All about E-Learning Tools

• Authoring Tools
• E-Learning context - Rwanda and the World

Authoring Tools

Introduction

New technologies are changing the way we produce and deliver digital learning – with elearning authoring tools becoming an increasingly popular choice.  Understand a bit more about the 12 favorite authoring tools on the market in 2020. Plus, find out: What is an authoring tool? What can you achieve with one? Then assess your options!

What is an authoring tool? An authoring tool is a piece of software that enables the creation of digital content. This could be as simple as creating a Microsoft Word document, or as complex as a graphic design tool. A piece of authoring software allows the user to generate and manipulate multimedia objects for the content’s intended purpose.

Authoring tools also come with their own range of supported elearning formats, including SCORM (1.2, 2004), xAPI/TinCan, HTML5, AICC, cmi5 and LTI. See our detailed article on SCORM vs. xAPI for more info.

Electronic learning, or commonly known as e-learning, is among the earliest applications of web-based technology (Azhari, 2015). E-learning is defined as the delivery of learning using purely internet and digital technology (Al-Busaidi, 2013.

The best authoring tool for you will depend on a range of factors, including:

• Your technical expertise
• Whether you want simple or more sophisticated learning experiences
• How much content you need to produce and manage
• Your translation requirements
• If you are a sole author or work with a wider team
• Your budget

Favourite authoring tools

1. CANVAS
2. MOODLE
3. Elucidat – Helps big employers drive down the cost business-critical training
4. Adobe Captivate – Gives experienced authors the power to create high-quality content
5. Articulate Storyline – Ideal for individual users who prefer PowerPoint, with an added layer of customization
6. Articulate Rise – Users with access to Articulate 360 can produce simple elearning courses fairly quickly
7. Gomo – Best for experienced learning designers that are not looking for advanced customization
8. Lectora – Gives traditional, capable authors an effective tool for producing HTML5 content
9. Adapt – Designed for technical authors who are looking to design bespoke HTML5 authoring through back-end design
10. DominKnow – Perfect for teams whose focus in on responsive screen capture and software simulation
11. Easygenerator – Authoring software designed for small teams who need to produce simple content, fast
12. iSpring Suite – Desktop PowerPoint- based tool that’s a great option for novice learning designers who don’t have to worry about updating content regularly
13. Evolve – Built for teams who need to collaborate together and don’t mind putting in the time to learn how to use it
14. Brainshark – Easy to use authoring tool targeted at sales teams. Ideal for those looking to create coaching

E-Learning context - Rwanda and the World

Rwanda Context

Here in Rwanda there are different tools and methods used by regarding to the University and their ICT infrastructure.

Tools and method used in elearning among RWANDA Universities.

Public university

1. University of Rwanda (UR) College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (CAVM) - MOODLE

2. College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) - MOODLE

3. College of Business and Economics (CBE) - MOODLE

4. College of Education (CE) - MOODLE

5. College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS) - MOODLE

6. College of Science and Technology (CST) - MOODLE

Public integrated polytechnics and colleges

1. Gishari Integrated Polytechnic (GIP) - MOODLE & YOUTUBE

Comparison to the current top 10 World universities

Top 10 universities in the World

10. University of Chicago
    E learning tools used are:    
    edX,ZOOM,
    COURSERA,
    CANVAS,
    PANOPTO (RECORDIN LECTURES).

9. Imperial College London
   E learning tools used are:
   Ponopto(lecture recording),
   Blackboard learning app (virtual learning)
   Turnitin (plagiarism detection)
   WebPA(peer assessment)
   Mobius
   Piazza
   Virtual learning

8. UCL (University College London)
   E learning tools used are:
   Moodle
   Turnitin

7. University of Cambridge
   E learning tools used are:
   Canvas
   Moodle
   Skype classroom
   Flip
   Padlet
   Kialo
   Adobe Express
   Canva
   Pixton
   Visme

6. ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)
   E learning tools used are:
   Ilias
   Moodle
   Elba tools

5. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
   E learning tools used are:
   Coursera and edx
   Moodle
   Zoom
   Gradescope
   Google hangouts
   Labarchives

4. University of Oxford
   E learning tools used are:
   Weblearn
   CANVAS

3. Harvard University
   E learning tools used is:
   CANVAS

2. Stanford University
   E learning tools used are:
   CANVAS
   COURSEWORK

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
   E learning tools used are:
   CANVAS
   STELLAR

Assessing Elearning Method/Models used In Africa Especially In Rwanda And Related Challenge

Assessment for e-learning requires effort on the part of the educational com- munity to propose methods, strategies, and procedures in order to achieve effective and efficient processes (Bulut 2019).

Most African countries have inefficient ICT-related infrastructure such as electricity, telecommunications, computers and trained personnel. A survey carried out by the AVU revealed that internet connectivity in tertiary institutions in Africa is inadequate, expensive and poorly managed (Twinomugisha, Magochi & Aluoch, 2004). Therefore, the three pillars of the ICT revolution, that is, connectivity, capacity and content, are yet to be realised in Africa.

The problem in Africa is generally not just the near absence of e-learning programmes but also the inability of students to gain access even to the few that do exist.

The average African university has bandwidth capacity equivalent to a broadband residential connection available in Europe, pays 50 times more for their bandwidth than their educational counterparts in the rest of the world, and fails to monitor, let alone manage, the existing band- width... . As a result, what little bandwidth that is available becomes even less useful for research and education purposes (Steiner, Tirivayi, Jensen & Gakio, 2005).

There are many reasons for encouraging e-learning in Africa. According to a study by Prakash (2003), access to education in the developing countries is limited with less than 5% of students in tertiary education compared to the world average of 16%. The demand for education in Africa exceeds the ability to deliver and is not offered to significant portions of the population. This inadequacy of access to higher education in Africa is evident from the number of students who seek universities. For instance, in 2003, Kenya was reported to have sent 12 000 students to foreign universities of which 7,000 went to India and 5,000 went to Europe and the United States (Mutula, 2003). However, African students are beginning to expect education to emphasise the process of learning rather than the content as the ‘shelf-life’ of information is limited because of rapid innovations (Carroll, 2006). Increasingly, students expect technology to have a significant role in their learning as the demand for courses offered by the African Virtual University (AVU) increases (Juma, 2003a).

In Rwanda the method/model used in E-Learning for most of all universities is BLENDED LEARNING.