The best eLearning authoring software is focused on mobile. Incentives and rewards. Choose eLearning authoring software which offers incentives and rewards for completing tasks. This could involve prizes for the first employees to complete the course – or for all those who finish by a deadline. Some free software programs can help you bring all your disparate elements into. Authoring tools provide free options for creating your own custom eLearning.
15 Free Authoring Tools For eLearning
If anyone of you have used these authoring tools I will very much appreciate if he/she share with us a demo of the final output! If you know a free authoring tool that is not included in the list I will highly appreciate if you leave a comment with a link!
Find, choose and compare the eLearning Industry's Free Authoring Tools!
(Update 01/11/2013): 4 more tools were added at the list!)
Easygeneratorby Easygenerator Easygenerator provides cloud-based eLearning authoring software. Easygenerator enables instructional designers and subject matter experts to rapidly create the most engaging courses that have the highest learning impact. Easygenerator is affordable, easy to use, and future proof. Simply create, design and publish your eLearning courses. Used and loved by 5000+ users in more than 120 countries in both enterprises and universities. Easygenerator’s headquarter is located in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
LCDSby Microsoft The Microsoft Learning Content Development System (LCDS) is a free tool that enables the Microsoft Learning community to create high-quality, interactive, online courses and Microsoft Silverlight Learning Snacks.
SmartBuilderby Suddenly Smart SmartBuilder is the award-winning course authoring tool that enables you to create rich Flash e-learning with an easy-to-use interface.
The Multimedia Learning Object Authoring Tool by Tim Wang, John Bratlien, Liang Shao The Multimedia Learning Object Authoring Tool enables content experts to easily combine video, audio, images and texts into one synchronized learning object.
authorPOINT by authorGEN Technologies authorPOINT is an authoring tool that allows users to capture presentations and add pre-recorded audio/video, all inside of Microsoft PowerPoint. authorGEN also offers authorPOINT Lite, which converts PowerPoint presentations toFlash.
Dipity by Dipity From what we can glean from their website, Dipity is an online timeline creator. Users, known as Dipsters, can create their own content on subjects that are meaningful to them and share them with other users. Dipsters can also integrate social media into their timeline, utilizing real-time updates.
Document Suite 2008by JetDraft Software Document Suite 2008 is an authoring tool that helps transform documents into online help modules.
Izzui by QuickLessons LLC Izzui is a hybrid social learning application that can be linked with QuickLessons. Izzui uses Facebook as an LMS to track and deliver courses. Izzui also has an e-Commerce capability allowing users to charge and pay for courses that they have created.
Jackdawby e-Learning WMB Jackdaw produces SCORM 1.2 compliant content that is easily integrated into any LMS. Users can create interactive content either from scratch or with the the help of over 100 templates. Jackdaw also lets users create content that they can then sell on the Open Elms webstore.
LessonWriter by Lesson Writer From what we can gather from their website, LessonWriter is a tool for teachers that allows them to create lessons from any passage. These courses allow teachers to be creative with their lesson plans and also saves them a great deal of time.
MOS Solo by MindOnSite MOS Solo offers a way for users to create content on the go without having to rely on a constant Internet connection. Even though they are using an offline content creation tool, they do not lose any of the functionality or power to create their multimedia content.
myUdutuCourse Authoring Tool by Udutu Online Learning Solutions A free online authoring tool with a suite of WSIWYG tools, allowing users to create courses in an approachable environment. Claims to export SCORM 1.2/2004 conform-ant courses to be used in a 3rd party LMS or integrate into social media sites, such as Facebook.
QuickLessons Authoring Toolby QuickLessons LLC QuickLessons was built from the ground up to be a completely SaaS based content authoring tool, requiring the user to only have access to a web-browser. QuickLessons comes equipped with quizzes, games, characters, out-of-the-box animations and other customizable content to allow users to create truly unique and interactive flash-based content to meet their needs. Users can either use QuickLessons for free, publishing their content only to Facebook, or they can buy an individual, corporate or academic account.
