Top 6 Advantages Of Custom eLearning Course Development

Top 6 Advantages Of Custom eLearning Course Development
Summary: In this article, I will present you 6 primary advantages of custom eLearning course development. So, before you make any decision on whether to invest in pre-built eLearning courses or custom eLearning courses, it would be wise to read this article.

Why You Should Develop Custom eLearning Courses

To use a pre-built eLearning course is often less costly and more convenient. On the other hand, implementing your own custom eLearning course offers a wide range of advantages that could, very well, worth the investment. In order to determine if custom eLearning course development may be the best solution for you, it's important to know the benefits it can provide to your organization. Here are some of the most convincing arguments for why you should develop your own eLearning courses.

  1. Scenarios and examples can be custom tailored for your industry and/or niche.
    When developing your own custom eLearning courses, you have the ability to create immersive scenarios and reality based examples that are ideally suited for your industry/niche. For example, if you are creating an eLearning course that is designed for tech support technicians, you can include scenarios that allow learners to diagnose computer issues. Custom eLearning courses enable learners to see how their actions and choices directly impact the outcome, so that they can get meaningful feedback while they are still engaged in the learning process. So, rather than having a generic set of scenarios or examples, you can customize yours to offer learners more relevant and impactful information. They can better relate to the content, which means that they are more likely to be motivated to learn. This is primarily due to the fact that learners can directly see how the learning experience will benefit them, even after they have stepped away from the learning environment.
  2. Effectively conveys your company's brand and image.
    The main issue with pre-built eLearning courses is that they do not convey your brand or company image as accurately as you might have liked. Chances are that you have a clearly defined and specific idea of your company’s image and how you would like your employees to perceive you. So, don't you want your eLearning courses to convey the branding message that you have worked so diligently to create and build? With custom eLearning courses development, you have the power to design every aspect of your eLearning courses, from start to finish. Therefore, you can ensure that each page, each line of text, and every graphic used is in-line with your image and brand. The tone used, the graphics, even the color of the fonts will be an accurate representation of your organization's culture and style.
  3. Reduced license and maintenance costs.
    A significant advantage of developing custom eLearning courses is that you won't have to devote as much of your budget to license and maintenance fees. Since you own all of the content you will be utilizing, there is no need to pay monthly license or royalty costs. Typically, the only costs involved are the initial development fees and then, if you have it updated by a third party, periodic maintenance costs. While the initial costs are commonly higher than just licensing eLearning courses, the long-term investment of custom eLearning courses is usually much lower.
  4. Quick, direct, and convenient update of the eLearning courses content.
    Custom eLearning courses enable you to update the eLearning courses or modules whenever you believe it’s necessary. This is particularly useful in situations where updates must be made frequently, such as in the case of a new product description or protocols that change on a regular basis. In addition, due to the fact that you have developed the content and structure by yourself, you already have an in depth understanding of how the management system works and how to make the proper changes.
  5. Create assessment and feedback tools that are ideally suited for your goals.
    Two of the most important components of any eLearning course are the assessment and feedback. These allow you to determine if your eLearning course is successfully delivering the core ideas, skills, or information, and if any areas may need to be improved. Better still, you can create eLearning assessment that allow you to see if your objectives are still being met, and then offer constructive feedback that is in-line with your organization's methodology. For example, if you create a scenario that is meant to assess whether or not a learner has acquired a particular skill set, you can offer alternative approaches to a specific problem. These alternative approaches can be behaviors or actions that adhere to your organization's standards or beliefs, rather than generic solutions that may not be relevant within your organization.
  6. You are free to be creative in order to enhance learner’s motivation and engagement.
    This is, quite possibly, the most significant advantage of choosing custom eLearning course development. You've gone to great lengths to create the ideal eLearning course structure, researched every piece of vital information that you want to include, and devoted time to the design process. After dedicating all of these resources to developing and fine-tuning your eLearning course strategy, don't you want to provide the best possible eLearning experience for your learners? Don't you want it to look and feel just as you imagined, and have complete control over the outcome?

To sum up, custom eLearning course development gives you the opportunity to create an eLearning course that meets your needs and matches your vision. This also equates to a boost in learner engagement and motivation, given that you can make every aspect of your eLearning course relative, interactive, and informative.

You won't have to fit your expectations or standards into a pre-build eLearning course. Ultimately, the learners will enjoy an eLearning course that includes the right mix of graphics and text and a perfect combination of multimedia tools and applications, based on their needs. Keep in mind that these are just some of the many benefits offered by custom eLearning course development.

In addition, in the Factors to Consider when Assessing the Cost of Custom eLearning Content Development article you will learn more about the factors that come into play when determining the overall cost of custom eLearning content.

Last but not least, if you are wondering when you should use pre-built eLearning course content and when you should use fully customized eLearning course content, you may find it helpful to read the Pre-built vs Fully Customized eLearning Course Content article.