Brighton, July 2006 - The selection of eLearning authoring tools is based on three key criteria, according to the findings a recent online survey by the Brighton-based consulting company Kineo. The survey showed that while there is no clear winner in the authoring tools market yet, several products are making headway, but they need to make improvements to meet customer needs.
What they buy and why they buy it
Over seventy respondents took part in the survey and provided their views on a wide range of authoring issues such as what tools they use and which factors influence their buying decision, as well as the time needed to become competent. Another set of questions dealt with the type of content developed and its subsequent usage. In addition, the survey asked about features missing from existing tools.
Time is money
According to the survey, the three key criteria for selecting an eLearning authoring tool were price, ease of use, and the ability to integrate it into Learning Management Systems. While the tool is not bought exclusively based on price, ease of use will be a key component in the purchasing decision.
The survey showed that time to competency tends to be quick for most people and can be as little as two days. This is a credit to the simplicity and usability of most tools. This factor alone brings the soft implementation costs down significantly compared to previous-generation tools, but they have to be budgeted for nonetheless.
Few subjects left untouched
Dr Matt Fox, Kineo Partner, commented: -œThe survey showed that rapid authoring appears to be able to make an impact in many important subject areas and can be used in a wide range of deliveries including standalone and blended approaches. There are few barriers to using it for key learning and development initiatives.-
Finally the survey revealed that there is still extensive scope for enhancing and improving tools both technically and in terms of how they guide best practice design, which remains critical in the era of rapid eLearning.
