for employees.

What is an online training platform?

There’s no shortage of great tools and technology to help you deliver digital learning. But finding the perfect platform or a bespoke elearning solution for your people isn’t easy. If you dive straight in, you could quickly get lost amongst the wide range of options (not to mention all the acronyms). So, before you explore the available online training tools, you need to get clear on what an employee learning platform means. 

An online employee learning platform is software that helps companies digitally deliver employee training programs. From onboarding new hires to compliance training, these tools are designed to create, host, and/or deliver digital learning courses and other training materials. This enables your employees to access learning and professional development whenever, wherever, and at their own pace.

Types of online training software for employees

There are lots of different software available for training employees, but we’re going to focus on the three main types of elearning platforms:

• Learning Management System (LMS): Learning Management Systems are platforms that allow you to host and deliver learning, track your learners’ progress, and analyze basic data about your training (such as its completion). With an LMS, you can manage various online and traditional face-to-face learning experiences. However, if you want to create an elearning course to sit on your LMS, you will also need an authoring tool.
• Learning Content Management System (LCMS): An LCMS combines some of the functionality of an LMS with authoring tool capabilities. It enables you to create, as well as host, manage, and deliver learning content (often via an elearning portal). As LCMSs tend to focus on digital content, it means they can track these online learning experiences in much more detail than an LMS. Detailed analytics can include time spent in a module, the device used, and much more.
• Learning Experience Platform (LXP): Like an LMS or LCMS, an LXP hosts learning content for employees. However, rather than the content being assigned by a Learning and Development (L&D) team, the learner discovers the content for themselves. It offers adaptable learning paths through your online courses and curated and user-generated content. Some LXPs also use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to learn about the employee’s needs and preferences.

Benefits of online training platforms for employees

Whichever type of platform you decide on, you’ll find there are plenty of benefits to using online training software for employees’ development.

• Reduced training costs: Moving to an online elearning platform pays off. Increasing your capacity for online learning reduces your need for more expensive face-to-face courses. Add elearning authoring into the mix, and you can also avoid using more costly agencies to produce your learning content.
• Easy to access: Employees can log on to your platform wherever and whenever. That means they can complete digital learning at their own pace. If a skill gap appears, they can even do some training on the job. Easy to fit into and around work, digital learning can also reduce the time they need to spend away from their everyday duties for training.
• Increased impact: When we surveyed learners, 62% said relevant content was the most important factor when it came to the effectiveness of elearning. Employee learning software with content creation capabilities allows you to start developing elearning solutions in-house. Say goodbye to generic off-the-shelf content, and start meeting changing employee development needs with relevant digital learning.
• Standardized: When you can’t get people together in a room to train, it’s difficult to ensure they’re on the same page. An online learning software allows you to roll out employee elearning courses across locations. So, you can create consistent skills and knowledge across your business and globally.
• Empowered employees: With access to an online platform full of great training modules, it’s easier for employees to take responsibility for their own development. They can select from a range of online training and personalize their learning experience. Powered by AI, some LXPs can even learn about and predict their learning needs. Serving up relevant content before your learners even know they need it.
• Tracked: An online training software enables you to easily manage and monitor the rollout of digital learning to large numbers of employees across locations, sectors, and departments. This doesn’t just allow you to monitor the progress of employees. It also provides an audit trail that can prove compliance with regulations.
• Continually improving: Feedback, data, and analytics from your employee learning software allow you to understand whether your training is meeting your business needs. By interrogating this information, you can find out what is and isn’t working so you can adapt and improve your approach. 

What to look for when choosing an online employee training platform

Online employee training tools can offer plenty of benefits, especially those integrated into a business training platform. But if you’re going to maximize the impact, you need to make sure you choose a platform that’s right for your business. 

Step 1: Get clear on your requirements

Before you get too deep into your research, take some time to get clear on your key requirements. For example:

• What type of training will you need to deliver on this platform?
• What quantity of digital learning content are you aiming to deliver in a given time frame?
• What is the level of skill, experience, and availability of your team for managing this platform? Will they need training and support?
• What other training systems will this platform need to integrate with?
• Do you have a set budget for implementing the platform? And what would a good return on investment (ROI) look like?

Step 2: Focus on key features

With a clearer understanding of what you’re trying to achieve, you can start to consider how an employee learning platform can best meet your needs.

Here are some things to look for in the online learning platforms that you’re considering.

Ease of use: Evaluate how easy it is to use the platform – both from the end user’s and administrator’s point of view. What support is available to help you and your team get up and running? Consider all the ways you will use the platform. For example, creating content, assigning training, and checking completion, to name just a few.

Key considerations:

• Ease of accessing and using the platform for the end user
• Level of skill and experience required of administrators 

Scalability: Explore how the platform can help you efficiently deliver the quantity of digital learning you need. Find out if there are any limitations to the number/size of online employee training courses or their storage. Consider the number of employees and administrators you’ll need using the platform.

Key considerations:

• How easily can you create and/or deliver digital learning at scale
• Cost-efficiency that can be achieved by simplifying or automating any processes

Technical capabilities: It’s unlikely that this will be the only tech you use. Find out how easily and effectively the platform can integrate with your other systems. Explore how responsive the platform is (e.g. whether it has a mobile app). Find out how it uses, gathers, and presents data so you can measure your success.

Key considerations:

• Integration with your existing tools and any related requirements (SCORM compliant? xAPI enabled?)
• What kinds of data can be collected and how this will be presented

Quality: Ask the provider for a demo to understand whether this platform will deliver quality learning experiences. Understand the look, feel, and usability that can be achieved. Gauge the types of learning experiences that can be created and/or delivered.

Key considerations:

• Whether look and feel can be adapted to your brand(s)
• Variety of effective learning experiences that can be created and/or delivered

Maintenance: Find out how easily and quickly you can update digital training. Explore what impact any changes or new versions can have, such as loss of completion status and data. 

Key considerations:

• How easy and quick it is to update your elearning content
• Any knock-on effects of adding new versions of content to the platform

People behind the tool: When investing a lot of money into a platform, you want to be sure support will be on hand when needed. Will the provider support you through implementation? Does this support continue when you’re up and running and it’s business as usual?

Key considerations:

• Will you have a customer success or support contact
• Are there any other services on offer (such as consultation on your digital learning strategy)

Step 3: Create a list of key features

It’s unlikely that you’ll find one business training platform that ticks every box. So, you need to decide on your priority features. For example, is it more important that the platform is easy to use or has more advanced technical capabilities such as training needs analysis tools? Do you need a mobile app, or will most employees access learning on their desktop or laptop? Put together a list of must-haves and nice-to-haves.

