I am completely new to E learning and i need to create a course

Hi Evan,

This sounds like a big task. Do you have some time to invest in learning how to use software and maybe some best practice for Instructional Design?

I use Storyline 2 regularly and you can achieve some really amazing results. One of the advantages is that if you know how to use Powerpoint, you can use Storyline. Of course, Storyline is more powerful, with more features and options, but this usually gives people a good foundation knowledge to build from.

Whichever software you go with, I'd spend some time watching/reading tutorials to get your head around the ins and outs of the program. There are some great resources here that take you from the basics through to the more advanced. Lynda.com also has a great training series if you have access to their tutorials.

The other thing you'll need for keeping track of everyone's progress is an LMS (Learning Management System). There are a lot of options here, but this will be where everything goes. So your workflow might look something like: Write training course > Create training in Storyline > Publish to LMS > Distribute to learners.

Hope this starts you off in the right direction. Feel free to ask more questions if need be :)

I agree with Jason. This is a very tall order. Storyline is great and if you are good at PowerPoint, you can probably train yourself. It's not cheap, but you get what you pay for so overall, it is a good investment. If you don't have an LMS, there are cloud offerings like TalentLMS, which is easy to use and relatively cheap. I don't work for either Articulate or TalentLMS. Ideally, you should hire a consultant who can walk you through all this and train you as much as you want to be trained. I think you made a good start by connecting to this community. Best of luck!

Thanks so much for the reply. Both were greatly appreciated. I do have experience in using PowerPoint and am fairly familiar with it. I will look into TalentLMS and continue to look into all of my options available. thanks again!

Hi Evan,

I'd say that the most important thing to begin with is that you are capable of authoring content to the required standard and that you have an understanding of instructional design principles, is this the case?

It also helps when writing your content that you have an understanding of the capabilities of whichever software programme you decide to use. This will help you get the most out of your content and give you the best chance of creating engaging e-learning.

Re: the similarities between Powerpoint and Storyline, yes there are some as Jason suggests, mainly the interface and its DTP capabilities but realistically that's where it ends IMO. If you've used Powerpoint then Storyline will feel familiar but there is so much more to learn if you want to acheive the best results.

If I were you and your budget allows then I'd consider hiring an expert to help you get off the ground, with the view to becoming self-sufficient within X amount of time. You could specify that your vendor provides templates and training to facilitate this. I'm fond of the following saying: "If you think hiring an expert is expensive try hiring an amateur".

I also agree with Susanne and think that if you are new to LMS you might find it beneficial to buy in some help from an expert, preferably an independent one. Another option for a cloud solution is SCORM Cloud.

That's such a great quote!

I use TalentLMS and love it. I had over 1200 users train over the course of 3 months, and it did all I wanted and more. For the price, it is an excellent solution and easy to use as well.

Hi Evan.

My company has helped many like you build eLearning courses while saving them in some cases 65%. Let me know if you need some help. Be glad to talk to you.

Gene DeMarco
Sales executive

Phone: (781) 273-5050 x1228
Fax: (978) 362-2481
E-mail: gdemarco@mrccsolutions.com
Website: www.mrccsolutions.com

Dear Evan,

I would like to share my greatest experiences withan  e-learning platform I use in my company. The biggest reason why I decided to started using LMS training-online.eu was that I didn´t have to pay any initial investments, and nobody else does. Moreover there is no need of paying any monthly fees - you pay only for assingment to the course, so it´s very effective from economic view, isnt it? I would described this LMS as a lot of quality for minimum money