18 Jan
Adobe Captivate is one of the most popular eLearning authoring tools. It is a subscription-based tool from the Adobe family(no surprise there) and has helped create countless engaging eLearning courses. One can create content using this tool in many formats including XML, HTML5, and PPTX.
However, it is not always a smooth sailing operation for its users. Here, we have summarized 5 things we like about Adobe Captivate and 5 things we are not particularly a fan of.
Pros
- Supports external videos, course formats: For a professional eLearning course creator, Captivate is a good tool in their shed. It supports multiple file formats and course formats(multiple LMS platforms), also images, audio. It serves as a one-stop-shop for the creators because Adobe Captivate can meet the requirements based on the demand.
- Familiarity with other Adobe Software: If you are an existing user of any software of the Adobe family, you will find Captivate pretty simple to use. The shortcuts, the buttons, the UI will not fail to give you a “welcome home” hug.
- Many templates: A lot of creative templates are available for its users to play around with. Many of them are quite interesting and can be used directly to create content. It makes the process quite faster especially if you are a beginner or working on a shorter time frame.
- PowerPoints can be directly converted: Many eLearning contents are still created with PowerPoint and its seamless integration with Adobe Captivate makes it the first preference for any L&D professional. eLearning development teams that make courses using PowerPoint find Adobe Captivate enough to cater to all of their needs.
- Functionality and versatility: A vast array and varieties of eLearning courses can be created using Adobe Captivate. Standard card-based eLearning modules, SCORM content, HTML5 based courses, and VR courses can be created too. Captivate excels in this regard.
Cons
- Steep learning curve: If you are not familiar with any of the tools of Adobe, the first few days might be tough. Although Adobe does have a lot of help documents, and there are a lot of videos on YouTube, it will take time.
- Not the smoothest experience while installing: Even though it requires the internet to work and a user has to pay subscription fees, it has to be installed on your system. While installing, tools from the Adobe family are known to create trouble and make the whole process a bit more challenging than it has to.
- The UI is really old: Many users of Captivate don’t hesitate to mention that its UI gives them the nostalgia of the 90s. Although it gets the job done, it definitely could use a huge upgrade or even a small one.
- Testing a course is challenging: Many of the course developers that use Adobe Captivate suffer from this issue. Reviewing a particular course, and especially getting feedback from the non-technical stakeholders is quite challenging. Also, the steep learning curve of the software does little to help.
- No separate license; comes with Adobe Cloud: This isn’t a surprise, but is something that many users will find difficult to reason about.
Conclusion
Adobe Captivate comes with a lot of firepowers to help its users create engaging eLearning content and its compatibility with the rest of the products in the Adobe family makes it a top choice. The number of users gets used to it even though it has some challenges associated with it and because of good reason. The sheer value provided by Captivate is unmatched. There are various methods and solutions for the hurdles posed by this software. The eLearning visual review tools are such a solution to the issue of effectively testing an eLearning course.
About the Author
Tarasekhar is a SaaS marketer for zipBoard who also loves to learn. He enjoys following old and new trends in the digital domain. Whenever he is not busy with his work, he loves to read history, philosophy and catch up on Formula 1.
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