The eLearning Guild Getting Started series of reports will help you understand the concepts common to e-Learning design, development, and delivery. We base each report on eLearning Guild member data, and the experience and insights of many people and organizations including this report’s author. Guild members with more experience have learned important lessons along the way that will be helpful to you as you get started. Each report will help you make sense of the options, and evaluate both your and your organization’s needs.

People who need to get e-Learning off the ground in their organizations are often overwhelmed. There are so many terms and concepts to understand, and so many options to consider — and it’s hard to consider the options when you are overwhelmed with new concepts and choices! However, one of the best things happening in the e-Learning field today is the availability of stable, easier- to-use, and more fully-featured tools. Many of the tools currently used for developing e-Learning content are less constraining and easier to use, and allow instructional designers, trainers, and SMEs to build attractive content quickly, with or without developer help. Higher-bandwidth media, such as audio and video, are also easier to develop and deploy.

Organizations and individuals who create e-Learning commonly use tools to develop learning content, including media, and various technologies to deliver that content to the learner. What tools, media, and technologies should your organization use? That seems like a simple question, but there are a lot of considerations involved in these decisions. This report will provide you with high-level information about what others are using, and some general guidance on selecting tools, media, and technologies.

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