Introduction
UCSF health professions educators can access various e-learning tools to create online learning materials. The instructional design team has reviewed four prominent e-learning authoring tools—H5P, Articulate Rise, Storyline 360, and Adobe Captivate—examining their features, user-friendliness, integration capabilities, and pricing within health sciences education. The article provides a detailed analysis of each tool's strengths and weaknesses, applications in healthcare education, assessment types, feedback mechanisms, multimedia capabilities, analytics, pricing for educational institutions, and accessibility features.
E-learning Authoring Tools Defined
An authoring tool is software that helps educators create digital courses without coding. These tools can be either 'stand-alone,' needing content to be exported to a Learning Management System (LMS) like CLE/Moodle, or 'built-in,' which works directly within the LMS. This resource has been created to assist the educational community in selecting the most appropriate tools to enhance their projects and achieve their instructional goals effectively.
Tool Recommendations for Enhancing Educational Courses
H5P is an open-source content collaboration framework for creating, sharing, and reusing interactive HTML5 content in a web browser.
- Integration and Support: Directly integrates with CLE/Moodle, is highly user-friendly, and has solid community support.
- Community Support Webpage: H5P Community
- Web-Based: Fully accessible through a browser.
- Mobile Capabilities: Responsive design adapts well to mobile devices.
- Analytics: Basic analytics function enhanced through integration with Moodle.
- Pricing: Free for educational use.
Recommendation: H5P is highly recommended for all UCSF faculty and staff, as it offers a unified tool for creating engaging learning materials accessible to everyone. It is ideal for those who want to make basic interactive content without a significant investment and supports collaborative and interactive learning activities. Additionally, H5P allows for easy sharing and repurposing of content across different courses or platforms. When integrated within the CLE, instructors can directly create and manage interactive content, benefiting from its robust features. This seamless integration ensures a consistent and familiar user experience for students, making H5P an ideal solution for educators who want to enrich their courses with interactive content.
These examples demonstrate how H5P can be utilized to create interactive, engaging, and educational content for various healthcare scenarios.
Articulate Rise is an easy-to-use, web-based tool for creating responsive e-learning courses. It offers a variety of templates and interactive elements that make it simple to build professional-looking courses quickly. Rise is especially useful for creating content that looks great on any device, whether it's a desktop, tablet, or smartphone.
- Integration and Support: Easily integrates with LMSs, including CLE/Moodle, through a SCORM package, which stands for Sharable Content Object Reference Model. It is known for its user-friendly interface and extensive online support.
- Community Support Webpage: Articulate Rise Community
- Web-Based: Fully web-based courses are accessible via a link embedded in an LMS.
- Mobile Capabilities: Excellently suited for mobile use due to responsive design.
- Analytics: Tracks learner engagement and completion and integrates with LMS for comprehensive reporting.
- Pricing: Subscription-based with educational discounts. It is more affordable and suitable for faculty managing their budgets.
Recommendation: This is our second top recommendation due to its simplicity and quick content creation capabilities, making it ideal for faculty who value ease of use.
These examples showcase how Articulate Rise can be used effectively in health care to create mobile-responsive, structured, and interactive courses without requiring extensive technical skills:
Storyline 360 is a powerful e-learning authoring tool for creating interactive courses and content. It offers a user-friendly interface and a variety of customizable features, making it ideal for instructional designers and educators. While Storyline 360 works seamlessly on Windows, Mac users must download additional virtualization software, such as Parallels or VMware Fusion, which can be stressful.
- Integration and Support: Compliant with SCORM for integration into LMS, including CLE/Moodle.
- Community Support Webpage: Storyline 360 Community
- Web-Based: Installation is required, but web-compatible courses are produced.
- Mobile Capabilities: Good support for mobile devices.
- Analytics: Offers strong analytics capabilities and integrates well with LMSs.
- Pricing: Part of the Articulate 360 suite, available on a subscription basis with educational pricing.
Recommendation: It is ideal for developing intricate, interactive content and is more suitable for individuals comfortable with challenging learning.
These examples demonstrate how Articulate Storyline can be utilized to create interactive, engaging, and educational content for various healthcare scenarios.
Adobe Captivate is a comprehensive e-learning authoring tool allowing you to create responsive and interactive content easily. It supports various multimedia formats and offers advanced features for creating simulations, quizzes, and more.
- Integration and Support: Integrates with the CLE/Moodle via SCORM. Extensive support is available, though beginners may require initial help.
- Community Support Webpage: Adobe Captivate Community
- Web-Based: Requires installation.
- Mobile Capabilities: Features responsive design suitable for mobile devices.
- Analytics: Provides comprehensive analytics; can integrate with systems like Amazon Web Services (AWS) for deeper insights.
- Pricing: Subscription-based, with educational discounts available. Faculty purchase individual licenses.
Recommendation: It is best suited for creating detailed simulations and advanced interactive content and has a steeper learning curve.
These examples illustrate Adobe Captivate’s ability to create interactive, engaging e-learning content across different sectors.
E-Learning Authoring Tools Comparison Grid
This grid compares four e-learning authoring tools: H5P, Articulate Rise, Storyline 360, and Adobe Captivate. It is based on six criteria: integration and support, Web-Based capabilities, Mobile Capabilities, Analytics, Subscription, and Ease of Use.
| E-Learning Authoring Tool | Integration & Support | Web-Based | Mobile Capabilities | Analytics | Subscription Based | Ease of Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H5P | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | |||
| Articulate Rise | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Storyline 360 | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||
| Adobe Captivate | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Based on the criteria provided in the comparison chart, here's a summary:
-
H5P
- Pros: Free, web-based, suitable for essential interactive content.
- Cons: Limited analytics and integration support.
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Articulate Rise
- Pros: User-friendly, web-based, solid mobile capabilities, comprehensive analytics, subscription-based for continuous updates and support.
- Cons: Subscription costs, less suitable for very complex interactive content.
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Storyline 360
- Pros: Excellent for complex and interactive content, robust analytics, part of the Articulate 360 suite.
- Cons: Not web-based, steep learning curve, subscription costs.
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Adobe Captivate
- Pros: Suitable for creating detailed simulations, robust analytics, subscription-based for continuous updates and support.
- Cons: Not web-based, steep learning curve, subscription costs.
Conclusion
UCSF educators have user-friendly options for developing online courses. H5P is a free and accessible choice for essential interactive content, while Articulate Rise is preferred for its straightforward and quick course development capabilities. For more complex needs involving in-depth interactive simulations, Adobe Captivate and Storyline 360 are the recommended options. Faculty are encouraged to consult with the UCSF Library Instructional Design Team to ensure they choose the tool that best aligns with their educational goals and comfort with technology.
Pricing structures are subscription-based and vary; faculty typically purchase individual licenses, potentially eligible for educational discounts.