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The current global situation has changed our lives drastically. Unless you are an emergency worker, you are probably stuck inside your home finding something to do with your time.
There are many of us that are using this time to learn and develop new skills. However, if you are reading this article, you aren’t one of them.
Those of us with an entrepreneurial bent of mind understand that with so many people looking for online courses to upskill themselves, there is a rising need for quality online courses.
This time is also an opportunity for such people to add value to the lives of others, and make a pretty penny in the process.
With that said, the process of creating an online course or conducting a web-based training session can seem daunting at first. Thankfully, there are a number of e-learning tools that can make this task very easy.
In this article, we will be listing three such tools that will help you with three different aspects of the process of developing and deploying your own online training course.
Let us begin:
Video Conferencing Software
If you want to deliver live online classes or simply want to blend some live instructor-led sessions within your otherwise self-paced training curriculum, you will require a video conferencing software.
Top video conferencing software programs allow you to add multiple people on the same call and offer advanced features like whiteboards, notepads, and chat rooms.
You can also find video conferencing software that comes loaded with special features that enable you to host webinars and collaborate with others.
Authoring Software
An authoring software does exactly what its name suggests, it helps you create professional-quality training content. Modern authoring software programs come loaded with a variety of features that will allow you to create interactivities, add multimedia, and create assessments all in one place.
These also come with preloaded templates and the ability to add custom branding to allow you to go one step further from creating power-point based courses.
Developing eLearning content can be a time-consuming task. A 2017 study found that developing one hour of passive eLearning content (non-interactive content that the end-user only consumes) can take up to 42 hours. The templates present within authoring tools help you reduce this time.
If you have other members on your team, like designers and content writers, you can all collaborate on the same software if you opt for cloud-based authoring software.
These software aren’t just great for the development process, but also offer easy accessibility when it comes to updating certain parts of your online training curriculum.
Learning Management System
Another tool with a self-explanatory name, a learning management system (LMS) allows you to store, share, and manage your training content in one place. You can also use an LMS to enroll students. Students, after their accounts have been made, can access the training content from anywhere with an internet-enabled device.
LMS also come loaded with advanced tracking features that allow you to track the progress of your learners. These features allow you to identify areas within your curriculum that need improvements. At the same time, these features allow you to identify areas where your learners need special attention.
Depending on your choice of LMS, you can also get access to advanced features like social learning and gamification that are known to improve the impact of training content.
Social learning features allow students to interact with one another, discuss topics, and even create forums where students can help each other with difficult concepts and/or subjects.
On the other hand, gamification features, as the name suggests, allow you to add game-like features to your training curriculum. Some examples of gamification features include point systems, levels, and certificates. Such features allow learning administrators (you) to add a sense of healthy competition to your course, incentivizing students to perform better than others that are taking your course.
Keep in mind, LMS that come pre-equipped with more features are generally more expensive. Hence, it is important to first understand the needs of your course (and your audience) and then choose an LMS that addresses those needs.
In other words, the most expensive LMS may not be the best option for your needs. Evaluate the features offered by different learning management systems and choose one that offers the features you require.
With that said, features are not the only aspect on which you should evaluate and compare different learning management systems. Other important aspects include user-friendliness, support, and budget.
Here’s a great post that describes the process of selecting the right LMS for your needs.
Conclusion
There you have it, three tools that will allow you to host live online classes, create exceptional training content, and share and manage said training content with your future students.
Did we miss out on any of your favorite eLearning tools? Share them with us in the comment section.