The Best eLearning Authoring Tools for 2023

Rashida Beal
Jan 28, 2023
The Best eLearning Authoring Tools for 2023
The Best eLearning Authoring Tools for 2023

The world of eLearning is changing rapidly, and it's important for your learning management system (LMS) to keep up with current trends. There are more tools available to help you create beautiful online courses and online training materials than ever before.

In this article, we'll discuss why eLearning authoring tools are becoming so popular. We’ll also take a deeper look at some of our favorite authoring tools to consider if you're looking to start an eLearning project and improve your online instructional design in the near future.


Why Use eLearning Authoring Tools?

eLearning authoring tools simplify the eLearning course creation process, allowing you to use interactive templates to create gorgeous and highly interactive eLearning courses for your students in minutes rather than hours or days. There are more benefits to using eLearning authoring tools than just their simplicity, though; they are affordable and allow you to create better and more interactive experiences for students or members of your organization.

Affordability

If you don’t have the time to learn to code an eLearning course yourself but still want a customized experience, you might want to pay someone else to do the job - but paying for a custom eLearning course from a developer can get extremely pricy, costing as much as several thousands of collars! Using an eLearning authoring tool, you can create an eLearning course for an affordable monthly subscription fee.

Many eLearning authoring tools provide free demos and free trials, too, so you can get a taste of what the company has to offer before you make a commitment. It’s a great idea to seek out services that offer free trials and free demos so you can test a service before you sign up for a subscription. Maestra Suite offers both a free trial and a free demo to help you get started!

No Need To Learn HTML/Coding

The most important reason to use eLearning authoring tools is that they are easy to learn and use. Most tools have a small learning curve. You can learn the basics in a couple of hours, and you'll be able to create courses in minutes, not months. You’ll only have to learn the basics of a new drag-and-drop software rather than the fundamentals of a coding language.

With eLearning authoring tools, you can create interactive courseware with dynamic media (such as audio and video). Adding these elements would otherwise require you to learn how to use a separate software or even learn how to code! Adding audio, video, and other elements is easy with an eLearning course creation software and allows your learners' experience to be more engaging than ever before because it allows them to interact with content in real-time through quizzes or polls.

Create Interactive Digital Learning Experiences

By using eLearning authoring tools, you can think outside of the box and create interactive course and responsive course elements that are more impactful than just videos, screen recordings, and raw text. For example, you can create simulations. Simulations are a great way to teach students how to do something. They're also great for demonstrating the results of an action or process, which can help your students understand what happens when they perform certain exercises. Simulations can seem complicated to create, though, so they are extremely underutilized in online courses.

Using any of the many eLearning authoring tools online, you can create simulations with interactive elements like buttons and text boxes that allow students to complete tasks and learn more about concepts. You can add video and audio files so that everyone in your organization will be able to hear what's going on in the simulation, making it easier for them to understand what you're trying to teach them. Finally, images such as diagrams or photos can also be included in order for people who may not have visual backgrounds on a topic/skill/process area (e.g., someone who has never worked with computers before) will still be able to see what's been covered by the simulation itself.


Best eLearning Authoring Tools For 2023

There are a lot of eLearning authoring tools on the market, each with its own set of features and unique benefits. From Adobe Captivate to Easygenerator, each tool is different but also tends to bear many similarities to the other options on the list, so it’s important to take a careful look at all of the options to make the best decision for creating your eLearning course.

Articulate Storyline 360

Articulate Storyline 360 is a cloud-based authoring tool that can be used on any device, including mobile devices. It’s easy to use and comes with many features that make it easy to create interactive content and online courses quickly. The program includes templates so you can get started right away, along with over 9 million course assets. Or, you can build your own from scratch using the included content library.

The software also allows you to use existing content as well, which means there are plenty of options available if you don't want to create everything from scratch! An Articulate 360 subscription also includes live and on-demand training so you can make the best eLearning courses possible.

Adobe Captivate

Adobe Captivate is an authoring tool that helps you create interactive elearning courses. It's easy to use and has a large library of templates, so it's a good choice for beginners who want to get started quickly.

