The time required to author your eLearning courses can vary greatly, depending upon several factors such as: courseware authoring
- Rapid eLearning vs. high quality custom content
- Impressive graphic artwork vs. basic bullet points and pictures
- Custom Interactivity vs. simple quizzes and standard template-based interactivity
Rapid eLearning vs. Custom Courseware Authoring
Rapid eLearning (e.g. simply converting PowerPoint files into SCORM packages using a tool like Articulate, Camtasia, Captivate, or some similar tool) can be completed comparatively faster than creating highly custom courses natively in HTML5, Flash (for those still using this for eLearning) or other more manual processes.
High-impact vs. Simple GraphicsCourseware Authoring
Inserting static photos and clip art into your instruction is comparatively faster than creating custom 2 and 3D illustrations and animations or otherwise having a professional graphic artist ensure your courses look fantastic.
Custom Interactivity vs. TemplatesCourseware Authoring
Creating simple activities (drag/drop, multiple choice, etc.) is comparatively faster than creating for example, custom branching eLearning scenarios. Also, using pre-built templates (like those offered by eLearning.net) can save you time and money. Be sure to invest the time necessary to customize templates because high-quality, custom eLearning NEVER looks like it came from a stock template. courseware authoring
High-level Production Tasks (Media Production Only)
Let’s look at a high-level listing of eLearning production tasks based on the following scenario:
You have converted your existing employee on-boarding course into final approved storyboards that are ready for production. The storyboard includes narration to be recorded by a professional voice talent and the course will run about 30 minutes total. You wish to have key bullet points and images synchronized to fade in and out in synchronization with the audio and you wish to have the course created in any standard eLearning development tool like Storyline or Captivate. You also wish to have some form of basic interactivity every 5 minutes or so to retain learner interest as well as two custom branching scenarios. The course will conclude with a graded quiz. Finally, the course will have a custom eLearning design that looks great and requires a skilled graphic artist (comparable to the quality you see in our eLearning examples).
| Task | Role | Hours | Weeks | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Management/Direction | Project Manager | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| Courseware Authoring | eLearning Designer | 10 | 3 | 30 |
| Interactivity Programming | eLearning Programmer | 15 | 1 | 15 |
| ALPHA/BETA/GOLD QC | eLearning QC/Editor | 5 | 2 | 10 |
| 71 hours |
The total labor for the above is 71 hours. Note that these hours are based upon using a highly skilled and experienced team comprised of eLearning development experts who have created dozens of hours of courses already. Additionally, projects can vary in time plus or minus 35% or more depending upon a wide range of factors. So the above figure is simply a guide to help you set expectations. Internal training departments that are new to this process will find that times take significantly longer as they overcome significant learning curves.
Typical eLearning production job roles
When you hire eLearning.net to produce your custom e-Learning project, we assign a team of experts rather than taking a “one-man-band” approach. This enables us to produce courses faster, more economically, and with a quality that is superior to most internal e-Learning developers and other competing e-Learning companies.
- eLearning Project Manager
- Courseware Author (Storyline, Captivate, Lectura etc.)
- eLearning Graphic Artist
- eLearning Developer (for more advanced eLearning programming)
- Instructional Designer
- Quality Control/Editor
- Narrator and audio editor
If you are considering hiring an eLearning company to assist you with your next project, complete the QuickQuote form below or contact us for a free no obligation competitive quote. We also welcome the opportunity to meet or beat any competing estimate.