Step 4: Evaluate each platform

Armed with a list of priorities, you can do some research to identify tools that appear to meet these key needs. Once you have a short list of the platforms that you think could work for your organization, you should:

• Check out reviews (on trusted sites like elearning Industry) and comparison articles
• Explore any customer testimonials to understand people’s real-world experiences of the platform and partnering with the vendor
• Ask for a demo and sign up for free trials so you can try the things out for yourself
• Weigh up the value for money and ROI each platform could offer

Save time comparing tools with this handy authoring tool comparison template.

Step 5: Make the business case

When you’ve identified the platform that comes out on top, it’s time to share your decision. Discuss it with your team and any key stakeholders to get their thoughts and feedback. 

Once everyone is happy with the decision, you may need to make a formal business case. This provides the rationale for investing in your chosen online learning program. It serves to convince budget holders and stakeholders of the business benefits of this purchase. If you’re going to make a compelling case, you need to do it in their language and show it aligns with the wider business priorities.

Find out more about how to implement an elearning authoring tool successfully.

10 best employee training platforms

Ready to start your research? The employee elearning platform market can feel like a complex place. Before making a decision, it’s important to fully understand all your options and thoroughly review any possible candidates. 

To get you off to a good start, we’ve compiled an overview of some of the best employee training software platforms and why you might choose them.

LMS

1. LearnUpon – A customer-centric learning management tool with an easy-to-use interface

LearnUpon is a cloud-based LMS with a focus on the end user – both the learners and the L&D teams. A user-friendly interface makes it easy for both admins and learners to get the most out of LearnUpon. Customer feedback influences the product roadmap and shapes the platform’s development.

2. Docebo – An LMS platform combining innovative tech and methods to support different learning styles

Docebo Learn is an easy-to-use and configurable cloud-based LMS. By using different learning approaches and the latest technologies, such as social learning and AI, Docebo supports the different ways that people learn. Its pricing model is based on monthly active users, which can mean Docebo is an affordable option.

3. Cornerstone – A holistic solution to learning management that offers world-class support

With Cornerstone’s corporate LMS, everything related to employee training and development is found in one place. This holistic solution enables you to manage different formats, including face-to-face workshops and informal development, as well as multimedia video, audio, and VR learning content. Cornerstone’s world-class customer service means the platform implementation is fully supported.

4. Litmos – Globally popular employee training software that easily integrates your content

Litmos is a digital training software used by many major corporations worldwide. It offers tools to easily integrate a training library with your systems and measure progress among learners through assessments. 

LCMS

5. Elucidat – Empowers big employers to deliver impactful and scalable elearning experiences.

Elucidat started life as an authoring tool, but over time has developed a much broader set of key features to enable collaboration, hosting and delivery. Elucidat is designed for scalability. With Elucidat, you can build, review, and deliver all in one place. Cloning your course makes reuse, rebranding, and translation simple. And keeping a parent course avoids version control issues. While not technically a full LCMS, Elucidat is still a great option. 

6. EdApp – An all-in-one training solution and LCMS that focuses on microlearning

EdApp is a LCMS workplace training solution. The package includes an admin portal, learning portal, and analytics suite for smooth and effective learning delivery. Its creator tool includes an editable course library and features – like microlearning, gamification, and spaced repetition, as well as AI course creation and translation.

7. Xyleme – An elearning platform that brings the entire elearning together in one place

Xyleme is a comprehensive elearning platform and LCMS that brings the entire learning content management lifecycle together in one process. Xyleme provides a single source of truth by streamlining content authoring, publishing, updates, delivery, tracking, and analysis into a collaborative platform.

8. iSpring Learn – An intuitive learning platform interface with basic authoring capability

iSpring Learn is an LMS with simple content creation capability. Its intuitive interface makes it easy to find training content on any device (and even offline) using a mobile app. Its authoring tool is PowerPoint-based. It’s a great option for novice learning designers who don’t have to worry about updating content regularly.

LXP

9. Valamis – An elearning platform and LXP providing end-to-end capabilities 

From learning creation to management and delivery, Valamis is an elearning platform and full learning ecosystem. It’s an LXP first and foremost, but as a package, it also comes with an LMS and basic authoring capabilities, which give it an edge over other LXPs.

10. Degreed – An LXP connecting learners to resources they need

Degreed integrates new skills insights and different types of people development to connect learners to the resources they need. It also provides learner insights with analytics so organizations can collect, understand, and build skills for greater impact.

Want to find out more about these platforms and explore other tools? Download our authoring tool comparison template or read our full online training tool review.

Summary

The modern workplace has changed the way we deliver training. An online employee learning platform is now a must-have tool. It gives your employees easy access to relevant and effective learning materials wherever they are. But if you’re going to maximize your impact, you need to make sure you choose the right platform.

Training employees online with Elucidat

LMS, LCMS, or LXP? Each type of platform offers different benefits. But you’ll need an LCMS if you want to combine content creation and delivery. With Elucidat you can do just this and a lot more. New authors and experienced designers can create impactful, responsive elearning programs that meet your standards. 

Efficient workflows mean multiple authors and reviewers can work on a project simultaneously. Publishing and releasing online courses is easy. And once your course is being used, you can track employee engagement at page level. So, you can gain insight and iterate your online learning content on an ongoing basis. After you update your course, you can re-release without worrying about version control issues and any data loss.

And just as you’re empowered to iterate your elearning, Elucidat is constantly improving. Whether it’s streamlining your feedback collection process or auto-translating, you can maximize the impact of implementing staff training software with Elucidat.

Want to see for yourself? Book a demo of Elucidat to get started with a free trial.

If your plan for this year is to create awesome SCORM-compliant elearning, you might be wondering what are the best SCORM authoring tools available right now. Whether you’re starting out in course creation or looking for an upgrade, our guide gives you an overview of some of the top SCORM authoring softwares. There are many platforms out there for creating SCORM content, so make sure you choose a SCORM course builder that’s right for you and your team!

What are SCORM authoring tools?

An authoring tool can be used to create and maintain web-based content. It’s created in a standardized course structure that can be exported in several different formats. SCORM stands for Shareable Content Object Reference Model. It means your content can run from any LMS that’s compatible with SCORM. Simply upload your zip package and you’re ready to go.

Want to find out more about SCORM? Check out our blog post: What is SCORM?

