Selecting the proper tool for developing content is not a trivial task.
In this article let us look at some dominant factors that should influence your decision while choosing the best content authoring tool that is right for your Learning Management Systems.
This will save you time and money.
There is now compelling evidence that online learning has pipped face-to-face learning at the post. The nose is just ahead though. But this is significant since till now it was felt that the race between online learning and face-to-face learning was a dead heat at best.
A study conducted by U.S. Department of Education Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development Policy and Program Studies Service has concluded that online learning has surged ahead of face-to-face learning. The report is now in the public domain.
The motivation of this study was: Online learning — for students and for teachers — is one of the fastest growing trends in educational uses of technology.
The genesis of online learning is distance learning. Distance learning has been around for over a century now. But the advantage of the World Wide Web has caused learning to explode.
The study focuses on the two main purposes of online learning:
(a) Learning conducted totally online as a substitute or alternative to face-to-face learning
(b) Online learning components that are combined or blended (sometimes called “hybrid”)
with face-to-face instruction to provide learning enhancement
Findings
The overall finding of the meta-analysis is that classes with online learning (whether taught completely online or blended) on average produce stronger student learning outcomes than do classes with solely face-to-face instruction.
This is a significant tilt towards online learning. Earlier research had concluded that online learning is only as effective as face-to-face classes. Selecting the proper tool for developing content is not a trivial task. The second area of study also gave thumbs up to online learning. It said:
Blends of online and face-to-face instruction, on average, had stronger learning outcomes than did face-to-face instruction alone.
Clearly, it makes sense for companies to move over to online learning and elearning, especially for people development activities into the future. Not only will it cut costs but will also be a substantially better deliver both for students and teachers.
Total e-learning system cost
It is always best to evaluate any software by looking at the total cost of ownership (TCO). TCO is a financial estimate. Its purpose is to help customers and enterprise management determine direct and indirect costs of a product or systems.
The TCO would include the cost of the application, training, upgrades, maintain, and any other costs associated with the ownership of the product over its lifetime.
Some situational parameters: Be mindful that not all tools are useful for a given training delivery method. It is important to consider the context in which content authoring tools will be used.
Think about this. With e-learning, you can teach everything from pet management in veterinary sciences, money management for self employed, or how to improve coffee roasting within industrial roaster complexes.
As you gather information, keep in mind that as long as your computer based training (CBT) is founded on good instructional design principles, the interactivity produced by the authoring tool you choose will strengthen the learner’s experience. Selecting the proper tool for developing content is not a trivial task. So consider training objects while choosing the authoring tool.
Questions to ask
Before deciding on a system, I encourage you to ask questions from the vendors, such as;
How much is budgeted for the project?
What things are specific to the type of training and may be damaged if outsourced?
How steep is the learning curve associated with the tools you are thinking of using for the project?
What systems will the training be delivered on?
Does the online training have to work across a combination of platforms such as Windows, MAC, Linux or whatever?
Does e-learning content have to work across a variety of browsers?