Scratchby MIT Media Lab From what we can gather from their website, Scratch is a creative tool that helps users create content that is beyond the barriers of traditional page-turners. Scratch users can create interactive stories, animation, music, and art, then share their creations on the web.
xtimeline by Famento Inc xtimeline is a tool that allows users to create timeline based content for free. Users can also share their timelines with other users, creating a community.
You may also find useful:
Authoring Tools
Learning Management Systems
Best elearning tool
Read on for our detailed analysis of each tool
Education is no different from any other business or organisation when it comes to technology - there is a lot of money and time to be saved by implementing digital strategies. That's where e-learning authoring tools come in.
E-learning – which is a big part of the growing EdTech industry – describes the process of learning by making the most of modern technology. That’s not to say traditional means of education are dying, but academic institutions and businesses have identified that we can achieve a lot more by utilising our tech.
The fact is, most of us have smartphones and other internet-connected devices, and there are already a whole host of apps that aim to make learning easier and quicker. If you’re revising for an exam, you can access materials wherever you happen to be. And if you want to learn a language, you can use language learning apps and online flashcards.
Through digital means, learning is on tap. It doesn’t take long to find out a fact, or to develop a specific skill. With this in mind, the way training organisations and educators create courses is also dramatically changing. In this article, we’re looking at the best e-learning authoring tools available right now.
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1. Adobe Captivate
Platforms: Windows, Mac | HTML functionality: Yes | Draft functionality: Yes | Integrations: PowerPoint, Typekit, Google Maps | Free trial: 30 days
Frequently updated with new services and features
Supports a variety of mobile forms
When it comes to business solutions and software, Adobe always comes near the top, and this is also the case in the area of e-learning. Adobe Captivate is the company’s high quality e-learning authoring tool.
The system is available for both Windows and Mac computers, and it offers an ever-expanding variety of features. Making use of HTML functionality and responsive design, the software lets you create courses that run on PCs, smartphones and tablets.
There’s support for scalable HTML, play bar and mobile themes, and you also have the ability to pause and resume work whenever you want. What’s more, you can import storyboards from Captivate Draft (which is free on iOS devices), and also use the software with PowerPoint-based projects. All text, audio and other functionalities are retained.
2. Elucidat
An easy way to create e-learning tools
Platforms: Web | HTML functionality: Yes | Draft functionality: Yes | Integrations: None | Free trial: 14 days
Caters for all screen sizes
Elucidat is a web-based system that’s been designed to make creating learning resources easy. It boasts a built-in page template editor, which lets you choose a theme and tweak it to your requirements.
In most cases, you can make it your own by simply dragging and dropping to insert text, graphics and other media. However, if you’re feeling more technologically adventurous, you have the option to create your very own themes via HTML, CSS and Javascript.
If you’re looking to publish courses in multiple languages and versions, you’ll be happy to learn that you can manage hundreds of courses at the same time. And because there’s built-in responsive output, your creations will look good on all screen sizes. It’s worth noting that before committing to a premium plan, you can try the software for free - but only for 14 days.
3. Articulate 360
Responsive to the max
Platforms: Web, mobile | HTML functionality: Yes | Draft functionality: Yes | Integrations: None | Free trial: 30 days
Theme editor
While most e-learning authoring tools have responsive capabilities in terms of catering for different screen sizes, Articulate 360 has been created especially for people who want to put mobile first. The platform lets you create highly interactive and visual courses for every device, without having to tweak anything. You simply click publish, and Articulate - through its Storyline and Rise features - automatically ensures your course is mobile-ready.
As well as this, all courses support touchscreen gestures, and the built-in player hides sidebar menus and the like so that all the focus is on the multimedia content. That’s not all, though. When it comes to creating a course, it’s not necessary to have any prior technical experience. Instead, you can access a library of themes, which have been tailored for different use cases.
There’s also a text and image editor, meaning you can get everything right before you make a course public. And when you make changes, all your work is saved on the cloud – just in case something goes wrong. You can even get educational experts to check over your work through a review system, which supports different languages such as Chinese, German, French and Spanish.