Types of SCORM authoring tools

SCORM authoring tools come in all shapes and sizes. There are two key types:

• Cloud-based authoring tools exist entirely online. They’re hosted on an external server. No download and install are needed.
• Desktop authoring tools are installed on your desktop. They may or may not require the Internet to work.

There are pros and cons to both types of SCORM-compliant authoring tools. Here are the things you should keep in mind when choosing the type of SCORM creation tools.

Need a hand with comparing tools? Check out our handy scorm authoring tool comparison template.

Internet access

Cloud-based SCORM content authoring tools can be accessed anytime, anywhere – as long as you have access to the Internet. From building to publishing, user management to storage – it all happens online. Everything is saved to the cloud.  You don’t have to constantly back up your work, and there’s no chance of losing it. Software updates are automatic, so you’ll always work with the latest features and bug fixes.

If you have limited access to the Internet, a desktop SCORM authoring tool might be best for you. As the tool is installed on your device, you can access it wherever you’re working – even without an Internet connection. Everything is stored on your hard-drive. There’s only one copy, so remember to back up your work. You’ll also need to manually check for software updates when you go online.

Ease of use

Cloud-based SCORM authoring tools are generally less complicated than desktop software. Complex layouts and advanced features mean desktop tools can have a steep learning curve.

If you need customized interactions or complicated branding, you may need intensive SCORM training or to hire an expert. Publishing content is time-consuming. Once published, it can also be hard to update.

Cloud-based authoring tools are more user-friendly. An intuitive interface means you can start building content straight away. Sharing, duplicating and updating content is easy with these flexible tools.

Collaboration

If you’re working alone, a desktop SCORM authoring tool might be for you. But even for the smallest project, collaboration is key. It’s likely you’ll need to involve subject matter experts and stakeholders to input on your online training. With a desktop tool, content needs to be created, converted, and published before it can be shared. This can make your feedback process longer and more laborious.

In contrast, collaboration between multiple people is easy with a cloud-based tool. Authors and reviewers can work on the same content at the same time. Effective collaboration speeds up content creation and produces better learning courses.

How to use a SCORM authoring tool

SCORM authoring tools are essential for creating elearning content that can be used in most LMSs. Here are some simple steps to help you get started with using a SCORM authoring tool:

1. Choose a tool that fits your needs and budget – Research SCORM authoring tools that meet your needs and budget, and choose the best option for you.
2. Activate your account – If you’re using a cloud-based tool, set up your account and get your users added in so they can start creating content. If you’re using a desktop tool, download and install the software, then open it to begin creating your elearning course.
3. Create a new project, and choose a template or start from scratch – It’s time to start creating content! To create a new project in your authoring tool, either choose a pre-designed template or start from scratch. Be sure to set up any brand styles early on to maintain consistency.
4. Add your content –Now for the important part – your content. Be sure to keep your content short and sweet so it is digestible for your learners. Don’t forget to include engaging interactions to ensure your learners stay focused.
5. Invite your team to review – Once you are happy with your content, it’s time for your team to review. Share your course content via file share, online link, or just invite them straight into the platform.
6. Test your course – Check that your elearning course is SCORM compliant and ensure that it runs smoothly before publishing. Be sure to test this mobile and tablets to ensure your course scales and looks great on all screen sizes.
7. Publish your elearning course – Finally, it’s time to share your content. Release your elearning course into a SCORM package and upload it to your LMS for learners to access. You can then track their progress and make updates from your authoring tool to improve and refine.

By following the seven simple steps outlined above, you’ll be able to get started with creating your own SCORM-compliant elearning courses that deliver impactful learning experiences.

Top 13 SCORM elearning authoring tools

Ultimately what LMS authoring tools you choose depends on you and your team’s needs. Are you:

• Building alone or collaborating?
• Keeping it simple or highly customized?
• Using open source SCORM authoring tool community support or intensive training?
• Using a free SCORM authoring tool or bigger budget software?

There’s clearly plenty to consider and lots of SCORM-compliant online learning software that will meet your needs. Here’s our guide to the top thirteen SCORM authoring tools.

 1. Elucidat

• Type: Cloud-based
• SCORM support: 1.2 / 2004
• Platform: Windows / Mac

With Elucidat, you can crowdsource your corporate elearning from hundreds of colleagues. Whatever your level of expertise, creating interactive, mobile-friendly courses is easy. Packed with features and ready-made learning blueprints, you can get up and running fast.

Elucidat is cloud-based. People can work on the same project at the same time, while you stay in control. You’re able to clone your course, so reuse, rebranding and translation are simple. And all without version control, thanks to your master course.

If you’re transitioning from PowerPoint-based training, Elucidat also enables you to quickly convert PowerPoint to SCORM-compliant content. This can save you time and effort while allowing you to reuse existing content in a new, interactive format that’s fully compatible with your LMS.

Want to learn more about how Elucidat can help you create SCORM compliant content? Book a demo!

2. Articulate Storyline 360

• Type: Desktop
• SCORM support: 1.2 / 2004
• Platform: Windows

Articulate Storyline 360 combines a series of interactive slides to create online learning content. If you know your way around PowerPoint, you have a good base knowledge to build on. If you’re experienced, you can use the tool to create customized interactions and bespoke branding options.

It’s a desktop tool, so you’ll find it easier to build content alone. An export feature speeds up localization and translation. But remember to adjust text to fit when you import your new languages.

3. Articulate Rise 360

• Type: Cloud-based
• SCORM support: 1.2 / 2004
• Platform: Windows

If you’re new to content creation, Articulate Rise 360 is a good place to start. An intuitive interface with ready-to-use templates means you can create basic mobile-friendly online training easily.

It’s cloud-based, so collaboration and review happen in one place. The ability to clone courses means you can speed up the localization and translation process.

Explore how Articulate Storyline, Rise and Elucidat shape up in this comparison and review – and decide which tool is best for you!

4. Adobe Captivate

• Type: Desktop
• SCORM support: 1.2 / 2004
• Platform: Windows / Mac

Working like PowerPoint presentations, Captivate enables you to produce basic learning content. If you’re more experienced or ready for a bit of a learning curve, you can explore the advanced features. Its screen recorder can be used for systems demos and sandpits. Mobile gestures and geo-location can produce more innovative learning.

Captivate is a desktop app, so collaboration isn’t straightforward. Publishing, sharing, reviewing, updating is time-consuming. Translation can also be laborious.

