Picking the best instructional design tools is a conscious and deliberate choice as it does not occur by happenstance, sheer luck, or divine providence. One has to take into consideration necessary factors that would be instrumental in creating engaging instructional content and materials. There is a vast array of tools to choose from. Hence, the selection process is not entirely cast in stone or black and white. You would have to consider several things ranging from the tools you are most comfortable with, the tool that is compliant with the model you want to deploy, or whether the tool itself meets industry standards and specifications. It is better to be safe than to be sorry. iSpring Suite will negate any iota of regret with its amazing features and perks channelled towards the creation of interactive and appealing learning content.
This article in a bid to reduce the jitters that usually come with picking from a broad range of software offerings, particularly for novice instructional designers has compiled a list of useful tips that you should use when you are about to settle for a particular tool. Choosing the best instructional design tools would make you proud when you assess and evaluate your work during the appraisal phase of your instructional design journey. As we all know, life essentially revolves around choices as the earth revolves around the sun.
Here are some features to look out for in an instructional design tool:
Type of content to use
This is one factor you must not compromise or sideline. You should ask yourself existential questions like what content do I want to churn out or deliver? What would my design be predicated on? What tools are suitable for my type of content or instructional designs?
Sorry to burst your bubbles, but if you miss it from this point it becomes very difficult to retrace your steps. You should ascertain the type of content you want to deliver for educational purposes. With this in mind, you can find a tool that would fit into your perfect idea of an authoring tool. Ask yourself the question: what kind of training content would be useful and interactive at the same time? What forms of quizzes should I add? Videos? Software simulations or even all of them?
Interactivity
When picking a tool, you should ensure that it supports real-time communication (human-machine interaction) while also maintaining an appealing interface. What makes an instructional designer a great one, is the ability of the created design to engage the mind of the learners and trainees alike. Using a variety of color patterns and fanciful themes don’t make an institutional design tool great. What makes an instructional material stand out is the sense of connection it should exude when learners stumble across it.
Assessment
Gold must pass through fire before it can be refined. Hence, you should look out for a tool that has a flexible test structure. The word “flexible” is important, as a rigid tool would strip away the fun that should come with interactive learning. Regular assessment either in the form of multiple-choice questions, fill in the gaps, or even drag and drop should be a perk you should seek in an excellent tool. After all, evaluating the knowledge grasped by your learners during the duration of the lesson is not a bad idea.
As a matter of sensitivity, it is also an added advantage where your tool supports a feedback system where learners can drop their complaints, questions, and observations. This in turn would propel you to make necessary adjustments in the creation of your course contents.
Mobile Friendliness
User experience is a pretty big thing in technology as the years advance. Make sure you pick a tool that enables you to create instructional designs and resources which are compatible with any device or system. Some instructional designs have to be upgraded or tweaked to the user’s system type and this is entirely stressful and nerve-wracking. One good sign of an excellent tool like iSpring Suite is its adaptive ability.
User-friendliness
Learning shouldn’t be rocket science. You must ensure that your tool is user-friendly. It should take into consideration necessary factors that would give users an experience of a lifetime. It shouldn’t be hard to navigate or operate and should have a soothing and appealing user interface. Any tool that is hard to operate for your learners may not be the best choice for you because your users may not be tech-savvy.
SCORM Compliance
The tech industry is big on standards and specifications. One of such standards in the niche of E-learning is the SCORM standard which is a measuring board for any Learning management system. SCORM is an abbreviation for Shareable Content Object Reference Model. SCORM simply governs the interaction between the content created by your tool and the Learning management system. We are very sure you do not want to sabotage your user’s interaction with the system as a result of your tacky choice of a tool.
Pricing/Financial Implication
Different kinds of instructional design tools have different price ranges to be accessible to potential customers. You should consider purchasing an instructional design tool that is budget-friendly, cost-effective, and at the same time efficient. It helps if you do a market survey to weigh their prices on an imaginary scale against the worth which the tool offers as some tools may be like the proverbial white elephant; unnecessarily pricey and useless. And that doesn’t sound like a smart choice.
Technical Support
One good criterion to determine the reliability of a tool is its technical support system. Does the company offer adequate support, understanding, and empathy in times of confusion or technical faults? What is their channel of communication? The company’s official blog? A hotline or customer help desk, timely messages, or emails?
You should note that these features must be complete as a defect in one or more signals doom and design paralysis. Once you find out that a tool cannot be tweaked to your current instructional design need or lacuna, you should go for another tool.
