One of the questions that our new learning management system (LMS) customers frequently ask us is whether or not they NEED to use e-learning authoring tools like Articulate Studio/Storyline, Adobe Captivate, or others in order to use our LMS.
Another related question they commonly ask is “What’s an e-learning authoring tool anyway?”
So we thought a little post to clear all this up would be helpful. The brief answer to the first question is NO. You can use the Convergence LMS perfectly well without an authoring tool. The information below will explain that more fully. And as for the second question, if you don’t yet know what an e-learning authoring tool is, read on.
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Let’s start with the basics. As the term is commonly used, an e-learning authoring tool is a software application that:
You can use an e-learning authoring tool to create your own training content, add interactive elements to your training materials, add a built-in assessment (a “quiz” or “test”), publish your training content as an e-learning module in common e-learning standards such as SCORM and AICC, and then import your self-created e-learning module into an LMS. Once it’s in the LMS, you can assign it, let the LMS deliver it, and track when your workers have completed it. You can even run reports to find their scores on the built-in assessment part.
Although you can use an e-learning authoring tool to build your training materials “from scratch,” many are designed so that you can take existing materials you have in formats like PowerPoint and convert them into self-created e-learning modules that include the interactivity and assessments mentioned earlier. You can also use some authoring tools to make “screen capture” videos that capture your computer screen and mouse movements–this is a great way to teach people software applications.
If your goal is to import training content (in the form of a PowerPoint, for example), and then to create a quiz that tests your employees’ understanding of the training content, then the answer is yes (there’s a “Quizmaker” tool built right into the Convergence LMS).
You can assign both activities (the PowerPoint and the quiz) to your employees, and select settings that will require them to read or view the training content before they can open the quiz. Many of our customers are quite happy with this.
If your goal is to add interactive or branching elements to your PowerPoint, or to make screen capture videos that teach people to use software applications, you’d have to do that with an authoring tool. Check out the list below.
Below is a list of some of the authoring tools we’re familiar with. We’re not endorsing any of the products on this list, or saying they’re better than authoring tools that are not on the list, and the list is in no particular order. They’re just a few commonly used ones.
Check out the links above for more information about each of these applications.
Hint: A lot of these companies offer free trial downloads so you can check their product out before you spend your precious training funds on them. We’ve done this ourselves in the past and it’s helped us make our own selections.
They are e-learning standards that e-learning/CBT modules are published in and that learning management systems are designed to support. If an e-learning module is published in SCORM (or AICC) and an LMS is SCORM-compliant (or AICC-compliant), the e-learning module and the LMS should work smoothly together. Check out our What Is SCORM? blog post for more information.
The quick answer: Yes.
The Convergence LMS supports SCORM 1.2 e-learning modules. This is the most common SCORM format (there is also another SCORM format called SCORM 2004). The Convergence LMS also supports the AICC format.
If you’re creating a course in the SCORM format, follow this procedure:
From our experience, you’re not likely to create your own AICC courses, but rather you might have AICC courses that third-party training creators have made for you. If that’s the case, those courses will be online at a specific URL. Just follow this procedure to import the AICC course into the LMS.
Jeff Dalto, Senior Learning & Performance Improvement Manager
Jeff is a learning designer and performance improvement specialist with more than 20 years in learning and development, 15+ of which have been spent working in manufacturing, industrial, and architecture, engineering & construction training. Jeff has worked side-by-side with more than 50 companies as they implemented online training. Jeff is an advocate for using evidence-based training practices and is currently completing a Masters degree in Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning from Boise State University. He writes the Vector Solutions | Convergence Training blog and invites you to connect with him on LinkedIn.