5. iSpring Suite

• Type: Desktop
• SCORM support: 1.2 / 2004
• Platform: Windows

The iSpring suite is based on PowerPoint. From simple text and graphics to more complex drag and drop questions, choose from a range of interactions to create responsive elearning courses. With a library of assets available, you have everything you need to produce content quickly.

The iSpring toolkit is desktop-based, so teamworking is inefficient. Reusing learning paths and courses can speed up your process. But if you need to update at scale, having no direct links to courses can cause issues.

See which tool best suits your needs in this full Elucidat vs iSpring Suite comparison and review.

6. Camtasia

• Type: Desktop
• SCORM support: 1.2 / 2004
• Platform: Windows / Mac

Specializing in screen recordings and video editing, Camtasia can export learning content as a SCORM package. It may not be as powerful as the other tools, but this SCORM content creator is easy to use. Demo a system, record a narration, add in some interactivity – there are lots of excellent options with this tool.

As with other desktop tools, Camtasia is best if you’re working alone.

7. Gomo

• Type: Cloud-based
• SCORM support: 1.2 / 2004
• Platform: Windows / Mac

Gomo is an authoring tool for mobile-first learning content. Ready-made templates and a quick-start wizard can help you get up to speed. Designed for content developers rather than novices, you may need to hire a specialist if you have grand plans.

It’s a cloud-based app, so collaboration happens in one place. With the option to deliver one course where people select their language, Gomo is worth considering if your organization is international.

Get the full spec on this tool in this Elucidat vs Gomo Learning comparison and review article. 

8. Knowbly

• Type: Cloud-based
• SCORM support: 1.2 / 2004
• Platform: Windows / Mac

Knowbly is a simple but powerful tool for creating mobile-friendly learning content. A standard set of tools helps you build learning packed with interaction.

Knowbly is a cloud-based tool, so has a built-in review and real-time collaboration tool. A centralized source makes localization, translations and updates easier.

9. Adapt

• Type: Desktop
• SCORM support: 1.2 / 2004
• Platform: Windows, Mac OS

Adapt is a complex online authoring tool that, while relatively easy to use, does require a certain level of technical development expertise in order to create SCORM-compliant online elearning content. 

It has an easy-to- manage asset library, a decent range of interactions and assessment features and a good selection of modern, professional content themes to choose from. Publishing SCORM releases is a quick and straightforward download.

10. Lectora Online

• Type: Cloud-based
• SCORM support: 1.2 / 2004
• Platform: Windows, Mac OS

Lectora is one of the most mature authoring tools on the market. Its younger sibling Lectora Online is a powerful HTML5 cloud-based version of the original tool. 

Unlike some of the other tools in the review, it can be more difficult to get to grips with as it is designed with experienced authors in mind. However, once you have mastered it, Lectora Online allows you to build highly-customizable and attractive corporate learning projects. Some of the best features include free access to Elearning Brothers graphics libraries and the online reviewer collaboration tool, which enables multiple stakeholders to edit content and add comments in one place.

11. Easygenerator 

• Type: Cloud-based
• SCORM support: 1.2 / 2004
• Platform: Windows, Mac OS

As the name suggests, Easygenerator is one of the most simple-to-use SCORM authoring tools in this review. It offers reasonable design functionality and interactions but may not be suitable for authors looking to create sophisticated, highly bespoke interactive digital learning. 

Easygenerator’s “co-authoring” feature is useful for collaboration between multiple stakeholders, and it has a range of great mobile-friendly responsive design features, making it easy to create multi-device compatible content.

12. DominKnow ONE

• Type: Cloud-based
• SCORM support: 1.2 / 2004
• Platform: Windows, Mac OS

DominKnow has strong responsive design capabilities and a wide range of themes and templates for you to choose from and make your own. 

Despite having a slightly complex interface, it’s generally easy to use and there are lots of useful time-saving features such as the ability to copy courses and have multiple authors collaborate on content in real-time. There is an informative product tour within the tool that provides guidance and tips on how to navigate the tool to help you get up to speed.

13. Evolve

• Type: Desktop
• SCORM support: 1.2 / 2004
• Platform: Windows

One of the best SCORM authoring tools designed for novice authors is Evolve. It allows users to build simple content quickly with a range of intuitive components and pre-built templates. 

With Evolve, authors can make changes at scale with just a few clicks and have the option whether to release the courses via web or offline. One of the biggest benefits of creating corporate elearning content in Evolve is that it’s compatible with any platform, device or operating system. 

In summary

Whether you’re new to SCORM-compliant authoring software or looking to upgrade your SCORM creator, there’s plenty of software to choose from. You’ve seen our summary of the best SCORM software out there; now, take a look for yourself.

Start creating compliant courses today with the help of SCORM-compliant blueprints. Book a demo of Elucidat and we’ll get your free trial off to a flying start!

Learning and development (L&D) is critical to the success of any organization. If you’re going to stay competitive and grow your business, your employees need the right knowledge and skills. But finding an effective way to achieve this at speed and scale isn’t easy, hence, there is an increasing need for bespoke elearning providers. Read on to find out how corporate elearning solutions can help.

What are corporate elearning solutions?

Before diving into why corporate elearning solutions should be part of your L&D strategy, let’s get clear on what we mean. Corporate elearning solutions are digital training programs that provide employees with online learning and development opportunities. These programs aim to equip employees with the knowledge and skills to excel at work and contribute to the success of the business.

A corporate elearning solution can include a wide variety of digital assets – from simple pdf checklists and selfie videos to more complex interactive webinars and online courses. These digital formats can be mixed and matched to meet the learning objectives of the program. They can also integrate with face-to-face learning formats, such as instructor-led training, mentoring, and on-the-job coaching.

Why you should opt for corporate elearning solutions

Corporate training can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. So, why would you opt for an elearning solution rather than more traditional face-to-face corporate learning formats?

Reasons for business giants

Larger businesses have more complex processes, a wider range of skills requirements and a bigger workforce. Their employees are often located across regions and countries. Working at this large, global scale means keeping up with changing markets, employee needs, and a variety of laws and regulations. And all while providing the consistently great products and services that customers expect.

In this context, training needs to work at speed and scale. Although L&D resources may be less limited than in smaller organizations, they need to achieve a lot. Corporate elearning programs provide a cost-effective, flexible approach to delivering consistent and relevant learning experiences.

Reasons for small businesses

Smaller organizations have less employees and often take on multiple roles and a wide variety of tasks. This means limited L&D budgets need to go even further towards effectively training their employees.

