Solve eLearning Challenges with the right Content Authoring tool

Top 10 key features of a content authoring tool that makes it easier and faster for L&D experts to create eLearning content and courses.

In the realm of eLearning, in spite of a lot of innovations and shortfalls, the content authoring tool has maintained its stronghold. The eLearning authoring tool excels in producing and managing content in all forms, such as microlearning content and quizzes. But finding the right tool that meets your business objectives through the implementation and development of eLearning content is a critical decision to make.

What is a content authoring tool?

A content authoring tool is a software program that allows users to create eLearning content and courses using an integrated collection of media and functionalities. One doesn’t need to be a coder to use the tool. Instead, such a tool has in-built capabilities for templates, media, interactions, and analytics that the user can deploy for a smooth content creation experience. It helps to customize, update, and publish content, along with mechanisms to track user engagement. It saves a lot of time and effort for the organizations. It is for both: generalists, who want to create engaging courses, and specialists who want to develop highly customized simulations and gamified learning experiences.

The authoring tool facilitates the creation and distribution of a proper curriculum for eLearning. It helps learning and development experts (L&D) to design compelling and interactive eLearning experiences. eLearning makes use of many such technologies, but the catch is to find the tool that caters to your specific needs. It all boils down to the list of advantages that the content authoring tool offers to turn the tables for your organization. While there are many reasons for using content authoring tools, here are some of the best advantages:

Speeds up the content development process
When it comes to reducing development time, a content authoring tool is quite beneficial. It helps save time spent on extracting data, collecting media, creating layouts, managing digital assets, outsourcing tasks, etc. It features in-built themes, templates, and interactions that can be easily integrated into the eLearning course design.
Improve efficiency
The authoring tool provides effortless ways for stakeholders to collaborate on the same content, share ideas, review progress and provide feedback for optimization that are ideal for streamlining and optimizing the overall process. Organizations consider the tool’s efficiency as one of the major contributors towards a productive workflow.
Increase learner engagement
The tool helps the user break lengthy courses into digestible chunks of information. It also allows for utilizing interactive elements in the learning content, making it highly relevant and engaging at the same time. This ensures stress-free learning in a time-pressed workplace.
Scalability
The tool can be standalone or a part of a learning management system (LMS). Either way, it is possible for the user to scale up their content production or expand their L&D programs. It is easier to manage the content development and implementation process, right from tracking progress to maintaining coursework.
Save time and money
Creating a new module with pieces of content, images, and graphs is cumbersome. The content authoring tool offers a wide range of templates, themes, interactivity, and elements that can save one’s time. Its user-friendly interface can help eLearning developers create multimedia content output at a faster rate

As a content authoring tool is essential for developing and managing content, it is evident that it plays a major role in the eLearning industry. A recent report projects that the eLearning market will reach $1 trillion by 2028, surpassing its 2021 milestone of $315 billion. This indicates that the organizations will be more inclined towards eLearning companies for tools that facilitate their L&D requirements.

Professionals focused on L&D have many options to rely on. However, with changing industry trends and increasing demand for interactive training modules, it is important to evaluate and develop an effective L&D program periodically. Here is a list of features to consider while choosing the best eLearning authoring tool to create highly engaging eLearning content.

10 Must-have authoring tool features and capabilities

Just like any other tool, the content authoring tool also has some essential characteristics. They are mainly to facilitate the overall process, from development and distribution to tracking and analytics.

Content Package:

1. Content authoring
Content Creation is the core feature of any content authoring tool. Among other features, the tool should have the option to add and edit text, images, videos, audio, and include other interactive elements. Adding external links or files to the module helps learners measure the depth of learning whenever they want to. With these features, one can include interactivity into corporate training programs and showcase exactly what learners should see, hear, and learn.

2. Content management
A content management system helps keep digital assets, media, and other eLearning content organized and handy. Having full control over the tool and resources is a necessity to build a new course or update an existing one. It helps in saving time spent on developing a new module and ensures that the workflow is streamlined to process new and existing programs alike. Some core content management features include micro-unit and course libraries; quiz and question banks; media and resources library (video, audio, images, etc.).

3. Micro content creation
According to a recent study, a person’s ability to concentrate on a given task is 8 seconds. To attract and engage learners with such a shorter attention span is highly challenging. But the content authoring tool features the best solutions to curb this menace. Organizations can develop microlearning content for learners as an alternative to long-form interactive learning modules that can be suitable across age groups. This form of eLearning content is short and concise, easy to create and distribute, and highly engaging.

