Katie Taylor
Katie Taylor is a professional blogger, guest writer and Influencer. Currently associated with Pinlearn as a content marketing strategist.
The best online learning or e-learning platforms comes easy for tutors to disseminate their knowledge irrespective of where their students are.
The e-learning industry is continuously progressing at an unprecedented rate. By experiencing a 5% increase in the net value every year, the LMS market will hit the $240 billion mark by 2023. Notably, 77% of U.S. corporations prefer online learning in one or the other form, strengthening corporate e-learning by over 900% since 2002.
Modern technology has favorably revolutionized the scope of learning and online teaching. As a result, learning is finding a home beyond the fortified walls of schools and academic institutions.
The best online learning or e-learning platforms comes easy for tutors to disseminate their knowledge irrespective of where their students are.
What is an e-learning platform?
The E-learning platform is the ready-made solution for educators and trainers to design and manage online courses from anywhere strategically.
Learning management systems (LMS) come with sets of key features to accommodate a learner and a tutor on the same platform. One can also call them content management systems (CMS) with ancillary components to facilitate online teaching and learning.
With the advancement of technology, they can create interactive courses and manage them without hassle. Moreover, the platform provides the knowledge base and support system for customer queries so the learner can easily connect with the trainer.
What makes a good e-learning platform?
It is not easy to keep learners interested and engaged in a learning process. Therefore, e-learning platforms must comply with some fundamental requirements to deliver exceptionally interactive content.
They must also support more intelligent applications of innovative concepts like microlearning (in independent modules) to make the information more interactive.
With this in mind, the active presence of the following abilities is imperative for a capable e-learning platform:
- Design courses and activities on the platform with students as their focal point.
- Provide syllabus and course summary to show the big picture.
- Create lectures; add videos, audio, and PDF to fulfill course requirements.
- Include forms for formal and informal conversations.
- Submit individual and group feedback about courses and teachers.
- Set different prices for separate courses.
- Set coupon codes to offer discounts on the courses.
- Scale to accommodate evolving requirements of the e-learning process.
How to choose the best e-learning platform?
There are plenty of online learning management platforms available in the market, so it is tough to choose the best suite for each organization. However, the primary differentiator is low cost, easy use, more features and better support.
This article will explain the top five online platforms that can develop e-learning modules and online teaching platforms of your own. Please note that the following tools necessarily provide one or all of the features mentioned above:
1. Elucidat
Elucidat is an eLearning content authoring tool with prominent features like custom theming, ready-made templates, and other viable options for collaboration.
Eliminating the chief drawbacks of flash-based software, it reliably uses HTML5 to make the contents load faster on computers, tablets and smartphones. It is a robust authoring tool for instantly starting an online learning platform with intuitive abilities.
Features that stand out:
- Collaboration Tools: Provides built-in features to submit feedback and communicate with other members on the platform.
- Quick Deployment: Using SCORM, MOOC and Tin Can, you can quickly publish your e-learning courses or export them to your existing learning management system (LMS).
- Analytics: Built-in analytics to track learners’ progress and insight into the course efficacy.
Pricing
The basic plan comes with a free trial. For paid plan, you need to contact them.
2. Adobe Captivate
Adobe Captivate represents an intelligent tool for designing mobile responsive e-learning platforms. With all files ideally located on the cloud, team members can give feedback and promptly make edits in real-time. Captivate is very frequent in terms of official upgrades and enhancements as well.
Features that stand out:
- Adobe Captivate Draft: Provides a free iPad app that allows the transformation of storyboards into interactive online courses. The app delivers numerous exclusive features like scenario branching, quiz slides and other multimedia tools.
- Multimedia Integration: Adobe Captivate in-houses an array of multimedia tools like HD screen recording, screen-casting, and audio synchronization.
- Branch-Aware Quizzing: This allows the platform to conduct assessment quizzes when a learner completes a module.
- Geo-Location Support: Utilizes geolocation tracking to provide personalized courses and course materials according to the learner’s location.
