BREAKING BOUNDARIES: NEXT-GEN TOOLS FOR E-LEARNING COURSE DEVELOPMENT

Upon entering the digital era, education had a more effective and powerful approach, which is e-learning as students have easier access to new skills and knowledge at their own pace. The entry of e-learning led to increased demand for flexible online education to produce more interactive and engaging learning experiences.

Creating impactful interactive learning of the highest quality requires a combination of various instructional materials, technological know-how, and the use of multimedia; which is the combination of the video, audio and authoring tools.  To stay in the competitive world and boost any professional growth, it is important to know how to amplify the use and effect of important mediums: text, audio, and video. Three important things to look out for in developing educational content according to researchers at Vanderbilt University include taking a close look at:

• how much mental effort is required
• how involved students are and
• how much the students are actively learning.

The various mediums of learning are highlighted with their pros and cons.

1. Written Materials: Teaching with plain text is the easiest and most familiar method of introducing new topics. It is easy to make copies and include pictures therein as printing text is inexpensive. However, their pros include: students reading and understanding at different speeds, numbness of cognitive abilities as texts get longer and short attention span which affects understanding of the materials.
2. Spoken content: This is another traditional approach in educational settings as information is passed verbally which could require formal training. This also includes audio recordings or podcasts and requires speech training and special equipment. Also, it is a one-channel medium of communication that can lead to poor and tiresome learning experiences for students.
3. Interactive Presentations: One of the evolution of plain texts in educational settings is slides which are simple to create but do not offer much enhancement over texts. More interactive and efficient slide-making software has been created to achieve this including Articulate Storyline, Elucidat, and Adobe Captivate.
4. Video: This is the greatest advancement and tool in the educational field as it harnesses the visual and auditory senses; enabling explanation of complex topics and processes without overwhelming the students. However, making and editing animated and live videos can be time-consuming and expensive. There are alternatives to generating improved videos with AI tools like Synthesia, Rephrase.AI, and Colossyan.

Audio tools for learning

There are various audio tools for learning based on the goals of the user.

1. Audacity: This is a free and simple tool to record audio. It removes background noise, balances frequencies, makes cuts and fades, adds effects and more.
2. Soundation: It allows for collaboration on a piece at the same time and works directly with a web browser, hence, no need to download the application. This is a perfect option for pitch corrections and quick edits.
3. Adobe Audition: This is the most powerful and professional software. Although it is expensive, it gives excellent performance, is user-friendly, and gives extensive features.

Video tools for learning

Video tools are essential tools to create an impactful e-learning experience and they are of three types.

1. Basic: these are simple tools with limited functionalities and can perform basic tasks such as overlaying, cutting, creating transitions, syncing audio and more. Some examples are Windows Movie Maker, Filmora and Lightworks.
2. Professional: these are high-class tools that perform a variety of tasks and everything one can think of. These tools include Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and Autodesk Smoke.
3. Template-based: these are simple solutions for developing powerful educational videos by customizing the templates to suit one’s requirements. The platforms include Powtoon, Vyond, and Visme.

Advanced e-learning tools

These are different sets of tools with high functionality and a range of experiences. Some of the examples include

1. Ispring and Articulate Storyline: these tools enable the creation of online courses that closely bear a semblance to live sessions as they blur the lines between asynchronous and synchronous multimedia. It is easy to record and harmonize audio, develop presentations and more.
2. Amberscript, Otter.ai and Veed.io: they enhance videos by adding interactive elements like subtitles, polls, subheadings and others.
3. Synthesia, Elai, and Collosyan Creator: these are AI platforms to create AI avatars to depict and explain various concepts. They save time and budget significantly as they translate texts to multiple languages and add subtitles.

Source: UK Education Blog