A Guide To Avoiding Buyer's Bitterness: Investing In A New eLearning Authoring Tool
Because of that, we have come up with this article to serve as a guide and help you avoid buyer's bitterness while investing in a new authoring tool. In this article, we'll be showing you some ways to help you while you're looking to invest in an eLearning authoring tool.
Investing in a new eLearning authoring tool requires that you take a lot of things into consideration. And just like any other new technology, you want to be certain you're investing wisely and opting for the right authoring tool. As part of the requirements, your choice of an eLearning authoring tool has to meet your needs and the needs of your authoring team and end-users.
Since each authoring tool offers different support packages and features, how then do you identify which one of them is right for your eLearning needs? Well, you'll find the answers to this question below.
Know Your eLearning Needs
The first step to investing in the right eLearning authoring tool is by being clear about your eLearning needs. There are definitely many reasons why you're trying to invest in a new eLearning authoring tool. Maybe you want to speed up course creation by facilitating collaborative working. Perhaps you are interested in raising the quality of services that you get from an authoring tool. Regardless of your reasons, clearly stating your needs is essential.
By clearly communicating your reasons, you'll be able to prevent questions that may be asked by your stakeholders and put resources together to reassure them. Here are a few elements to take into consideration to clearly state your needs:
- You need to consider the location, size, and available time of your authoring team.
- Take into consideration the skill level of your authoring team.
- Take into consideration the quantity and quality of content that you need to create now and in the future.
- Also, take into consideration whether you'll be needing regular updates and rebranding.
Check For Reviews And Recommendations From Online Users
Another way of avoiding buyer's bitterness while trying to invest in a new eLearning authoring tool is by searching online for reviews and recommendations. Try and create a list of useful tools, then go online and check review sites to get a view of what other people are saying about them.
You can also go as far as checking if you have like-minded people who are also using the tools. By doing that, you are able to reach out to them and get their views on the usage of authoring tools.
Features That Make Up The Right Authoring Tool
To avoid buyer's bitterness, you need to opt for an authoring tool that offers the following features:
1. Ease-Of-Use
One of the essential features to look out for in an authoring tool is its ease-of-use option. By opting for tools with this feature, you tend to offer your authoring team the necessary support to become proficient. Speaking of ease-of-use features, you have to consider what support is in it for your authoring team. Apart from that, you have to also check how easy it is to publish content and carry out reviews.
Also, you need to check if the tool comes with page types, pre-built themes, and interactions. Furthermore, check if it can automatically make your content mobile-friendly, and most especially how long it takes to create a five-minute piece of content.
2. Technical Capabilities
It's also essential that you check for the technical capabilities of the authoring tool. Check if it can integrate with your Learning Management System. Also, you need to check if the tool requires a platform or an LMS to publish content. Besides, check if the eLearning authoring tool supports xAPI or SCORM.
3. Maintenance Service
One thing is to have an easy-to-use authoring tool, another is to utilize it to make changes to your content—especially when it has been published. So, the type of authoring tool you are investing in must be able to offer you the ease to update and make necessary changes when needed.
4. Quality Of Content
Avoid investing in eLearning authoring tool providers who can't show you a lot of their output samples. Interact with them and ask for samples of content created with the said tool. Also, check to learn what the authoring tool offers, including if it has gamification features, personalization features, social elements, and many other essential features.
Know that opting for the right authoring tool is not something you can rush to do. Ensure you put in a lot of time and consideration. So, by taking all of the above-listed into consideration, you can be sure to avoid the usual buyer's bitterness when switching to a new eLearning authoring tool.
