An authoring tool assists you in creating digital content. The tool could be something as simple as Google documents, or as complex as a video production suite.
In the context of learning and development, an authoring tool commonly refers to software that helps to create eLearning and other digital content. The main job of an authoring tool is to make developing content more efficient and open up possibilities that would be infeasible or too time consuming to develop without a dedicated tool. A simple example would be adding hotspots to an image. Most eLearning authoring tools allow you to do this in a few clicks, but to code this functionality on a case-by-case basis would take hours.
It's useful to put authoring tools into broad categories. Not every tool will fit neatly into one of these categories and, increasingly, the lines between authoring tools, learning management systems and other applications are becoming blurry. In reality, these systems should be working together to increase the overall efficiency. The information below will help to define the main purpose of a tool and how it might address your needs.
ELearning authoring tools have been popular for the last decade and usually offer the ability to develop slide-based eLearning with interactive elements. Generally these tools will allow you to output your content to multiple formats like HTML5, SCORM and ePub.
These tools allow you to quickly and easily capture and edit software simulations and other assets into professional looking videos. You can add annotations and other cool looking features, and even add internal assessments, quizzes, and knowledge checks. Often videos are created in these tools and then embedded in a course developed in an eLearning authoring tool.
These platforms have become increasingly popular and allow courses to be authored very quickly by creating a course structure and then building a course by adding images, slides, audio, PDF’s, quizzes, and other assets. These platforms often allow some form of collaboration, and host and deliver the created content to learners. There are a large number of options in this market, some aimed at individual trainers and entrepreneurs, and others at the organizational level.
Traditionally Learning Management Systems (LMSs) worked hand in hand with e-Learning authoring tools. The LMS would host the developed content and take care of tracking results, security, enrollment and a myriad other tasks. We include LMSs here because the current generation of LMSs often offers the ability to develop content in-platform. The native authoring options in LMSs can be lacking compared to tools created specifically for the job, but, if your organization already licenses an LMS, it’s worth delving into what content authoring functionality it offers.
Microlearning is the new buzzword in the industry and there is often confusion around what it actually means. It can be defined as content delivered on demand, in bite size chunks of ten seconds to one minute in length. A good microlearning authoring tool will allow you to create these ‘learning chunks’ very quickly and easily. As a side note, one of the major criticisms of ‘microlearning’ is that simply splitting a bigger course into smaller pieces is not effective, and may even reduce learner retention. So be careful that instructional design principles are not thrown out of the window when designing microlearning.
Now that you know what types of authoring tools are out there, let's take a look at how you can decide on the best tool for the job. This is a tough question, as the best tool, or mix of tools, will depend on the requirements of your project. Here are seven great questions to ask yourself when you start considering what types of authoring tools you may need.
Using a high-quality authoring tool like Gutenberg Technology’s end-to-end publishing platform MyEcontentFactory gives content creators the flexibility to seamlessly create content on the web, smartphones, tablets, and more. The simple to use authoring tool is one of the best ways to create custom content to offer students of all ages the best possible learning experience.