Pricing
Free trial, but paid plan starts with$ 33.33 per user per month.
3. PinLearn
Pinlearn is an e-learning authoring tool with high scalability and greater flexibility. It can plot an effortless way towards a ready-to-launch EdTech platform without coding.
The software is best suited for ambitious entrepreneurs who want to launch an online learning platform like Udemy and Coursera but cannot code one.
Features that stand out:
- Mobile friendly: Comes with a complete package of apps for Android and iOS.
- Tutor dashboard and analytics: Dynamic admin panel capable of designing, running, and tracking courses using built-in analytics and SEO features.
- Multiple payment gateways: Comes integrated with various payment gateways for paying after enrolling in the courses.
- Extensive Course Management: Extensive features to create courses, add course goals, and create text and video lectures. One can also add audio, PDF, and course summary.
- Submit a review: Learners can give ratings and submit reviews about the learning process.
- Coupon Management for discounts: Gives flexibility to launch marketing campaigns by offering discount coupons to the learners.
Pricing
There is no free trial. The paid plan starts at $399 per year.
4. Articulate Storyline
Articulate Storyline offers a Windows-based application similar to Microsoft's PowerPoint. However, you must obtain some necessary skills and competencies to author a highly tailored and engaging course content.
Nevertheless, by doing so, it additionally provides absolute control over the theming of your pages and slides. Despite being tricky, Articulate presents a remarkably flexible architecture in uniquely adapting to branding and customization needs.
Standing out features:
- Video Encoding: Allows video without compression for uploading even high-quality video files.
- Auto recovery: If you face a system crash, the auto-recovery would instantly retrieve the unsaved work.
- Dockable panes and windows: This feature allows an instant utilization of multiple monitors while working. You can see your stage on one monitor while working with other tools on the extra monitor.
- Text Formatting and Control: Provides better control over the text formatting by adding native storyline text to the buttons and labels.
Pricing
It comes with a free trial. After that, the paid plan starts at $1299 per user per year.
5. Gomo Learning
Gomo is a cloud-based e-learning authoring tool that can easily construct and host online learning platforms. In addition, the Embedment of HTML5 facilitates seamless browsing of courses on any device, screen size, or orientation.
Gomo also empowers you to efficiently create, repurpose and track video contents using built-in features like screen capture, auto-captions and direct auto-translation.
Standing out features:
- PowerPoint Conversion: Provides easy options for exporting and converting the courses into PowerPoint presentations.
- Test / Quiz Creation: You can create tests and quizzes to assess a learner's growth during the course duration.
- Embedded Multimedia tools: Built-in tools for multi-media operations like importing animation, images and audio files. Moreover, advanced functions like voice-over dubbing and audio and image editing are also possible.
- Mobile-friendly courses: Courses designed on Gomo possess higher adaptability on mobile devices due to HTML 5 UI.
Pricing
They offer a free trial, but you need to contact them for the paid plan.
6. LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds is an online course platform that comes as an all-in-one solution offering the ability to build your online courses, host them and sell them simultaneously. It is unique in creating unique, interactive, and social learning experiences.
Features that stand out:
- Social & Interactive tools: It comes with a community to support social learning and an interactive video editor.
- Ecommerce: Other than the authoring environment, it offers eCommerce capabilities to sell online courses.
- Website builder: Comes with a modern website builder specialized in creating e-learning websites.
Pricing
They offer a free trial, but the paid plan will start from $24 per user per month.
Who should use these tools?
- If you are an entrepreneur, you can implement these tools to start your online teaching platform and invite other tutors and students to profit from it.
- If you are a tutor, you can score good earnings by designing your courses rather than giving up commissions to third-party platforms.
Gone are the days when only a tech-savvy person could think of launching an online business. For instance, now, one does not need to be a coder to develop an online learning platform of their own.
The turnkey solutions like e-learning authoring tools have come as swifter and more economical options, as weighed with coding one from scratch.
You can enjoy focusing on the business growth while wisely leaving the coding part to the people who are experts in it.
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