The requirements for authoring software in e-learning are quickly formulated: It should be quick to learn and easy to use whenever possible. In case of doubt, it should be intuitive, self-explanatory, and of course, beautiful. But is that really everything?
A Matter of Definition
The term "authoring tool" – which in German is anyway very unspecific for all kinds of content creation tools – is actually, oh wonder, not a tool for authors (at least not explicitly). This may be due to the fact that authors in L&D are now content creators, and they usually do not perceive their role solely as "writer", but they manage content: i.e., they create websites, online courses, complete learning journeys, etc. Thus, they are something like an intermediary being of editor, designer, UX specialist, and educator – a mix that is as crude as it is creative, which has very specific requirements for authoring software and tools for creating learning content.
How unclear the situation is can be seen from a ChatGPT research that reveals the following result to the question "Please name five examples of widely used authoring tools":
Examples of authoring tools are:
Microsoft Word
Adobe InDesign
WordPress
Articulate Storyline (for e-learning)
Final Cut Pro (for video editing)
Modern Authoring Software for E-Learning vs. "PDF-Binging"
Honestly, would you have counted Microsoft Word among the authoring tools? I suspect not, even though it is, of course, designed to create content. Whether that is possible quickly, easily, and especially beautifully, I would like to question at this point. 😉 With InDesign, much more is certainly possible, but it is likely far too comprehensive and more optimized for print products than for successful learning journey aesthetics.
Videos are also learning content, but whether the inclined L&D manager has the time (and desire) to familiarize themselves with Final Cut Pro to create a video for an online course is questionable.
And somehow, PDFs and videos as exclusive learning media are also a bit lame, aren’t they? They have been around for ages and very few of us burst into tears of joy when they can indulge in 20 pages of PDF as reading material. It really wasn't fun back then - not even when you printed it out for fun!
Specialized Authoring Tools vs. Multi-content Authoring Tools
WordPress, as a multimedia content management system (and somehow also an authoring tool), is more in my interest: A good authoring tool should have something "WordPress-like" because it can handle many different media types and display them clearly on one page. With the appropriate plugins, even "interactivity" can be created, and you get feedback from the system via quizzes or similar.
With all due respect: Final Cut, Word, and InDesign can't match that! Why? Because they are very specialized tools that can do at least one thing extremely well and comprehensively. However, as soon as one wants to break out of this world a little, these programs often present extensive problems, and it takes a lot of time and expertise to achieve good results here. Or you have to annoyingly switch tools again and create workarounds. And actually, that’s something that learning content creators struggle with – because just like the learning consumer, they appreciate a seamless user experience without major barriers.
Maybe the modern learning element is some sort of website, simply because websites are so familiar and they visit them constantly. 🤔
PS: Evil tongues would claim that WordPress doesn’t really excel at anything, yet it is used everywhere. Perhaps because it is quick to understand and easy to use. 🤭
What about Articulate?
Oh yes, there was something. Articulate is well known as the market leader among authoring tools, known from radio, television, and far beyond. Especially in L&D, it is used in various companies to create learning content – simply because it’s the norm and because it works well. It is usually used in conjunction with a distribution system or a Learning Management System that manages and distributes the learning content accordingly. And that is because Articulate is not a LMS, but an authoring tool that works correspondingly specialized in its realm.
And we believe that any authoring tool that wants to survive in the market must justifiably measure itself against this software, which incidentally has existed since 2012 (!). However, it must be noted that "the big Articulate" is a properly locally installed software, while the browser version is noticeably stripped down and reduced compared to the very comprehensive software version, not to say minimalistic in its presentation.
This is naturally related to the fact that they want to make a good impression on mobile devices as well, as Articulate is also known to run robustly on any device and look almost the same. Nevertheless, the impression of the browser version compared to the Articulate software is already somewhat "less beautiful" (absolutely subjective assessment). For some features, one is then inclined to switch tools again and start tinkering. That’s annoying, slows things down, and is actually not the point...
The Multi-content Blink - made for authoring tool users who only want to use ONE tool
At blink.it, our approach is always to make the creation of learning content or "blinks" as easy as possible. This also applies in a world where it is no longer sufficient to work only with PowerPoint, PDFs, or videos. Ideally, everything integrates together in a single learning element, similar to the websites we find that have been created with a CMS like WordPress.
That’s why our design department has conceived the Multi-Content-Blink, which is already on our roadmap and aims to make creating learning content in the browser even a bit more beautiful, easier, and more intuitive. From then on, all kinds of media can be packed into blinks and arranged and structured – similar to a content management system. Suddenly you use a CMS within an authoring tool with LMS features!
With this, we hope to make life a little easier and more seamless for the instructional designer-educator who likes to save time and appreciates a great UX. The goal here is to remain easy to use while enabling beautiful blinks that engage learners multimodally and promote the learning effect based on various learning preferences. Because every person has different learning preferences and different media through which they can learn particularly well.
Do you have questions about Multi-Content-Blink and about blink.it as an authoring tool? Then feel free to arrange a free initial consultation with us through the following button:
Schedule a free initial consultation now!
Below you see a first draft from our design department. And of course, we will keep you updated on the Multi-Content-Blink.
We hope that this article has provided you with some useful information on the topic "Authoring Tool" and wish you much success in creating your online courses!