Adobe Captivate also includes several pre-built templates that can be used as tutorials or practice exercises in your course. These include:

You can even convert existing materials - like PowerPoint presentations - into course materials in a matter of minutes, creating interactive videos and other innovative course content. For beginners to eLearning course creation, Adobe Captivate is an excellent resource.

Elucidat

Elucidat is a cloud-based authoring tool that allows users to create a course from scratch, or import videos and audio files. With it, you can create interactive templates and screen recordings for your eLearning courses. In addition, it has highly customizable courses that can be personalized for the individuals who are taking the course. The software even provides a way to access content seamlessly from the web to mobile.

Eluidat offers free trial periods (for up to 14 days) and a free demo.

Lectora Inspire

Lectora Inspire is an online authoring tool that allows users to create eLearning content and customize it in the cloud. It's a responsive, cloud-based authoring tool that can be used on any device—including smartphones and tablets—and requires no software to download or install.

The free trial includes 30 days of unrestricted use, which means you'll have access to all of the features available within this platform. Lectora Inspire offers many features for those creating eLearning courses, including:

iSpring Suite Max

iSpring Suite Max is a cloud-based authoring tool that allows you to create eLearning courses, quizzes, tutorials, and other content quickly and easily. Like many of the other eLearning authoring tools on this list, iSpring Suite Max has a drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy to add content, text, images and videos to your course. You can also use the program’s built-in templates or create your own from scratch with its simple yet powerful drag-and-drop editor.

iSpring Suite Max is arguably one of the easiest eLearning course creation softwares to learn; it’s designed to look and feel similar to PowerPoint as you work, allowing you to access a familiar and intuitive workspace that will inspire and empower you to create the best eLearning courses.

Easygenerator

Easygenerator is a cloud-based authoring tool that makes it easy to create eLearning courses and manuscripts. It offers a drag-and-drop interface, so you can easily add content to your course without writing code or knowing how to code. This helps you avoid mistakes when creating courses that are built on top of an existing system (like WordPress).

Easygenerator has many features that make it easy for anyone who wants to start learning how to develop eLearning products:

Easygenerator also allows you to work alongside colleagues and friends, making it significantly easier to collaborate on projects and eLearning courses as you go. It’s easy to create a truly customized and personalized course in just minutes using Easygenerator’s many resources, including live chat and even one-on-one training sessions with their team of experts.


How To Choose An eLearning Authoring Tool

There are many factors to consider when deciding on an eLearning authoring tool for your business. Each eLearning authoring tool's features are different, and you might need certain features that are available with one software but not another. When deciding on an eLearning authoring tool for your business in 2023, ask yourself these questions:

Some factors may be more important to you than others depending on your business. For example, if you have a large budget to spend on eLearning courses, you might worry less about the budget and instead focus only on finding a tool that suits all of your needs.


Improve Your eCourse with Maestra

No matter what eLearning tools you’re using to create your eLearning course in 2023, it’s important to ensure that your course is accessible to everyone. This means including transcriptions alongside your videos and subtitles within them.

Maestra Suite makes creating transcriptions and adding subtitles extremely simple with its AI-powered speech-to-text software built-in text editor and text-to-speech software. All you have to do is upload your audio or video files - and they’ll do the rest! No matter which eLearning authoring tool you decide to use, use Maestra Suite along with it to ensure that your courses are available and accessible for everyone.


Creating eLearning Courses In 2023

The best authoring tools for 2023 will be nimble and flexible, with cloud-based features that eliminate the limitations of the device or operating system. It's important to choose a tool that works for what you and your company need when you create a course; if you aren’t experienced with HTML, for example, you’ll want to seek out a drag-and-drop course creation tool like iSpring Suite Max.

To truly ensure that your courses are accessible and available for everyone, it’s important to include transcriptions and captions with your videos. Maestra Suite makes transcribing easy by providing you with a transcription instantly alongside your uploaded videos, preventing any mistakes and preventing the need for you to manually transcribe your videos.


Create an Inclusive eLearning Course Today

A lot of the newest eLearning authoring tools in 2023 are flexible, cloud-based, and easy to use. You no longer have to worry about the limitations of your device or OS, or worry about the amount of RAM on your computer. As you publish eLearning courses that are accessible to more users, don’t forget to include transcriptions alongside your videos with the help of Maestra Suite!

Rashida Beal
Jan 28, 2023

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