The requirements for e-learning authoring software are quickly formulated: ideally, it should be fast to learn and easy to use. In case of doubt, intuitive, self-explanatory, and of course beautiful. But is that really all?
A Question of Definition
The term “authoring tool” – which in German is used very unspecifically anyway for all kinds of content creation tools – is actually, surprisingly, not a tool for authors at all (at least not explicitly). This may be because authors in L&D have now become content creators, and they usually do not understand their role as just “writing”, but they operate content management: i.e., they create websites, online courses, entire learning journeys, etc. This makes them something of a hybrid between editor, designer, UX specialist, and educator – a mixture as crude as it is creative, which has very special requirements for authoring software and tools for creating learning content.
How unclear the situation is can be seen in a ChatGPT search, which produces the following result for 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 authoring tools? I guess not, even though it is of course made for creating content. Whether that can be done quickly, easily, and above all, beautifully, is something I would like to question at this point. 😉 You can certainly do a lot more with InDesign, but it is probably far too extensive and optimized more for print products than for an appealing learning journey look.
Videos are also learning content, but whether the inclined L&D representative has the time (and desire) to learn Final Cut Pro to create a video for an online course is doubtful.
And somehow PDFs and videos as sole learning media are also a bit dull, aren't they? They've been around forever and very few of us burst into tears of joy when we have to read a 20-page PDF as study material. It wasn't really fun back then either – not even if you print the fun out!
Specialized Authoring Tools vs. Multi-Content Authoring Tools
WordPress as a multimedia content management system (and somehow also an authoring tool), on the other hand, is much more in line with my view: a good authoring tool should actually have something “WordPress-like”, because it can handle many different types of media and display them clearly on a page. With the appropriate plugins, you can even create “interactivity” and receive feedback from the system via quizzes or similar.
With all due respect: Final Cut, Word, and InDesign can't compete with that! Why? Because they are highly specialized tools that do at least one thing extremely well and comprehensively. But as soon as you want to break out of this world a little, these programs often present you with major problems, and it takes a lot of time and expertise to get good results here. Or, annoyingly, you have to switch tools again and build workarounds. And actually, that is exactly what the learning content creator dislikes – because just like the learner, he or she appreciates a user experience that is as seamless as possible without major barriers.
Perhaps the modern learning element is a kind of website, simply because we know websites so well and visit them all the time. 🤔
PS: Cynics would say that WordPress is actually not REALLY good at anything, but it is still used everywhere. Perhaps because it is quick to understand and easy to use. 🤭
What About Articulate?
Oh yes, there was something. Articulate is, as is well known, the top dog among authoring tools, known from radio, television, and far beyond. Especially in L&D, it is used in a wide variety of companies to create learning content – simply because that's what you do and because it works well. It is mostly used in connection with a distribution system or a Learning Management System, which then manages and distributes the learning content accordingly. And that's because Articulate is not an LMS, but an authoring tool and works specialized in its world.
And we believe that any authoring tool that wants to survive on the market must legitimately measure itself against this software, which by the way has been around since 2012 (!). Now, however, it must be noted that “the big Articulate” is proper locally installed software, while the browser version is noticeably slimmed down and reduced compared to the very extensive software version, not to say minimalist in its presentation.
Of course, this has to do with wanting to make a good impression on mobile devices as well, as Articulate is also known for running robustly on any end device and looking almost the same. Nevertheless, the impression of the browser version compared to the Articulate software is somewhat “less beautiful” (absolutely subjective evaluation). For some features, you are therefore tempted to switch tools again and start tinkering. This is annoying, slows you down, and is not really 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 creating learning content or “Blinks” as simple as possible. Of course, this also applies in a world where it is no longer enough to work only with PowerPoint, PDFs, or videos. Ideally, everything goes together in a single learning element, much like we find websites created with a CMS like WordPress.
That is why our design department created the Multi-Content Blink, which is already on our roadmap and is intended to make creating learning content in the browser even 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. And suddenly you are using a CMS within an authoring tool with LMS features!
With this, we hope to make the work of the learning content creator-designer-educator, who likes to save time and values a great UX, even easier and more seamless. The goal here is to remain easy to use and to enable beautiful Blinks that reach learners via multimedia and support the learning effect on the given basis of different learning preferences. Because every person has different learning preferences and different media with the help of which he or she can learn particularly well.
We hope this article has provided you with some useful information about "authoring tools" and wish you continued success in creating your online courses!