Mentoring from more experienced employees is a great way to upskill staff. But what happens when those experienced colleagues move on? By developing online learning in-house, smaller enterprises can ensure their business’ expertise is captured and critical skill gaps are avoided.

Benefits of corporate elearning solutions

Whether you’re a larger organization or a smaller enterprise, embracing digital learning can help your business succeed.

Here are our top 5 benefits of developing corporate elearning solutions:

1. Responsive: 87% of businesses expect to face skill gaps within a few years. By developing elearning solutions inhouse with an authoring tool, you can respond as and when new employee development needs appear.
2. Convenient: Employees can log on and complete digital learning at their own pace – wherever and whenever, including on their mobile devices. Easy to fit around other work, digital learning reduces the time employees spend away from their everyday duties for training.
3. Cost-effective: Developing elearning solutions will pay off. It reduces your need for more expensive face-to-face courses, so you can use them where they have most impact. And, when elearning is effective (more on this later), every minute an employee spends training is time well-spent.
4. Empowering: Online training makes it easier for employees to take responsibility for their own development. Providing a range of online training means they can personalize their learning experience. If an employee feels that they have a skill gap, they can identify, access, and complete elearning as and when they feel they need it.
5. Managed and monitored: With a Learning Management Systems (LMS), you can easily manage and monitor the roll out of elearning to large numbers of employees. This can be achieved across locations, sectors and departments, all in real time. This means you can continually improve your performance.

How to deliver effective corporate training

It’s clear that digital learning can deliver plenty of benefits. However, with 43% of L&D professionals struggling to respond at speed, while maintaining quality, this isn’t always happening.

So, how do you deliver effective elearning that meets your end users’ needs and business goals?

Here are 4 key principles for impactful digital learning solutions.

1. Make it relevant

The purpose of training is to help people do their jobs better. So, it’s not surprising that 62% of learners say relevant content is most important when it comes to effective elearning.

If something is useful, people will want to use it. That’s why it’s crucial to move away from generic learning materials and shift to content that meets your employee’s development needs.

2. Get truly interactive

From targets to deadlines, lots of things are vying for your workforce’s attention. If learning is going to be effective, you need to grab their interest and keep it.

With 20% of learners switching off when elearning lacks interactivity, people clearly want more than just an online manual to read. When you take a closer look at what they mean by interactivity, it isn’t about clicking on the screen. It’s about engaging learners by creating connections and active participation. Using blended learning is also a great way to keep your employees engaged.

3. Keep it concise

As well as being easier for busy employees to fit around their schedules, bite-sized digital learning content has more impact. 17% of learners said they were more engaged when elearning was concise, easy to understand, and well-organized. Whether that’s in 2 or 10 minutes, solutions that deliver real impact are a good use of learners’ time.

4. Ensure it’s easy to access

The vast majority of people prefer learning on the job where they can immediately apply it. 22% of learners said their engagement increased when elearning was easy to access at work. Learning needs to be easy to complete and apply in those moments of need. That means making it practical – learning through observing, reflecting and trying.

You can find out more about how you can deliver effective digital learning, in our ultimate guide to designing quality elearning.

Choosing the best corporate elearning solution for you

Although there are some key principles for creating effective elearning solutions, there isn’t just one way to approach it. And there’s certainly no shortage of great tools and technology that can help you deliver it.

With such a wide range of options to choose from, where should you start?

Here are five steps to help you identify the best elearning solutions for your business.

Step 1: Understand your business’ requirements

The current learning trend or latest tech might sound exciting, but is it really right for your business? Before you get carried away with a potential solution, it’s always worth taking the time to get clear on your key requirements.

Here are some things to consider:

• Audience: Think about your learners and the type of training you need to deliver. For example, what are your key learning objectives? Do you need onboarding, compliance or soft skills training?
• Scale: Consider the quantity of the digital learning content you’re aiming to produce in a given time-frame. Will you need to re-brand, re-version, translate and/or regularly update content?
• Team: Reflect on the skill, experience and availability of your team. How ready and able are they to deliver the learning approaches you’re considering? Will you need to upskill your team? Or do you need to bring in new skills and resources from outside your organization (e.g. contractors and agencies)?
• Budget: You’re likely to have a set budget, but what does it look like to use that budget well? There isn’t just one way to think about providing value for money or return on investment (ROI). Identify the data you hold and how you can use it to show the impact of a new corporate elearning solution.

Step 2: Focus on important features

Based on your understanding of your organization’s training needs, you can define your preferred learning methodologies. We have got your covered if you need ideas for your business compliance training.

Next, identify the priority features you would need to deliver these approaches using an elearning platform or authoring tool. For example, is your focus going to be ease of use or custom functionality? Will you make use of templates and ready-made projects or start from scratch? Are you looking to create great mobile learning or is the desktop learning experience more important for your employees?

Step 3: Evaluate each tool

Do some high-level research to identify tools that appear to meet your specific needs. Evaluate each of these. Create a short list of the learning platforms that you think could work for your organization and your chosen learning approaches.

Next, dig a little deeper and see what people are saying about these tools:

• Reviews: Trusted sites, like eLearning Industry, provide unbiased reviews of tools on the market.
• Comparisons: Standalone reviews are helpful, but what if you’ve narrowed things down to a few tools. Comparison articles are a great way to directly compare platforms.
• Testimonials: Most authoring tool websites will include customer testimonials. These will cover their experience of the tool and partnering with the vendor.

Go deeper still and explore the people and services behind the tools. Ask for a demo so you can see authoring tools in action. Ask lots of questions of the customer success or support contact who is demoing the tool. Sign up for free trials so you can try the tools for yourself.

Step 4: Choosing your tool(s)

Finally, it’s time to do a comparison. If you’ve got two or three platforms that meet the same needs, take another look at those reviews. Weigh up the value for money and ROI they could offer.

Share your decision with colleagues and stakeholders for feedback on your decision.

The best corporate elearning solutions providers to choose from

Before making a decision, it’s important to understand all your options and review any possible candidates. So, here’s an overview of some of the best platforms designed to create, host, and/or deliver digital training courses and other learning materials.

