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Stephanie Neusser
Marketing Lead
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Technological advancements such as AI and e-learning are changing our world faster than ever before. They play a decisive role not only in our private lives, but also in our professional lives. On the one hand, technology can be very confusing, but on the other hand, it makes our lives much easier.
In order to survive in the modern labor market, we must fundamentally rethink our approach to the traditional world of work and our understanding of roles in bringing people and work together. Our jobs and job descriptions are much more flexible and dynamic today than before, and new skills are being added every day. This requires a wider range of skills, which must be constantly improved and expanded. Without the required skills, be they “hard skills” or “soft skills,” it becomes difficult to keep pace. Of course, this has a huge impact on companies, and that is why learning skills through effectively created elearning-Content is extremely important. The only question is: Should you buy learning content or create it yourself?
In our blog post and Webinar learning content we will help you make the right decision.
As the title suggests, it's important not to start creating learning content right away, but to focus on the topics you want to cover first. After a thorough analysis of your skills needs, you can decide which content you should prioritize.
You can use our decision-making tool to take this step. It can help you prioritize the right skills to buy learning content or create it yourself.
Only after you've analyzed your skills and prioritized them based on importance, dissemination, and content coverage should you get started.
In general, there are six criteria that can help you decide whether it makes sense to buy or create learning content yourself.
Which topics would you like to cover? If the topic is very specific, there may be little finished learning content that may not exactly match the topic or may not be up to date. On the other hand, if the topic is universal and covered by multiple sectors and is therefore frequently requested by other companies, it is possible that there is plenty of up-to-date learning content available for purchase that you might find useful.
Internal processes and needs vary from company to company. While some are universal, such as the use of Microsoft Office, there are also industry-specific processes. In such cases, it is difficult to find accurate learning content, and therefore tailor-made content must be created to make e-learning effective.
How urgently do you need the learning content? If you need the content urgently, the quickest way is to simply buy it. However, if you have enough time and you want to create high-quality content tailored to your learners, you can set your own schedule and build your content thoroughly and as needed.
Who exactly will see the content and how many will be eligible for the learning content you want to create? If there are only a few potential learners, it's not necessarily worth creating the learning content. Of course, you should also check whether there is already similar content on the market before you make that decision. If there are many people who could benefit from the e-learning content, then it is worthwhile to create high-quality learning content yourself and enrich it with company-specific materials.
To what extent does the learning content available on the market meet your requirements? Is the content you want available or not? If there's only a limited selection, you'll likely need to create your own content. However, if appropriate content is available, you can buy it.
Last but not least, the budget also plays an important role. In the e-learning sector, the price range for buying learning content ranges from cheap to expensive. However, if you choose to buy educational content, you can set your budget yourself, as it depends on the specific content that is available to you.
The quality of learning content is critical to ensure that it is effective, informative and meets the desired learning objectives. However, you should keep in mind that high-quality learning content is often more expensive. So you need to find the right balance between quality and your budget.
Consider your budget and the price you're willing to spend on learning content. There is a wide variety of content on the market at different prices and in different quality. It is important to analyze the relationship between price and quality.
Adapt the style of learning content to the expectations and needs of your target group. If you prefer a playful approach to make the learning process more exciting, integrating gamification elements is a good option. For example, quiz questions. However, if you're dealing with a serious audience (or topic), using gamification elements may be inappropriate. Therefore, the style of learning content is crucial and should be considered.
How well-known is the provider? This often plays a role when it comes to e-learning. When the provider is known, the learning content is considered more informative and trustworthy than with a provider whose name is not known. However, this is not always the case. In our experience, there are now many smaller providers who produce very high-quality content. Therefore, you should obtain references from customers and/or simply test the learning content yourself.
Decide whether to choose a provider that covers all topics, or whether you are considering different providers for specific topics. You will rarely find a provider that covers all topics.
What is your end goal? Do you want comprehensive support, with providers offering service from start to finish? Or do you just want to buy learning content and then manage it internally? It is important to assess which tasks you can and cannot take on.
Creating learning content yourself can take a lot of time and resources. Because from the conception of Learning paths Up to the creation of individual content, the creation of the individual content is time-consuming and requires a certain amount of know-how as to how learning content can be sensibly prepared and made available.
But here too, a lot has happened in recent months, as AI has gone from a vision of the future to reality. And that's good news, especially when it comes to creating learning content cost-effectively. Because even today, AI can help us create high-quality content in a fraction of the time.
Canva is an online tool for creating charts, graphs, and infographics. It has drag-and-drop features, pre-designed icons, and templates that deliver professional-looking results. Without the right tools, it's hard to create appealing graphics or charts that you can then use on your e-learning platform.
Descript is a web-based audio and video tool that allows you to edit your video content. Descript takes a completely new editing approach: video and audio files are simply transcribed into a document that you can edit just like a text document. The filler word removal tool searches for word repetitions and “uh” words and gives you the option to create them with a single click.
Synthesia is a platform that turns texts into short videos. With natural AI voices in over 120 languages and more than 140 AI avatars, it enables L&D teams to create engaging training materials quickly and cost-effectively. The easy editing feature makes it ideal for updating content.
Typeform is a well-known survey tool that makes it easy to create surveys and quizzes. The web-based software offers an interactive questioning technique that increases participation. L&D teams use Typeform as a tool to create quiz questions because it provides time-saving templates for surveys and quizzes. In addition, seamless integration with various tools such as Google Forms, Slack and Asana is possible, making it easy to use in existing systems.
However, there are already some learning management tools that have integrated the AI-based creation of learning content, such as edyoucated. With edyoucated, you have the option to create learning content such as multiple choice questions or even entire learning materials with the help of AI. To do this, simply upload a document or specify a topic, level of knowledge and an industry and the AI automatically creates the appropriate learning material or quiz in just a few seconds.
The good news is that you don't have to decide which approach to take. You can combine the benefits of both approaches to create a tailored solution for your individual expectations and goals. In this way, you can use the best of both worlds and supplement the standard content purchased with your own personal content, such as introductory videos or tips & tricks, to create an effective e-learning experience.
The decision for or against buying learning content ultimately depends on your individual needs and resources. There are lots of pros and cons you should consider. However, there are three key factors that you should always keep in mind when creating learning content: First, you should always take enough time to carefully analyze your actual needs, as this will help you avoid excessive learning content creation. Second, AI has a huge impact on the market and can significantly facilitate content creation and automate many processes. Third, instead of making a strict decision between purchased and your own content, you can choose a combination of both approaches. In this way, the advantages of both approaches can be used without sacrificing high quality.
edyoucated is funded by leading research institutions such as the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).
