Are you new at creating online courses, and you’re wondering about the best tool to start with? Or you’re already a pro, and you want to try out a new tool for creating courses?
Whatever category you belong to, having to make that decision on your own can be quite exhausting. With the myriad of choices available, you’ll definitely be in a world of your own.
However, you don’t have to be all lost on the best choice for you. Read this article 10 of the best eLearning authoring tools and software you can use in 2023.
Table of Contents
1. iSpring Suite Max
iSpring Suite Max has an interface that looks just like that of Powerpoint. As long as you’re familiar with Powerpoint, you can easily work with this tool. You can also import your created Powerpoint presentation and add more text, pictures, or videos.
However, if you require more technical control, iSpring Suite Max still gets you covered. You can always keep your students engaged with your course by using more complex interactive features such as dialogue simulation with branching scenarios.
With 14 different assessment check choices, including surveys and quizzes, you can always find an interesting way to put your student’s knowledge to the test.
Also, if you work with a team of creators, iSpring Suite Max has the iSpring Space, an online space where you can upload your work for other creators to make revisions, and additions and leave comments. However, with iSpring Suite Max, you need to have Microsoft Powerpoint installed. Also, it is only available for Windows users.
2. Adobe Captivate
If you’re a pro in the course creation world and need a new authoring tool, Adobe Captivate is one of the best choices. Originally made for Windows users, a 2019 update finally made the tool available for Mac users.
However, if you’re starting as a beginner, Captivate might not be the best choice. It is quite technical, and you’ll need some time to come to terms with utilizing this authoring tool fully. Also, Captivate is not cloud-based, so you might have some issues making corrections to your course after publishing.
To make it easier for you to choose, we compared Adobe Captivate and Articulate Storyline with their characteristic features.
3. Lectora Online
Lectora is a company that has been around for a while. Lectora Online is a tool that also has many features that cater to the needs of professional course creators. However, they do have ready-made templates for beginners as well.
These templates come in various teaching styles, making it quite easy to create some variety in your courses.
Courses created on this tool also use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This means people with learning disabilities can access your courses.
The ‘Responsive Course Design’ feature also means any course created on this tool will work on any device.
However, you might still need to work on some technical features for the course layout on other devices apart from desktops. Overall, this tool is good for pro course creators but costs more than its competitors.
4. Articulate Storyline
Articulate Storyline is another authoring tool that uses a Powerpoint layout. If you know your way around Powerpoint, you should have a basic understanding of Storyline. In terms of creating customized content, Storyline is a very good choice. However, you’ll need to have the expertise to utilize the potential of this tool fully.
Its high level of customization means that the number of ready-made templates available is quite small, so beginners might have some difficulties with this tool. Also, courses requiring regular revision and collaboration are not suitable with this tool. This is because the tool is only desktop-based.
If you prefer your tools to give you enough technical control, Storyline is another good choice for use.
5. Articulate Rise
Rise is the web-based authoring tool created by Articulate. Rise is an easier tool to use compared to Storyline. If you’re a beginner, this is a match made in heaven for you. It has a wide range of ready-made templates beginners can use to make their course creation way easier. Also, this tool provides cloud backup, so it’s perfect for collaboration among course creators.
However, if you want to create a video course, this tool is more difficult to use. Due to the absence of a video or audio editor, you’ll have to use another program to make the videos before importing them.
Also, it only allows 4 question styles for assessments (fill-in-the-blank, matching, multiple responses, and multiple-choice).
If you’re a beginner in the course reaction world, then Rise is a great choice to use.
6. Camtasia
When it comes to creating video courses, Camtasia is the best match. Available on both Mac and Windows, this tool is a video editing and recording tool at its core. It provides a range of video editing tools and special effects.
However, it falls short when it comes to text creation tools. Apart from quiz and survey tools, you get nothing else for editing text.
To add text content, you’ll need to use another tool for this. If you can overlook this defect, Camtasia is definitely the best video course creation tool available.
7. Elucidat
Elucidat is a cloud-based authoring tool that provides you with a range of pre-made templates to work with. It is a good tool for collaboration due to its cloud hosting. Another good feature of Elucidat is the analytics dashboard, where you can find out structured information on how students are interacting with your course.
Also, Elucidat has the Learning Accelerator feature, which is aimed at beginners and anyone wanting to create a course in a short period. This feature gives template suggestions based on your set project goals. This way, you can pick suitable templates at different stages and add your content.
8. Adapt
Adapt is a totally free authoring tool that has an open-source directory. This means developers in its community are free to add new updates to the tool. However, the tool only makes fully functional updates available to users to ensure some sanity. Due to the block-like layout of the tool, it does not offer much in terms of aesthetic content.
However, its interface is quite easy to use, and the fact that it’s totally free to use makes it a good tool for people on a low budget. However, you might want to preview your work after creation as the app does not have a WSYWIG design.
If you want a free tool that gives you technical control, then Adapt is a good choice.
9. Easygenerator
In a hurry to complete that course? Easygenerator is a great choice to use. Just as the name implies, this authoring has been around for a while and is designed to meet one goal: create your online course fast. With this kind of tool, where speed is the goal, it is normal that the level of customization possible is not really huge.
However, this tool is perfect for a beginner also due to its range of pre-made templates. Also, they allow collaboration between creators by using the ‘co-authoring feature.’
If you’re new to content creation or want to create a course in a short period, Easygenerator is the best choice.
10. Coassemble
Coassemble is another cloud-based authoring tool that creates courses using a web-style format. This authoring tool offers you over a dozen interaction types, including templates such as the word circle template. However, the tool does not have any video or audio editing capabilities, so it is not useful in creating video courses.
Courses created here are also 100% compatible with mobile devices, so you don’t have to create different versions for various devices. However, the tool does not have a mobile app. Hence, the students have to access it on a mobile web browser.
Conclusion
While most of these tools have various functionalities and uses, your eLearning content goals will determine the best choice for you. If you want a tool that can satisfy you either as a beginner or a pro, iSpring Suite Max is a great choice to go with.