4. Shift
A quick and easy e-learning option
Platforms: Web | HTML functionality: Yes | Draft functionality: Yes | Integrations: None | Free trial: 3 months, demo available
One-push publishing
Enterprise packages are expensive
As you may have realised by now, many e-learning authoring tools are web-based, and that’s also the case for Shift eLearning. It’s designed to help you create powerful e-learning resources efficiently and quickly.
Like its competitors, you don’t need any programming experience to be able to create a feature-packed e-learning resource. There are more than 400 responsive screen templates to choose from, utilising both HTML5 and Adobe Flash. These are off-the-shelf themes, so you don’t actually have to do a lot, apart from entering text and graphics.
When you’ve finished putting a course together, you don’t have to worry about tailoring it for different users. The system has a one-push feature, so hitting the publish button once will send it to a variety of devices – regardless of their screen size, resolution or aspect ratio. There’s a generous free trial you can check out, too.
5. Lectora Inspire
Platforms: Web | HTML functionality: Yes | Draft functionality: Yes | Integrations: None | Free trial: 30 days
Review feature
It may be complicated for some
Lectora Inspire is one of the oldest e-learning authoring tools, now in its seventeenth version. It’s another web-based system that functions across devices, but it requires a bit more scripting experience than some of the other software listed in this feature.
With it, you can create courses for different contexts, such as employee training or selling courses to customers. There’s unlimited scripting, access to advanced graphics libraries, an online reviewer and a screen template library. Another handy element provided is a range of how-to resources.
Also consider these LMS and eLearning systems
As the opportunities for online learnings grows, so does the number of providers. While we've featured five of the best, there are other online e-learning authoring tools, some of which are focused more for higher education tutoring, and others which are aimed more for business training provision. Here we'll list five more contenders worth considering for learning management systems (LMS).
Docebo is a cloud-based LMS primarily aimed at enterprise training. It includes an AI for automating simple tasks, as well as content tagging and grouping employees with similar interests. As well as being used for e-learning, it can also be used to create a shared knowledgebase generated by users, for companies who reward top contributors. There are a number of features for workflows and analytics dashboards, as well as potential integrations such as with Salesforce, G Suite, Adobe Connect, Slack, and Zendesk.
TalentLMS is another cloud-based LMS aimed at business training providers, with an emphasis on providing customization, easy course building, and reporting. Courses are built to be responsive, but can also be made available through native apps for Android and iOS. There's also support for single sign on (SSO), as well as support for SCORM & Tin Can (xAPI). Unlike a number of other providers, pricing is clear and up front, and even better is that for up to five users TalentLMS is free to use. Charges then begin at $29 per month for up to 25 users, when paid annually, and rises through different pricing tiers to a full-feature Premium edition at $349 per month for up to 1,000 users.
SAP Litmos LMS is also a cloud-based LMS targeted at enterprise companies, and comes packed with features. It's also especially scaleable, boasting the ability to scale to one million users. As well as including and online course builder and instructor-led training, learning paths can be customized to make them personalized according to user needs. There are a number of integration options, not least for working with ecommerce, with packaged features specific for working with Shopify. Pricing depends on the number of users and whether you require bundled courses, but starts at a reasonable $6 per user per month for 15-500 users without courses, and $9 per user per month with.
Blackboard Learn is aimed at higher education training and learning, with a cloud-based system that's designed to be responsive to the needs of different devices, and can work with content from third-party providers. As well as being used in colleges and universities to educate students, it's also used for staff training and collaboration between departments. It can also be used to provide learning and training online for businesses and governments. No clear pricing is provided, so you will need to contact Blackbird for a quote.
iSpring offers two main products: iSpring Suite, which is a course authoring toolkit; and iSpring Learn, which is a LMS. The iSpring Suite is specifically designed to work with Powerpoint, converting presentations into lessons. Word documents can also be used, and turned into SCORM courses which allows users to flip through them like an ebook. Video lectures can be synchronized with either, and interactive assessments can be built in for better user engagement. The service is expensive, though, starting from $1,970 for three users.