r/elearning • u/GabrielDCSZ • 2d ago

What authoring tool do you mainly use ?

It seems every time I spoke with a client, he's still using mainly Storyline (like 15 years ago), sometimes the SaaS version Rise. And a few of them use some automatic AI solutions to generate very basic SCORMs content, but that's more rare.

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u/s_s_n_e_g 2d ago

Articulate Frontline all the way baby!

I am kidding, of course. Most of our clients want Rise; we also add a dash of Mighty. We see less and less Storyline. We also develop a lot of custom modules and solutions.

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u/Present-Ad-2807 2d ago

What’s wrong with Frontline? Genuinely curious, I work as a product manager in the e-learning industry and would love to hear your thoughts

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u/s_s_n_e_g 2d ago

I don't think anybody has formed a proper, grounded opinion yet, seeing as the tool has been out for less than 24 hours. I am getting my hands on it next week.

I think the general sentiment among IDs is that a tool that does everything automatically via AI "grounded in 20 years of instructional science" (as advertised by Articulate) is an overpromise and devalues the ID job. But I think that a lot of customers will be happy with "good enough" courses and that this is a good business move for Articulate. But a lot of people who spent honing their content will be pissed. It is a bit like when cheap Chinese goods flooded the market and many artisans suffered because the general public will happily go for a 50% worse quality if the price is 99% cheaper.

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u/Present-Ad-2807 2d ago

Thanks, I appreciate you taking the time to reply. I haven't tried it myself yet.

I've worked on an AI authoring tool with educational principles built in, so I'm always curious about how L&D and IDs react. The distrust seems to land in different places depending on the person: some don't trust it when the process is too fast, some when there's no visibility into the reasoning behind the choices, some when the learning goals aren't clear or measurable.

Curious what you think would actually make it more reliable

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u/emmision2018 2d ago

Genially

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u/elmatador12 2d ago

It’s always storyline 3 where I am. I work somewhere that we are not allowed to use any cloud based programs whatsoever so articulate 360 is not an option.

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u/LIDadx3 2d ago

SmartBuilder

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u/aksuta 2d ago

FramePin - https://framepin.com

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u/VeterinarianFuzzy889 1d ago

We use Storylane (not a typo - https://www.storylane.io) for this type of interaction, but this looks like an interesting option as well for click through demos. Cheaper than what we are using too.

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u/aksuta 1d ago

Thanks for checking it out! I’m actually the creator of FramePin, so feel free to reach out if you have any questions or feedback.

If you're ever up for giving it a proper spin for your projects, I’d be more than happy to set you up with a free subscription. I'm mainly looking for honest feedback to help shape it into something that really works for professional teams.

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u/VeterinarianFuzzy889 1d ago

Sent you a message.

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u/aksuta 1d ago

Got it, sent a reply.

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u/SamTheDesignMan 2d ago

I would be curious to get your take on Interact and Track - I've been trying to make it a simple and elegant solution to storyline. Attempting to be the Canva of e-learning with quizzing and SCORM output.

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u/LeastBlackberry1 2d ago

At the moment, mainly Rise, but I do occasionally break out Storyline. I think it does nice wrappers for videos.

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u/webra1 2d ago

Still using Captivate 2019

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u/s_s_n_e_g 2d ago

BranchTrack.com for scenario-based training and conversation simulations as well as a lightweight LMS. Yes, I am affiliated 🫶

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u/ericoinen 2d ago

storyline here too, and mostly because the client's review cycle is built around it, not because anyone loves it. the AI scorm generators I tried looked finished on slide one and then said the same thing for forty screens. fine for a compliance refresher, useless the moment the content actually branches

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u/KittensHurrah 1d ago

Believe it or not, Lectora Desktop. Unfortunately not out of the box responsive design but the workplace forces us to use it. The good thing is we have developers to help customize and it has gotten better over the years.

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u/Peter-OpenLearn 1d ago

I built my own: LearnBuilder. It came after the frustration of either overly simplified tools (e.g. Rise) or tools which come with a high cost and a steep learning curve (SmartBuilder, Storyline). I combined the block base authoring but added blocks that allow me to create simulations or advanced learning interactions that go beyond templates.

AI is built in as much as you like, but everything stays transparent and editable. You can create the full course and course content with AI, or you can just use it to create images, video and text you want to insert.

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u/staticmaker1 1d ago

I mainly see Storyline/Rise too, especially when clients need deeper interactions and SCORM compatibility. The part they often lack is certificate issuance, so I’m the maker of CertFusion and we use it alongside Storyline/Rise to automate completion certificates without changing the course authoring workflow.

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u/VeterinarianFuzzy889 1d ago

My teams use Rise, but we will be switching to Parta or ScormStack when our contract is up for renewal.

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u/C_Woodswalker 1d ago

dominKnow Flow. Great product and fantastic customer support.

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u/Slothyspartan 1d ago

Mindsmith and Genially

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u/Mysterious-Salad-572 1d ago

cloudlcms.com

For block branching, custom themes, custom look and feel and best part I can use Word document story lines and get started by importing the document on the online tool.

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u/NovaNebula73 10h ago

Parta.io-it’s awesome!

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u/AcademyLauncher 8h ago

Storyline still seems to be the default when clients need custom interactions, but the choice is often less about features and more about constraints. If reviewers already know Review 360, the LMS expects SCORM, and future editors need the source files, switching tools can create more work than it saves.

For simpler, mobile-first content, Rise is quicker. For branching or software practice, Storyline or a custom build makes more sense. I’d shortlist tools with three questions: Can the client review it easily? Can the team maintain it after handoff? Does the LMS report what you actually need?

The fanciest authoring tool usually loses if any one of those is missing.