11 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Buying An eLearning Authoring Tool
One way to ensure eLearning effectiveness is by using authoring tools to create your eLearning courses. Authoring tools are essential for L&D professionals to create engaging and accessible eLearning. But out of the number of tools available on the market how do you choose one that ensures eLearning effectiveness?
Here are 11 essential things to take into consideration before choosing an eLearning authoring tool.
Your Goal
Your goal and learning objective is the most important thing to consider before rushing to buy an authoring tool. What are you planning to achieve with your eLearning? You can put it into consideration by answering the questions listed below.
1. How Long Does It Take To Develop A Course?
One of the essential things to consider to ensure eLearning effectiveness is the time to develop a course. Some authoring tools can provide up to 70% turnaround time to develop a curriculum. So, before you buy an authoring tool, ensure that you consider the turnaround time to build your course. That'll help you in choosing an authoring tool that best suits your requirements.
2. What's Your Plan For Your Team?
Another thing to consider to ensure eLearning effectiveness is your team size. It would be prudent to check your team size first and then choose an authoring tool that allows collaborative authoring. That'll ensure that your team members work together to develop engaging and accessible eLearning courses in a shorter time.
3. How Many Courses Do You Plan To Roll Out In A Year?
Keeping in mind the number of courses you would like to develop annually is vital before buying an authoring tool. This will enable you to decide how much time is needed to create your course and to choose the right authoring tool.
4. What Content Do You Plan To Develop?
For achieving eLearning effectiveness, it would be better to have a general idea about the type of content you are developing. There are different authoring tools with varying capabilities. So knowing your priorities will make you choose the tool that best suits your requirements.
5. How Often Do You Change Your eLearning Design And Rework On Your Course?
While some authoring tools allow users to make changes in design and rework on their courses, some don't. There will always arise one or more reasons to change your course strategies. So, to ensure eLearning effectiveness, it's best to consider this factor before buying an authoring tool.
6. How Often Do You Update Your Courses?
Editing and updating an eLearning course is something that always arises due to several factors. It can be a user's feedback that requires that you implement some certain things into your curriculum. Taking into consideration this factor will help you select the right authoring tool that enables you to update anytime.
7. Do You Have An Asset Library Or Do You Want An Authoring Tool To Provide It?
There exist some authoring tools that come with a preloaded asset library. Therefore, before rushing to get an authoring tool, ensure you consider the need for a library with assets like videos and images. This will enable you to go for the authoring tool with this luxurious feature.
8. What Learning Management System And Training Do You Use?
You must consider your LMS before buying an authoring tool. When you have your LMS in mind, you'll be able to select an authoring tool that fits well with your LMS.
9. How Often Do You Create A Personalized Design For Different Users?
How frequently you create a customized plan for various users matters when it comes to buying an authoring tool. Do you often design your course to meet the specific needs of your learners? So, you must consider this factor to ensure you choose the right authoring tool that allows personalized design.
10. What Is Your Budget?
You must check your budget before rushing to buy an authoring tool. Opt for an authoring tool you can afford in case of limited funds. However, you don't have to opt for inexpensive authoring tools. Buy less expensive authoring tools that are highly flexible, easy-to-use, and meet your requirements.
11. What Is Your Delivery Approach?
What particular eLearning course are you delivering your learners? Is it an accessible eLearning course that needs to work on all browsers and devices? Taking that into consideration will help you buy the right tools to develop accessible eLearning.
