NEWS - 25/05/2010
Beware of Hidden Costs with In-House Rapid Authoring
Rapid authoring tools allow for creating cost effective elearning, but if you are creating elearning in-house beware hidden costs.
At a recent discussion held in London on 'Value for Money eLearning Solutions,’ organised by the eLearning Network (eLN), a non-profit organisation, one of the topics of debate was the continued use of rapid authoring tools to produce learning technology in-house.
Rapid authoring is a term used to describe the latest generation of eLearning tools and they allow producers to operate without needing teams of programmers. Typically you can use a number of customisable templates and existing content can be converted, or new content created.
The technology makes it possible to easily add quizzes, learning games and tests into a course that reinforce learning but also make online assessments and accreditation possible, too, so businesses can easily quantify the return on investment that elearning services provide, at costs that are often surprisingly low.
If you are going to use rapid authoring tools to produce your learning technology in-house there are number of points you should bear in mind:
• Beware of hidden costs. For example, Moodle - an open source Learning Management System (LMS) - costs little to install and run but it does have associated maintenance costs, so it is worth researching your options and the associated costs thoroughly. Opt for high quality rather than the cheapest option - and remember that good customer service and expert advice will be worth the investment in the long run if you want to create successful elearning.
• It's still important to use the right tool for the job in hand - regardless of the cost. Don't use too cheap a tool - and then get locked in to the tool if it doesn’t do the job that you want it to do, afterall, if it's not easy to find the resources you need once you start to use the tool or system, then that tool or system is no good for you.
Another thing worth mentioning is that bad learning design can cost you as much as - or even more than - good design. While the theory of good course design is important, it’s very often just a way for production companies to justify more work and larger fees.
At Growth Engineering we work with clients to create a suite of learning tools that meet your exact requirements. We focus on the organisation, the business need and what is the desired learning outcome.
Creating and delivering eLearning services such as channel LMS academy training is an extremely effective way of providing powerful training in the most cost efficient way. Find Out more about elearning services with Growth Engineering. Telephone: 01753 840 331, Email: info@growthengineering.co.uk