Technology ← All terms

Authoring tool

The software e-learning modules get built in

01 Definition

An authoring tool is the instrument learning content is built in and exported from into a format an LMS understands, usually SCORM or xAPI. The market runs from simple, template-driven web tools to programmable packages capable of complex interaction.

02 Why it matters

The choice mostly determines what it costs to update material. A tool you build in quickly but do not control yourself produces a module you have to outsource again at every change of procedure.

03 In practice

The question most often skipped is who will be working in the file two years from now. If the answer is your own team, usability weighs more heavily than capability. When outsourcing, always ask for the source files and for a licence that lets you open them; without those, every change of wording depends on the builder.

04 Related solutions
Train-the-Trainer → Rapid Training Development → Blended Learning →
05 Frequently asked questions
Which authoring tool is best?
That question cannot be answered apart from who is going to work in it. For a team maintaining its own material, simplicity counts most; for complex simulations, extensibility counts most. Both choices are defensible, but not at the same time.
Do we need our own licence?
If you want to be able to update the material yourself, yes. Without a licence and without source files, every change is a job for a third party, and that is precisely why material ages in practice.
What does AI change here?
Mostly the speed of the first version and the consistency of language variants. The didactic choices and the technical review stay human work, and that is also the part that decides whether the module works.
06 Related terms

SCORM →

E-learning standard for LMS integration and progress tracking

LMS →

The platform in which training is assigned, followed and recorded

Instructional design →

The methodical design of effective training programmes

Want to apply Authoring tool in your own training programme?

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M

Milan

Business development, STARK Learning