In today's ever-evolving digital learning environment, having the right tools at your disposal can make all the difference in creating engaging, effective, and impactful learning experiences.
Whether you're a seasoned learning designer or just considering a career change, these nine tools are essential for staying at the top of your game and delivering high-quality learning content.
While this isn't exhaustive, we give you the high level of what you'll need, and soon Cobble will be able to help you with most of them!
Authoring tools like Articulate Storyline, Adobe Captivate, Intellum Evolve and of course Cobble, are the backbone of e-learning content creation.
Most of these platforms allow you to design interactive courses, simulations, and assessments without needing advanced programming skills. With features like responsive design and built-in templates, you can create professional-looking content quickly and efficiently.
An LMS is crucial for delivering, tracking, and managing your e-learning content. Some authoring tools have rudimentary LMS, and dedicated platforms like Moodle and Canvas provide a centralised location for learners to access courses, track their progress, and interact with instructors and peers.
For learning designers, an LMS offers valuable insights into learner engagement and performance.
With Cobble, you can track engagement and performance within the editor.
Ensuring your online learning experiences are not limited to simple text is crucial, so a good graphics design tool can help improve the visuals you uses. Adobe Photoshop remains an industry standard, but more user-friendly options like Canva and Figma can also produce great results. These tools allow you to create custom graphics, edit images, and design infographics to enhance your learning materials. There are a whole host of licence-free images available as well, on sites like Unsplash and Pexels.
With an increasing engagement in video-based learning, proficiency in video editing is becoming increasingly important. Tools like Adobe Premiere Pro, Camtasia, or even simpler options like iMovie or even native editing with a smartphone can help you create professional-looking video content, from simple screencasts and interviews to complex animated explainers.
For creating software tutorials, demonstrations, or capturing lecture content, you'll also need good screen recording software. At Cobble we use Vidyard, with other tools like OBS Studio, Loom also making it easy to capture your screen, along with audio (and video) narration, creating clear and effective instructional videos.
In today's remote and distributed work environments, a robust collaboration platform is essential. Tools like Zulip, Slack, and Asana facilitate communication with team members, stakeholders, and subject matter experts.
They allow for easy file sharing, real-time collaboration, and project discussions, streamlining the design process.
Keeping track of multiple learning projects, deadlines, and team responsibilities requires a good project management tool. Platforms like Linear (which we use a Cobble), Trello, Monday.com, or Asana help you organise tasks, set milestones, and monitor progress, ensuring that your learning design projects stay on track and within scope.
Gathering learner feedback and assessing knowledge retention are critical aspects of the learning design process. Tools like Quizizz, Google Forms, or Qualtrics allow you to create surveys, quizzes, and assessments easily.
These insights can help you refine your learning content, as well as demonstrate its effectiveness.
To understand the impact of your learning experiences on a deeper level, you need to be able to analyse data effectively. Cobble provides this in the editor, and many LMSs offer built-in analytics as well - however, additional tools like Google Analytics, Tableau and Mixpanel can provide deeper insights.
These tools can help you track learner engagement, identify areas for improvement, and demonstrate the ROI of your learning initiatives.
While the specific tools may vary depending on your organisation's needs and budget, having capabilities in these nine areas will set you up for success as a learning designer, and help your learners achieve the goals you want them to achieve.
Tools are just that though, tools, so the best tool is the one that will use. Stay curious, keep learning, and don't be afraid to experiment with new tools as they emerge!
