Useful tools for creating e-learning programs

This article was written within the framework of the project Quality in Education in the Vocational Training Sector
funded by the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014-2021 No. EOG/19/K3/W/0010.

To conduct training or lessons in the online formula, you need a special application that will allow you to manage a virtual "lecture room", or LMS (Learning Management System). And what about the software for creating e-learning courses? To this end, it is crucial to use tools that comply with the SCORM and / or xAPI standards. They make it possible to give educational content the form of a structured course and export to various multimedia formats, including the aforementioned SCORM or xAPI format. A file prepared in this way, usually compressed with ZIP, can be easily placed on a compatible LMS platform.

Programs that allow you to create lessons in the elearning formula are enormous. If you don't know exactly what you need, choosing the right one for your needs can be very, very difficult. Calmly! Before you make the final decision and choose a specific solution, read and answer the following set of questions that will certainly direct you to your right path, in the thicket of the described software:

• what is the level of your technical knowledge - if you do not feel comfortable operating advanced applications, it will be better to focus on something simpler, which will allow you to achieve your goals,
• what e-trainings do you want to prepare - are you interested in simple courses in "presentation" mode or an advanced, interactive course in xAPI or SCORM standard,
• on what scale do you want to publish your trainings - will they be intended for a small group of employees or do you want to use them as a product offered to various companies,
• what will the substantive work on the course look like - will you take care of it yourself or with a wide team?
• what budget do you have what are your technical capabilities.

As we know, the e-learning training software market is growing rapidly. We have described some interesting platforms, we hope that we will help you in your considerations!

• Moodle is an online learning platform. In more official language, it is a Content Management System (CMS) specialized in e-learning. In practice, Moodle resembles blog platforms, but has specialized tools that allow better control and making learning more attractive. Almost eight million online courses have been created worldwide using this platform. Moodle is used by universities, schools and private educators.
• Udacity was born of an experiment at Stanford University, in which Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig offered everyone an online 'Introduction to Artificial Intelligence' course for free. Over 160,000 students enrolled in over 190 countries, and not much later Udacity was born. It is a standardized platform thanks to which, for a fee, you can "display" your training, just like displaying a product, e.g. on Allegro.
• WP IDEA is a system for creating and selling courses on a website or blog. The tool is bought once and for life. Orders, invoices, shipping, transfers - everything is automatic! You don't have to waste time creating your own course platform or buying it from external developers. WP Idea is a ready-made box solution for people who want to earn money online.
• WebToLearn is a tool that allows you to add materials in video (mp4 / mov / wmv / avi / flv), audio (mp3) and pdf formats. Training can be combined into full products or shared as separate lessons, sections and categories. The manufacturer focuses primarily on functionality and readability, which will significantly translate into increased sales and customer confidence.
• LearnDash is the device most often chosen by schools and universities. It allows you to easily create and sell courses, provide quizzes, grant certificates, manage users or download reports. With LearnDash, you have more control over students and courses than almost any other learning management system on the market. Grouping users, changing progress, deleting data, reprinting achievements, revoking access - these are only part of the platform's capabilities.

As you can see, there are a lot of programs that allow you to create e-learning courses. I've put only a few of them on the list. Let us remember, however, that regardless of our choice, the quality of the program depends mainly on our substantive preparation, knowledge and time that we will devote to "refining" our trainings.