Top 9 Free eLearning Authoring Tools

Summary

This video offers a comprehensive review of nine free eLearning authoring tools, each with unique strengths and limitations. It covers user-friendly options like iSpring Free, which excels in creating interactive courses from PowerPoint, and Udutu, known for its WYSIWYG apps. The video also explores open-source tools like Adapt and H5P, catering to tech-savvy users. Each tool is evaluated on its ease of use, compatibility, and interactive features, providing viewers with insights to choose the best fit for their eLearning course creation needs.

Takeaways

• 📚 iSpring Free is a user-friendly tool for creating slide-based courses with quizzes, integrating seamlessly with PowerPoint.
• 🚀 Udutu offers a variety of WYSIWYG apps for creating different kinds of eLearning activities but requires a subscription for advanced features.
• 🌐 isEazy is a cloud-based tool with a free plan that allows creating slide-based courses with interactive elements but has limitations on projects and storage.
• 🛠️ Adapt is an open-source tool for rapid course creation with limited animation and no branching scenarios, suitable for linear navigation courses.
• 🎨 CourseLab provides an extensive feature set for tech-savvy users but has an outdated interface and limited mobile device compatibility.
• 📖 GLOMaker is an open-source tool with customizable templates and a variety of learning options, though it may be unintuitive for novices.
• 📱 H5P is a mobile-friendly, open-source tool for creating HTML5 eLearning content, but it has limited customization features.
• 🎥 Moovly is a cloud-based video editor ideal for creating training videos with a vast media library, yet it restricts certain features to paid accounts.
• 🔗 AdaptiveU is a cloud-based tool with LMS functionality, allowing course creation and learner tracking, but it limits course sharing and customization in the free plan.
• 💡 The choice of free eLearning authoring tool depends on specific needs, such as course complexity, desired interactivity, and target audience.

Q & A

What is an eLearning authoring tool?

An eLearning authoring tool is software that enables you to create digital educational content to share with learners through a learning management system or on the Web, including e-courses, video lectures, quizzes, simulations, and more.

What are the key features of iSpring Free?

iSpring Free is a user-friendly tool for creating slide-based courses with quizzes. It allows converting PowerPoint presentations into interactive online courses, maintaining all PPT animations, triggers, and transitions. It also supports three types of quiz questions and is SCORM compliant.

What is the main disadvantage of iSpring Free?

The main disadvantage of iSpring Free is that it requires PowerPoint to be installed and only allows up to three quiz question types and 15 slides in a course.

How does Udutu differ from iSpring Free?

Udutu is a web-based tool that offers a variety of WYSIWYG apps for creating different kinds of activities, including assessments and interactive modules. It requires a subscription to convert PowerPoint slides to online courses without watermarks.

What are the advantages of using Udutu?

Udutu offers pre-designed templates, a variety of assessment questions, and the ability to create interactive learning objects and branching scenarios. It is SCORM compliant and does not require coding skills.

What limitations does the free version of isEazy have?

The free version of isEazy is limited to 3 eLearning projects and has a 0.3 GB space limit for courses. Additionally, courses will be published with a logo and watermark.

What type of content can be created with Adapt?

Adapt is an open-source tool suited for creating linear navigation courses with limited animation scope. It allows for the installation of additional plug-ins to enhance the learner experience.

What are the key features of CourseLab?

CourseLab is a free authoring software that provides an extensive feature set, including images, videos, complex multi-object interactions, and quizzes. It has a tree-like course structure and a built-in screen capture feature.

What are the disadvantages of using GLOMaker?

GLOMaker has an outdated design, limited interactivity, only two quiz question types, and requires Adobe Air to work. It can be unintuitive and complicated for novice course builders.

How does H5P differ from other tools mentioned in the script?

H5P is an open-source cloud-based tool focused on creating HTML5 eLearning content and publishing it on platforms like WordPress, Moodle, or Drupal. It offers interactive videos, presentations, branching scenarios, quizzes, and flashcards.

What are the limitations of Moovly's free plan?

Moovly's free plan allows creating video content but is limited to publishing with watermarks, a maximum video length of two minutes, and no screen or webcam recording capabilities.

What additional functionality does AdaptiveU offer besides course creation?

AdaptiveU includes an LMS functionality, allowing you to invite learners and track their training statistics. It enables the creation of responsive webpage-style courses and offers quick knowledge checks.