Articulate 360 and Articulate Storyline have emerged as comprehensive platforms for crafting interactive courses, from corporate training modules to academic tutorials. While their robust features make them a go-to choice for instructional designers and teams, their pricing can be a hurdle for some.
Let’s dive into the capabilities of these platforms, assesses their pros and cons, and, most importantly, provides you with valuable insights on how to secure discounts and make these tools more affordable for your e-learning projects. We'll also introduce you to Speechify's e-learning voice generator, a complementary tool that can elevate your educational content.
What is Articulate 360 and Articulate Storyline?
Articulate 360 and Articulate Storyline are comprehensive e-learning development platforms that allow instructional designers, freelancers, and teams to create interactive courses. While Articulate 360 is a suite of tools—including Storyline 360, Rise 360, Studio 360, and content libraries—Articulate Storyline is a standalone tool aimed primarily at course authoring. Both platforms integrate seamlessly with learning management systems (LMS) and provide extensive functionalities to enrich the e-learning experience.
Uses for e-learning courses
There are many uses for e-learning content, from educational to corporate settings. Here are a few more ways to make the most out of e-learning courses:
Corporate training
In today's fast-paced business environment, corporate training programs need to be agile, engaging, and easily accessible. Articulate platforms come equipped with a range of interactive templates and Rise 360 for rapid course development. This is especially helpful when HR teams and corporate trainers need to disseminate information quickly across the organization. From compliance training to onboarding processes and from skill enhancement to leadership programs, Articulate's tools can make corporate training a more effective and enriching experience for employees.
Skill-based tutorials
For sectors such as IT, healthcare, or crafts and hobbies, skill-based tutorials are indispensable. Articulate's Storyline 360 allows instructional designers to create complex simulations, software walk-throughs, and hands-on exercises that make skill-based tutorials genuinely engaging. With their easy-to-use functionality and range of assets available through Content Library 360, creating focused tutorials that help learners acquire specific skills has never been easier.
Educational content for schools and universities
In educational institutions, there is an increasing demand for interactive and inclusive learning experiences. Articulate 360 and Storyline offer a balanced mix of customization and user-friendly tools for this purpose. Educational content for subjects like mathematics, science, history, and even arts can be made interactive with quizzes, drag-and-drop features, and interactive timelines. This kind of interactivity helps in better student engagement and is often compatible with existing LMS platforms that schools and universities employ, ensuring a seamless learning experience.
Interactive quizzes and assessments
Assessment is a crucial part of the learning process, providing insights into the effectiveness of training or educational programs for both learners and instructors. Articulate platforms offer robust quiz-building capabilities that include multiple choice questions, true-false questions, and even more complex interactive assessments like scenario-based questions. Such quizzes can be integrated into the main course content, providing immediate feedback to learners and enabling instructors to track progress through built-in analytics.
Pros and cons of Articulate
While Articulate offers many e-learning content creation tools, it isn’t perfect. Here are the most commonly cited pros and cons of the platform:
Pros
- User-friendly: Both platforms are easy to use, making them accessible for beginners.
- Versatility: Articulate 360 Teams and Storyline 360 offer a range of authoring tools for creating everything from simple PowerPoint-like slides to highly interactive courses.
- Content Library 360: A vast content library that provides templates and assets to speed up the development process.
- Community and support: A wealth of FAQs, tutorials, and webinars are available to assist users in e-learning development.
Cons
- Pricing: Both platforms can be expensive, particularly for freelancers or small teams.
- Limited customization in Rise 360: While Rise is excellent for rapid course development, it lacks some of the advanced customization features available in Storyline.
- Learning curve: Although designed for beginners, some functionalities require a more steep learning curve, especially for those new to instructional design.
How to get discounts for Articulate 360 and Articulate Storyline
Articulate can be an expensive tool for some individuals or teams. Here’s how to get discounts for these tools.
Free trial
If you're new to these platforms, taking advantage of their free trial is an excellent way to assess their capabilities before committing to an annual subscription or multi-year contract.
Follow on social media
Articulate often offers limited-time discounts and promotions on social media. Following their channels can give you access to special pricing offers you might otherwise miss.
Volume discounts
Volume discounts are available for Articulate 360 Teams of 10 or more users, making it more cost-effective for larger organizations. The teams plan offers collaborative features that streamline course development among multiple stakeholders.
Education discount
If you're a student or educator, you may be eligible for education discounts through an Academic Plan. This is a fantastic opportunity to get the tools you need for online training at a reduced rate.
Personal plan
Articulate 360 also offers a personal plan that could be more cost-effective for individual users or freelancers.
Create high-quality e-learning content with Speechify’s AI tools
If you want to create your own e-learning content for a fraction of the cost compared to e-learning platforms like Articulate360, consider using Speechify’s many AI tools. You can create fully customized and natural-sounding voiceovers for e-learning videos with Speechify Voiceover Studio, dub your e-learning content into different languages in seconds with the help of Speechify Dubbing, and produce entire videos with the Speechify AI Video Generator. All of these tools are powered by advanced artificial intelligence that makes generating professional-quality educational content easier than ever before.
The e-learning industry is expected to be worth $687 billion by 2030. Get ahead of the competition and create engaging e-learning content that will connect with your audience for years to come with the help of Speechify.