4. Content reuse
Organizations can repurpose plain PDFs, for instance, into short and focused content, quizzes, infographics, animations, scenarios, and other interactive formats. The feature enables the content creator to reuse the old content once used in conventional training modules and makes the tool a rapid eLearning authoring tool. Optimizing old content not only reduces costs but also improves collaboration between technical authoring and L&D teams, increase productivity, and improve workflow efficiency. This can be a one-time investment to unlock a plethora of features and capabilities to create or repurpose eLearning content.

Enhancing Learning Experience:

5. Customization for personalized experience
An authoring tool capable of customization is flexible. The tool often supports HTML, XML, and CSS (cascading style sheets), which simplifies content creation and modulation as needed. Such tools often have an open architecture with built-in functionality to edit CSS files that allow the user to overview the custom-made progress. This ensures a change in the look and feel of eLearning content and deliverables.

In short, the content creators can personalize the content that will potentially captivate and help learners create engaging learning experiences. In contrast to a proprietary system, this feature will offer more control of the learning materials to the user.

6. Ability to integrate interactivities
Interactivities give e-learning courses an edge over traditional learning methods as they allow learners to interact with the program content instead of simply reading it. By letting them interact with the content and actively participate in the learning process, learners’ curiosity will incentivize them to acquire knowledge. It involves the integration of elements such as quizzes, infographics, scrolling panels, scenario-based learning, leaderboard, mini-games, etc. With the right content authoring tool, one can potentially make eLearning content much more engaging than an instructor-led training session that imitates a monologue.

Accessibility:

7. Multichannel publishing
The world no longer depends on a single delivery channel environment, and learning content is now less about classroom delivery alone. This leads to the era of multi-channel publishing. The content authoring tool can help organizations to deliver similar content on different channels, unveiling new ways for learners to adapt learning in their habits. One can push eLearning content through website blogs, active social media channels, emails or newsletters, standalone iPDFs, etc. Additionally, it helps learners to access the content from anywhere and at anytime

8. Fully-responsive content deliverables
Since modern learners favor mobile learning over everything else, letting them access an online module on their devices is a powerful corporate training strategy. Hence, constructing a course with fully-responsive output is an invaluable feature to look for in a content authoring tool. This feature automatically adjusts the content layout to display according to the device used. It caters to the current demand of mobile learners i.e., easily accessible eLearning content.

Assessment and Tracking:

9. Learning progress tracker A progress tracking mechanism allows L&D teams to track how learners or employees interact with the course material; how long they take to complete the course, and, how much they retain. It ultimately helps the organization determine the effectiveness of the course. To make this happen, the content authoring tool should support eLearning technical standards, such as SCORM and xAPI, to work with respective LMS platforms. The LMS platform is responsible for managing coursework, giving free access to learning material to learners, and tracking the progress of learners.

**24*7 Support:**

10. Help with tool functions and training hindrances
The ability to provide support and assistance to L&D experts on certain topics is the best feature to look for in a content authoring tool. ‘Just-in-time’ support can benefit both novices and experts. The type of support features often available are tutorials and video guides, live AI chat support, webinars, updates and upgrades, e-mail or phone call support, online community forum, etc.

Key takeaways

Here is the selection criteria checklist for the best content authoring tool:

User interface: Intuitive hold over the authoring tool
Quality: High-quality and sophisticated content production
Functionality: The level of functionality determines the ease of usage of the tool
Scalability: Quantity of eLearning content to be produced in less time
Customer support: Assisting developers with troubleshooting
Analytics: Tracking the progress of the learners on the go

All the features mentioned above reflect the enhanced version of the content authoring tool. Ideally, organizations need to evaluate each one of these to determine the most suitable tool to develop eLearning programs effectively & efficiently. To do so, an organization must create a clear picture of their requirements. This will help them narrow down to a few options and select the one that resonates the most with them, catering to their unique learning and business needs.

With the right tool, organizations can produce exceptional learning experiences that can create an impact on learners and accelerate their learning process. If you want to produce high-quality eLearning programs at scale, then a content authoring tool like MPS’ would be a great fit for your L&D development team. Our highly experienced team can enable you to design, develop, and deliver an impactful learning experience that will go a long way in the development of your employees, ultimately driving business growth. From content management and customization to project assessment, we, at MPS, will help you create the right launchpad for the needs of your employees and the growth of your business. To learn more about the features and benefits of using our content authoring tool, book a demo today.