Tools for creating elearning content

Elearning authoring tools are pieces of training and development software that enable the creation of digital learning content. Here are 12 top corporate elearning tools you could consider:

1. Elucidat – Helps you create engaging and personalized learning content by unlocking expertise from any employee.
2. Adobe Captivate – Gives experienced authors the power to create high-quality content.
3. Articulate Storyline 360 – Ideal for individual users who prefer PowerPoint, with an added layer of customization.
4. Articulate Rise 360 – Users with access to Articulate 360 can produce simple elearning courses fairly quickly.
5. Gomo – Best for experienced instructional designers that aren’t looking for advanced customization.
6. Lectora – Gives traditional, capable authors an effective tool for producing HTML5 content.
7. Adapt – Designed for technical authors who are looking to design bespoke HTML5 authoring through back-end design.
8. DominKnow – Perfect for teams whose focus is on responsive screen capture and software simulation.
9. Easygenerator – Authoring software designed for learning teams who need to create elearning content, easily.
10. iSpring Suite – Desktop PowerPoint-based tool that’s a great option for novice learning designers who don’t have to worry about updating content regularly.
11. Evolve – Built for teams who need to collaborate together and don’t mind putting in the time to learn how to use it.
12. Camtasia – Video editing suite most commonly used for screen recordings, tutorials or product demos.

Want to take a deeper dive into these tools? Read our full elearning authoring tool reviews.

Platforms for delivering corporate elearning solutions

Once you’ve created your elearning content, you need to deliver it to your employees. There are three types of elearning platforms that can help you do this:

• Learning Management Systems (LMSs)
• Learning Content Management Systems (LCMSs)
• Learning Experience Platforms (LXPs)

Learning Management System (LMS)

A corporate LMS allows you to host, deliver and track digital learning, alongside other learning experiences.

Top examples:

• LearnUpon – A customer-centric learning management tool with an easy-to-use interface.
• Docebo – An LMS platform combining innovative tech and methods to support different learning styles.

Learning Content Management System (LCMS)

An LCMS is a one-stop-shop for creating, hosting, managing, and delivering content. It combines the functions of an LMS with those of a content management system (CMS).

Top examples:

• EdApp – An all-in-one corporate training solution and LCMS that includes a creator tool, admin and learning portal, analytics suite, and editable course library.
• Xyleme – A comprehensive elearning platform and LCMS bringing the elearning content development and management lifecycle together in a streamlined process.

Learning Experience Platform (LXP)

An LXP hosts training content for learners but, instead of L&D teams assigning content, the learner selects and accesses content by discovering it for themselves.

Top example:

• Valamis – An elearning platform and LXP that provides end-to-end elearning capabilities for learning creation, management and delivery.

Want to find out more about these elearning platforms? Read our full online elearning SCORM-compliant platform review.

Summary

Your employees are your biggest and most valuable business expense. Leaving their skills development to chance makes your organization vulnerable. An effective L&D strategy, which includes corporate learning solutions, is critical. From empowering your people to increasing your speed to train, the benefits of these digital solutions are many. But if you’re going to maximize your impact, you need the right learning approaches and tools for your organization.

Using Elucidat for your employee training

Elucidat’s powerful authoring platform empowers new and experienced authors to create impactful elearning. As a multi-award winning authoring tool, Elucidat makes it easier for you to deliver digital learning at scale, helping your business to respond to change faster.

If you’re interested in how Elucidat can help you produce and deliver high impact learning experiences affordably and at scale, book a personalized online demo to get started with a free trial.

HTML5 authoring, with its semantic elements, multimedia support, and cross-browser compatibility, has become the industry standard for L&D teams looking to produce modern, interactive, and multi-device elearning. With the range of HTML5 authoring tools available on the market, how do you decide which one is right for your team? We take a look at 8 popular tools and suggest some questions to consider when doing your research.

HTML5 authoring tools comparison – at a glance

No time to read the full article? Let’s take a quick look at each tool first:

• Elucidat – A cloud-based, HTML5 authoring platform that enables impactful elearning experiences at scale for the world’s leading companies.
• Adobe Captivate – A powerful desktop-based, HTML5 authoring platform encompassing the classic PowerPoint interface.
• Articulate 360 – A popular HTML5 authoring suite, containing both desktop and online-based tools, using a Powerpoint style to create elearning content.
• Gomo – A HTML5, cloud-based authoring tool, with course hosting on or offline.
• Lectora – A windows-based desktop authoring tool, with added a cloud-based version, that creates HTML5 content.
• Adapt – An open-source, HTML5 elearning authoring tool with a strong community of users.
• Easygenerator – A simple, cloud-based elearning authoring that creates HTML5 content.
• iSpring – A windows-based, HTML5 authoring tool that turns PowerPoint content into elearning courses.

First off, what exactly is HTML5 authoring?

HTML5 is today’s standardized markup language for structuring and presenting content on the web. It introduces new elements like <section>, <article>, <header>, and <nav> for semantic content structuring. It also supports the latest multimedia formats through <audio> and <video> tags and integrates SVG content.

There are tons of benefits to authoring elearning in HTML5, compared to the old school Flash, including:

• The ability to create mobile-friendly learning content, so learners can engage with learning more flexibly and at the point of need
• Increased interactivity of elearning courses, opening up opportunities for learning designers to produce more engaging experiences
• Better handling of multimedia, such as audio and video
• Easier (and cheaper) to maintain and keep up to date

When it comes to meeting the needs of the modern learner, HTML5 stands worlds apart from its not so flashy predecessor!

What is an HTML editor?

An HTML editor is a software tool used to create and edit web pages written in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). There are two main types of HTML editors: WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors which allow you to design your page visually, and code editors which require you to write your HTML and CSS manually.

Modern HTML editors also offer support for HTML5, ensuring that content is up-to-date with the latest web standards.

The editor typically features a user-friendly interface and may include features such as syntax highlighting, auto-complete, and a preview mode to see how the web page will look in a web browser. Some HTML editors also include additional tools for creating and editing other web-related files such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and JavaScript. Overall, an HTML editor is a useful tool for anyone looking to create or edit web pages, whether for personal or professional purposes.

Which is the best HTML5 authoring tool for you?

Choosing a HTML5 authoring tool may seem like a difficult decision, but if you know the answers to the following questions you can quickly narrow down your options.

 Some questions to ask yourself:

•  What are your elearning goals? What will help best meet your audience and business needs? Simple or sophisticated learning experiences?
•  What scale are you working at? Do you need to consider elearning translation and localization, or managing multiple versions of courses?
•  Who is working on your project? Is it a sole author or collaborative team, and what’s the level of technical expertise?
•  How will you demonstrate ROI? Do you need analytics to measure and prove (and improve!) the value of your elearning?

Our number one piece of advice is to take a people-centered approach to choosing an HTML5 authoring tool. Work back from understanding your audience and how their personal goals align with your organization’s goals. Be mindful of how you will respect people’s time, measure impact and ensure your content is widely available. Then, create your own checklist based on these factors, to help you identify the tool that will help you best deliver on your vision.

