How To Test Drive An eLearning Authoring Tool?

If you are looking for a new authoring tool to modernize the eLearning system, follow the given steps before you commit to buy any particular tool.

FREMONT, CA: If anyone is looking for the next eLearning authoring tool, they should follow the following steps to test the device and get the best one. One of the perks of living in the digital age is that there are always plenty of tech tools to choose from, but it may cause a problem for you if you don’t have proper knowledge of how to choose the best tool.

Here are some steps to be taken to test the eLearning authoring tool:

1. Make A List Of Your Needs

While going on the first eLearning authoring tool test drive, one should make sure that they know what they are testing. Make a list of all the features you foresee needing if you were to choose this authoring tool for the long haul. The type of content you want to build will have a significant influence on what features you need to test drive.

2. Test The Install On Several Machines

Before installing any tool, it is necessary to check it on different machines. It is better to take time rather than introducing some wrong and incompatible devices. If you are trying out a cloud-based solution, this might be a quick process that doesn’t require any installs, but make sure to test how it performs on PC, Mac, and mobile devices.

3. Build A “Minimum Viable Course”

The basic skeleton of any course is a minimum viable course without all the bells and whistles. Creating a Minimum Viable Course (MVC) will allow you to quickly test-drive your tool to see if it holds up to your needs.

4. Onboard Other Authors

After doing the solo test drive, one should understand how your tool holds up once you add collaboration to the mix. Even if your authoring needs don’t currently require multiple authors, think long-term. If you can’t collaborate with other authors with ease, chances are you’ll need to move to another tool and waste precious time migrating your content to another platform.

Can multiple people work on the same piece of content at once? How does your tool handle permissions? Make sure to test permission settings during your test drive. See what happens if you want to onboard an author with editing permissions but no admin power.

5. Test All Exporting Tools

Yes, test all of them, no matter how many exporting options your tool contains. If all the exporting possibilities of an organization is supported by the that tool, then check for the exporting tools that you’ll rely on most, note how quickly the process can be completed. Before stopping here make some modification to the content, and see what happens if you want to update the exported version. Is there a way to quickly update or you have to redo the whole exporting process again?

6. Ask For Support

No eLearning authoring tool exists in a vacuum. No matter how easy it is to use, every user is bound to require support from the developer at some point. File a support ticket to see:

• How quickly they respond

• The level of support they are willing to provide

• How they treat customers

7. Check Out The Maintenance Before You Commit

Suppose after all the test drive, if a person is satisfied and ready to purchase the tool, but the best option is to still wait for an update. One doesn’t want to be stuck with a tool that bottlenecks your entire team every time an update is required. Check how easy (or difficult) is the maintenance of your appliance; it requires someone from IT to perform the update every time, or does it update automatically?

See Also: Top Smart Classroom Solution Companies