Hi Everyone, I'm new to this group and to the corporate training world as a whole. I am looking for a good rapid development tool to get me started but am a bit lost with all of the different options available. I have considered Articulate Storyline, Adobe Captivate, BrickLayer, iSpring, and Zenler but don't really know much about any of them. Does anyone have any recommendations?
I am a training department of ONE, so I need something that is fast and easy since I will be creating all of the content myself.
Replies
I wouldn't recommend Adobe Captivate to a novice.
Don't get me wrong, it is a very useful piece of software with some powerful tools included but IMO the learning curve is pretty steep.
I'd be inclined to recommend Articulate Storyline personally as the UI is very close to Powerpoint and will probably feel more familiar to a novice. There is also an active community of users online who are happy to help out with advice when you need it.
From experience the results you'll achieve will also depend heavily on your own skill set, what is your background prior to corporate training? If you're a designer you'll likely get better results than if you aren't simply because you'll have an appreciation of how to structure content to be more visually appealing. Without good design even the most informative content can fail to make the desired impact.
I've seen too many people pick up a rapid build tool and expect to be able to produce high-end professional-looking courses with ease, the reality is though that they aren't equipped with the design skills to make something look fantastic nor do they possess the programming mentality to solve any problems that will inevitably crop up when developing and deploying training material. However, it really does depend on the standard required as to whether this will be an issue.
Hi Rachelle, I think you've already found one of the best tools, joining this community! Everyone is so helpful.
Julian is absolutely right think of what you need to do first and then look for a tool to help. just a couple from me for now.
1. Xmind (xmind.net) I was never big on mind maps but plenty of people I work with love them. Xmind is great because I can mind map using Xmind with those that work that way, then export as a document/list which is good for me
2. Branchtrack (branchtrack.com) I only found this about two weeks ago but I've been looking for a simple branching scenario tool that I can build in quickly and still get something that looks polished out, it's not perfect but it's very good
Good luck and keep asking, we all learn from each other
It depends what you want to do. Think of the tool second. What behaviours are you needing to affect? You may not need a shiny tool.
There are many tools - see the discussions around here.
I use Camtasia Studio for systems videos or for recording webinars. You can also add simple quizzes.
I use socialcast or yammer (business facebook) for workplace support tools.
Then there is word, PowerPoint...
I'm big into mindmaps - great for decision maps and brainstorming.
Looking at Articulate. Have used free udutu for similar online content.
Webex/Adobe connect useful screenshare/online classrooms.
Jane Hart (C4LPT) has good resources e.g top 100 tools etc http://c4lpt.co.uk/directory-of-learning-performance-tools/
http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/
Cheers
Julian.