Before I joined TrainingPros, I not only had an eLearning development company, but I also was part of a team that created an eLearning gaming tool. (This was a long, long time ago.) While I’m not currently developing eLearning every day anymore, I still try to stay abreast of what tools our clients request, what tools our eLearning developers utilize, and what’s coming on the horizon.
If you are just entering the eLearning world, you will find this list handy to decide what you need to learn and what is worth the price. Below are 5 tools that all eLearning developers should be familiar with.
Articulate Storyline 360
The majority of our customers in 2024 expect instructional design consultants and eLearning developers to be proficient in Articulate Storyline and Rise. Articulate 360 is a subscription-based authoring tool. It is a powerful tool for course development. Both Storyline and Rise have responsive design which means the courses work on the desktop and every type of mobile device. Team members can collaborate on course development using Articulate 360 Teams Plan. The team at Articulate are continuously updating the features available to developers.
Cost: Freelancers are given a discounted price of $1099 as of 2024. However, before you buy you can get a 30-day free trial.
Articulate has a great community of developers who can answer your questions. They also have a great article repository. Take a look at one of our samples built using Articulate Storyline.
Adobe Captivate
Adobe Captivate is the much later version of the first eLearning authoring tool I ever learned over 20 years ago. Captivate, originally designed for software simulations, has come a long way. It has advanced into a very powerful eLearning tool. It also has responsive design, templates, and a widget gallery. Team members can also collaborate on course development. Adobe has a creator academy with free courses. It’s definitely worth your time as an eLearning developer to visit the academy and learn more about what you can create using Captivate.
Cost: Captivate is also a subscription-based service and is very affordable at $33.99 per month as of 2024. You can also get a 30-day free trial from Adobe.
Lectora Inspire
Lectora at one time was the most advanced tool on the market but creating courses using Lectora 20 years ago involved using storyboards and a programmer. It has also come a long way. It’s now easier to use, it has responsive design, and it has plenty of prebuilt templates to use. It’s available either on the desktop or the cloud.
Cost: Lectora is a bit more costly at $117 per month as of 2024.
Camtasia
Camtasia is a powerful video screen recording tool. Originally it was strongly associated with technical writers. Today’s Camtasia has powerful features used by eLearning developers, technical writers, and video editors. It has powerful transcription tools, AI assisted background removal, and many more features beyond screen capture.
Cost: Camtasia is very affordable at $179.88 per year as of 2024.
Vyond
Vyond is an AI powered animation creator. It is used for marketing, communications, human resources, and of course, eLearning. The platform allows you to add conversations, scenarios, or just characters performing tasks to your eLearning. Vyond can be added to most eLearning authoring tools such as Articulate. With the recent addition of AI, eLearning developers and instructional designers only need to be adept at writing complete AI prompts to create an animation fast. This can create great samples to add to your eLearning development portfolio as well. Take a look at this sample created by the TrainingPros team.
Cost: Vyond is a subscription service that has multiple pricing levels. New eLearning developers can get started for $25/month in 2024. There is also a two-week free trial available.
If you are considering making the move to becoming an eLearning developer, make sure you are familiar with these tools and are prepared to pay the subscription prices to keep these tools active.
Are you an instructional design consultant trying to gain new skills in eLearning development? Make sure you are familiar with several of these tools.
Are you looking to staff an eLearning Developer? Let our practitioner Relationship Managers find the best consultant for your upcoming project. Do you have a large eLearning project? We have an eLearning team ready to take over your project and make your life simpler.
Are you an eLearning Developer? View our list of available contract positions.