Another consideration is web accessibility. Ensure that the HTML5 authoring tool you choose supports creating content compliant with WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). This is important in order to make your elearning content accessible to all users, including those with disabilities.

8 popular HTML5 authoring tools:

1. Elucidat

Elucidat is a cloud-based HTML5 authoring platform that enables impactful elearning experiences at scale for the world’s leading companies.

 

Elucidat is great for:

• Producing engaging, interactive and personalized learning experiences.
• Ensuring learning content is mobile friendly and works on any device.
• Reaching wider audiences with smart management of translated content and course variations, plus offering delivery of content to people outside of your LMS.
• Speeding up production processes with built-in templates, giving any user the power to produce great elearning, quickly.
• Creating responsive elearning content that works on any device.
• Efficient collaborative content production, allowing your team to focus on delivering better learning experiences rather frustrating authoring processes!
• Getting great support and additional coaching to get to and stay at the forefront of modern elearning production.

 Elucidat’s drawbacks:

• Elucidat is best suited to organizations that have thousands of people they need to support with elearning. The platform is designed to deliver great ROI for teams producing content at scale. But, if you’re a small team or an individual looking to create a handful of courses for few hundred learners, then Elucidat’s platform is unlikely to be the best fit for you.

 2. Adobe Captivate

Adobe Captivate 2017, more commonly referred to as ‘Captivate’ is the latest release from tech giant Adobe. The desktop-based HTML5 authoring platform requires a software download initially and is available on both Windows and Mac, encompassing a classic user-friendly PowerPoint interface.

 

Captivate is great for:

• Producing complex interactions.
• Screen recording and simulations, which you can edit within the tool.
• Any location-aware interactions (you can link to a device’s geolocation capability).
• Interactivity in the output can recognize common mobile-device gestures (e.g, pinch and zoom, swipe).
• Accelerometer-based interaction types.

 Captivate’s drawbacks:

• Steep learning curve with limited support.
• As a desktop based tool, you’re unable to collaborate easily when it comes to reviewing and authoring content.
• Authoring decisions cannot be made per device, though you can view different screen sizes. And, not all elements would work on mobile devices, as high-level features are Flash-based.
• Can be a painful process to update and maintain existing content.

3. Articulate Storyline 360

Articulate Storyline 360 is a popular ‘authoring suite’ containing several different applications for elearning authoring. It’s flagship tool ‘storyline’ is an HTML5 authoring tool, using a PowerPoint style, and available as a software download for Windows desktops. ‘Rise’, also included in the 360 package, is a more basic online-based tool.

 

Storyline is great for:

• Importing of (some) external multimedia content (like Powerpoints and PDFs).
• Content designed for desktop view.
• Themes pages and applying branding flexibly.
• Customizable code if you have the skill to do so.
• Good flexibility and control in terms of content output.
• A commonly-used tool, so designers tend to have experience.
• Very active online community.
• Reasonably powerful test software simulation.

Storylines drawbacks:

• Creating consistent branding across multiple authors (and so downloads).
• Assets are not hosted centrally, which can slow down authoring.
• Collaboration and content updates can be quite time consuming.
• Not truly mobile responsive – it just shrinks the screen.
• Don’t get new features and bug fixes instantly as it’s a desktop based tool.
• Can be very expensive if you have a lot of authors.

 Get a more detailed look at our Elucidat vs. Storyline and Captivate comparison.

 4. Gomo

Moving to cloud-based tools, Gomo is a HTML5 authoring tool that allows you to design web-style content.

 Gomo is great for:

• Importing web content from Youtube, Google Maps and Twitter feeds.
• Hosting content via the web, or offline with the Gomo app.
• Authors with no coding experience – it has a drag and drop interface.
• Producing responsive, mobile-friendly content.

Gomo’s drawbacks:

• Not the most intuitive interface and because they don’t use a ‘What You See Is What You Get’ interface, you can’t see your changes in real-time.
• Interactive templates are set in a two-column structure so creativity in design is limited.
• Customization options may not be enough for creative visuals.

5. Lectora

 Like Storyline, Lectora Inspire is a Windows-based desktop authoring tool, although they have added a cloud-based version called Lectora Online which creates HTML5 content.

 

Lectora is great for:

• Screen recording or image editing (you can integrate with Camtasia and Snagit).
• Flexibility of interactions.
• Reviewing and commenting features using ReviewLink (only available in Lectora Online).
• Getting free access to Elearning Brothers graphics libraries.

Lectora’s drawbacks:

• Lectora offers outputs for both mobile and desktop view, but you have to choose which option you want to design in from the start.
• To change aspects via the development interface you might require a good (third-party) graphics package.
• Steep learning curve with limited support.
• The interface is not particularly user-friendly.
• Challenges with delivering content for multiple devices.

 6. Adapt Learning

As an open source elearning authoring tool, Adapt Learning is a popular tool with a range of capabilities to suit all levels of authoring skill. The tool works through regular updates, peer-reviewed and brought on by the community of users (tried and tested, of course!).

 

Adapt is great for:

• People with a small budget…it’s free!
• If you’re a developer or have access to a developer, you can also use the (free) framework rather than the tool and create custom interactions/layouts, etc.
• Creating custom layouts and interactions.
• Producing fully responsive content that is accessible from any devices.

Adapts drawbacks:

• Limitations of design choice (most Adapt courses will look the same due to the “blocky” layout).
• The heavy coded background and guides can also make for a quite a large and slow downloading process.
• A limited set of interactions.
• Not cloud-based and can take a while to install.

7. Easygenerator

Easygenerator is a cloud-based elearning platform which has been around since 2014, which allows the creation of elearning content quickly and easily.

 

Easygenerator is great for:

• Authors who are just starting out building elearning content – no coding necessary!
• Mobile-friendly responsive design.
• Fully SCORM and Tin-Can compliant content, guaranteeing compatibility with most Learning Management Systems.

 Easygenerator’s drawbacks:

• Not fully what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) when creating content.
• Limited features – although the team are also open to hear suggestions and release updates based on clients needs.

8. iSpring Suite

iSpring Suite is an impressive HTML5 elearning toolkit that can take your existing Powerpoint content and turn them into elearning courses.

 

iSpring Suite is great for:

• Creating mobile-ready courses which support simulations, video, and a full range of assessments.
• Create video lectures using voice over or synchronized sound.
• It’s Content Library, which allows authors to access templates, course media like pictures and background, and themes.
• Screencast recording.

 iSpring drawbacks:

• The full range of tools might also be a little daunting as each of these functions comes as separate tools and packages.
• Some features/add-ons are blocked by price walls.

