Articulate Studio

Articulate Studio is an online course and presentation designer which is easy to use especially if you're accustomed to Microsoft PowerPoint already. Articulate Studio Pro loads right into PowerPoint itself so after you download and install the software the next time you open it there is an Articulate tab you'll notice across your top menu. The functionality is great you can do a lot to create amazing courses using it. I've got their best software loaded up and so I like the ability to create quizzes now as well as video in their Replay module. The features are all relatively intuitive to learn and use so you can get going right away there's no special technical knowledge required. There's a nice amount of pre-made themes and templates available so that's a huge time saver because you don't have to create these from scratch and that's no small thing because even creating one would take a significant amount of time. There's an elaborate set of resources available to help you learn to use the product which is good so you can tap into this when you need it. Considering both of their software are the same price I would definitely recommend their Storyline software. Having tried both I found it to be instantly intuitive to the point it freed my focus from the technical aspects and allowed me to be creative and in my opinion that's a major point to consider when creating quality content. The Studio version has some cool options as well and would definitely suit some folks. I appreciate that you can obtain a savings on your plan when you upgrade to include future versions and updates but it's a significant investment up front. Though I find it unfortunate that they don't have a software based in the cloud with a downloadable monthly subscription available containing all features possible to use including the best of both.

I like that you can insert web based objects and other variables but there could be a reason to add custom coding otherwise such as Javascript or others, for example. I also understand this software does not currently work on Mac computers which is unfortunate as I currently utilize both Windows and Mac operating systems. Not all of their products integration directly into PowerPoint. Their basic versions are standalone products which is fine but certainly not as appealing in terms of overall value. I find I like the Articulate Storyline software much better. I had tested it out recently as well and was curious as to the difference. I found it to be much easier to use in the sense that it facilitated of my creativity much better overall. You can't manipulate or edit everything nearly as well as it's possible to do in Storyline. I also find it a bit on the slow side when adding an engagement or moving to the next tool. Slower than PowerPoint typically operates in my experience. I found myself clicking away to do something else because I tend to think and move quicker than the three or four seconds it takes to load.

If you need to create e-learning in an efficient way then the Articulate products are great. In my opinion, the Storyline product which is a standalone downloadable product which doesn't integrate with PowerPoint is much better. The editing features are very robust compared to Studio and the editor is much easier to use. I like the free trial available for both and with it the opportunity to try them both out so I can offer the best recommendation to my teacher friend.