Looking for more tools to compare? Take a look at the Elearning Industry directory for more html5 authoring tools and reviews.

To make your decision, we recommend:

1.  Creating a checklist – what are your must haves and your nice to haves? You’ll quickly be able to get a shortlist by using this.
2. Speaking to some providers – start with a short conversation to see whether they’re going to be able to help and then book in a demonstration (if they know what you’re looking to achieve they won’t waste your time showing you irrelevant features!).
3. Taking out a free trial. Make sure to check there are no hidden features between the paid and free versions. We’d always recommend speaking to the provider to help you make the most of your trial.
4. Check out the reviews and case studies. Look at independent review sites like Capterra and Elearning Industry.
5. Ask about support. Some tools offer live chat, phone support, community rooms to ask questions and even some Professional Training to get teams quickly up to scratch.
6. Create a strong business case and get your stakeholders on board.

Final Thoughts

We’ve covered a lot of ground in this article, and you might have noticed there’s generally quite an overlap in the functions of the tools discussed. That being said, there are some key differences and nuances in each tool to suit any kind of authoring team. Check out our guide to the best online training tools for employee learning and professional development.

Overall, if you are thinking of prioritizing mobile-friendly elearning content in the coming year or even would just like to experiment with more interactions to generate engagement, choosing an HTML5 authoring tool sounds like the right move for you!

 So, what are you waiting for? Get started with a personalized demo of Elucidat!

If your business is going to develop the skills it needs to survive and thrive during another period of disruption, the right L&D tools are critical. Faced with budget cuts, reducing your learning technology costs may seem like a good idea. But could limiting your tools also limit your impact? Find out why using a Learning Management System (LMS) alone won’t create the business results you need.

LMS tools vs standalone authoring tools 

An LMS and an authoring tool are designed to play different but essential roles. An authoring tool enables you to create interactive and engaging digital learning. The LMS allows you to host, deliver and track this elearning, alongside other learning experiences. 

There can be a bit of crossover between the two tools. Some LMSs offer basic content creation, while some authoring tools have options to publish and host outside the LMS. However, if you want to maximize their impact, you need to combine these two pieces of tech.

Want to explore these tools in more detail? Find out what’s on the market in our full reviews of SCORM compliant LMSs, LMS platforms, LMS alternatives and authoring tools.

5 reasons you shouldn’t just rely on your LMS authoring functionality

If your LMS has authoring capabilities, it may seem like a cost-effective choice to use this functionality. But before you commit to relying solely on your LMS authoring tool, you need to consider some of the limitations of this approach. 

Here are five key reasons that you should consider an authoring tool alongside your LMS:

1. Improving content quality 

Even the best LMS needs engaging learning content if it’s going to be effective. Although an LMS may have some authoring capability, it’s often quite basic – limited to text, images and simple questions. This can create uninspiring learning experiences. 

As Brandon Hall Group’s Principal Analyst, Michael Rochelle highlighted: great content is the “lynchpin to a good learner experience.” 

When we surveyed people to uncover the secrets of corporate training success, the majority of learners highlighted the desire for more personalized and interactive content. If your learning isn’t relevant and engaging, you won’t hold your learner’s attention. Whether it’s decreasing productivity, customer issues or drops in sales, without effective training your employees’ performance suffers. Ultimately, it’s well-designed, personalized learning content that changes behavior and impacts performance. By using a tool that’s dedicated to authoring, you can produce quality digital learning that’s truly tailored to your learners. Not content for content’s sake.

2. Evolving functionality

Authoring will only be a small part of any LMS platform. The focus of investment for the LMS provider will always be on developing the central LMS functionality. And this means that the limited authoring capabilities the platform offers isn’t going to change any time soon.

Since the term ‘elearning’ was coined in 1999, authoring technology has rapidly changed – from the rise and demise of Flash to the reign of HTML and responsive design. With a tool dedicated to creating elearning, you can be confident that your chosen authoring tool’s team are fully focused on developing new functionality and improving the authoring experience. 

For example, at Elucidat, we have a research-led roadmap shaped by thousands of active users. Learning Consultants work directly with L&D teams to improve their output and feed this experience, along with the latest instructional design approaches, into our tool development. In the last 12 months alone, enhancements have been made throughout the authoring process, including content creation, collaboration and reviews as well as project releases.

Find out more in our Product Roundup.

3. Staying in control 

Technology moves fast. The L&D tools that work for you now may not be the ones you need in the future. 

If you ever decide to move to a different LMS vendor and you’ve used it to create content, you may lose access to this digital learning. Whereas, if you’ve created content with an authoring tool, you can move this content to any new LMS you choose.

4. Collaborative working

In an LMS, user permissions tend to be limited to the admin role. Opening up authoring outside your team can be risky. If you want someone to create or edit learning content, you often have to give them access to everything. Whether it’s altered content or deleted courses, this could lead to serious issues. Your LMS will often contain sensitive employee data, so it may not be feasible to enable access to others to produce learning content.

Authoring tools have more granular user permissions. This means you can maintain control while opening up collaborative content creation to anyone across your organization. 

5. Scaling up production

Without the ability to open up LMS authoring across your organization, it can be difficult to respond to training needs at scale. If your team doesn’t have the capacity, you may even need to outsource content creation to an elearning agency. This will reduce any cost savings you’ve achieved by not using an authoring tool.

From content creation to localization, an authoring tool allows you to optimize the development process while maintaining quality.

In summary

An LMS is essential for rolling out and managing learning and development at your organization. If your LMS offers authoring functionality, you may want to make use of it for basic needs. But remember that even the best LMS won’t be as effective as specific, dedicated learning content created in an authoring platform, especially if it’s part of a business training platform. Such platforms often enable easy personalization, offer simple but powerful templates, and even provide guidance for novices on how to create impactful learning experiences.

Top authoring tools are packed with the specific functionality you need to produce truly engaging learning experiences. Plus they produce content that can be easily updated and re-released, by anyone, to any LMS you use. They also come with the capabilities that allow you to manage high-scale content production – bringing together features like granular user permissions, collaborative workflows, built-in review systems, translation options, manager dashboards and more. It’s only by using an LMS and authoring tool together that you’ll see real business impact. 

Want to see the benefits of an authoring tool for yourself? Book a demo of Elucidat to get started with a free trial.