Stepping Into eLearning Authoring: Finding the Right Tool for Our Context

Over the past few years, there has been a noticeable shift in how we think about teaching and learning. It is no longer just about delivering content in a classroom or uploading notes to Moodle. There is a growing expectation that learning should be interactive, engaging, and accessible beyond the physical space of the university.

At the Center for Learning and Teaching, DWU, this has led me to explore a simple but important question: How can we empower both lecturers and students to create meaningful digital learning experiences?

There is no shortage of tools available. From fully web-based platforms to PowerPoint-integrated solutions and advanced authoring software, the options can feel overwhelming at first glance. Each tool promises interactivity, ease of use, and seamless integration with learning management systems like Moodle. But in reality, not all tools are created equal, especially when working in a context like ours where access, training, and scalability matter just as much as features.

My goal is not to find the “most powerful” tool. Instead, I am looking for tools that strike the right balance between:

• Ease of use for lecturers who may be new to content authoring
• Accessibility for students who are complete beginners
• The ability to create interactive learning experiences
• Compatibility with Moodle through formats like SCORM
• Flexibility to work with existing materials such as PowerPoint

This is not just a technical decision. It is a teaching and learning decision. The tools we choose will shape how content is created, how students engage with it, and how sustainable our digital learning initiatives will be across campuses.

In this post, I will walk through a selection of authoring tools we are currently considering. In my pursuit to find the right tool for a reasonable budget for my needs I have found some very useful information which I will share and whether the tool is a practical fit for our environment.

If you have ever wondered which tool is worth your time to learn, or which one could realistically be adopted in your department, this comparison should give you a clearer starting point.

1. Articulate 360 Suite

What it is:
All-in-one eLearning platform (Rise = web-based, Storyline = advanced desktop). Supports quizzes, interactions, and SCORM export

Fit for our case:
✅ Lecturers: Good (with training)
⚠️ Students: Not beginner-friendly (especially Storyline)
✅ Interactivity: Excellent
✅ SCORM: Yes
⚠️ Web-based: Only Rise (Storyline is desktop)

👉 Verdict:
Strong but not ideal for student authors. Best for the Center for Learning & Teaching staff or trained staff, not beginners.

2. iSpring Suite

What it is:
PowerPoint add-in that turns slides into interactive courses with quizzes, simulations, and video

Fit for our case:
✅ Lecturers: Excellent (they already use PowerPoint)
✅ Students: Very beginner-friendly
✅ Interactivity: Good (quizzes, role-play, etc.)
✅ SCORM: Yes (very reliable)
❌ Web-based: No (desktop, PowerPoint-based)

👉 Verdict:
Best fit overall for our situation.
Low training barrier + fast adoption.

3. Evolve (authoring tool)

What it is:
Cloud-based, drag-and-drop authoring tool (similar to Rise but more flexible)

Fit for our case:
✅ Lecturers: Easy to learn
✅ Students: Good (intuitive UI)
✅ Interactivity: Good (prebuilt components)
✅ SCORM: Yes
✅ Web-based: Yes

👉 Verdict:
Very strong option if you want fully web-based + collaborative creation.
Better for scaling across campuses than Storyline.

4. SoftChalk Cloud

What it is:
Web-based lesson authoring tool used in higher education (quizzes, activities, simple interactions)

Fit for our case:
✅ Lecturers: Easy
✅ Students: Beginner-friendly
⚠️ Interactivity: Basic (not very modern)
✅ SCORM: Yes
✅ Web-based: Yes

👉 Verdict:
Good academically, but feels a bit dated.
Works, but not exciting for engagement.

5. Camtasia

What it is:
Video recording and editing tool (screen capture, tutorials)

Fit for our case:
✅ Lecturers: Easy
✅ Students: Easy
❌ Interactivity: Very limited (mostly video)
❌ SCORM: Not a full authoring tool
⚠️ Web-based: No

👉 Verdict:
Not an authoring tool replacement.
We may have to use it alongside something else (e.g. for video lessons).

6. Coassemble

What it is:
Cloud-based LMS + authoring tool with templates and gamified learning

Fit for our case:
✅ Lecturers: Very easy
✅ Students: Very beginner-friendly
✅ Interactivity: Good (templates, gamification)
⚠️ SCORM: Limited export (more LMS-focused)
✅ Web-based: Yes

👉 Verdict:
Great for simplicity and student use,
but less ideal if Moodle + SCORM is your core system.

7. ActivePresenter

What it is:
All-in-one tool for screen recording, simulation, and eLearning authoring

Fit for our case:
⚠️ Lecturers: Moderate learning curve
❌ Students: Not beginner-friendly
✅ Interactivity: Strong (branching, simulations)
✅ SCORM: Yes
❌ Web-based: No

👉 Verdict:
Powerful but too complex for your beginner goal. The free version does have a few features that allow you to create tutorial videos. Better for technical training (e.g. IT, software demos).

Quick Summary

Tool	Beginner-friendly	Web-based	PowerPoint support	Interactivity	SCORM	Fit for DWU
Articulate 360	Medium	Partial	Yes	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Yes	Good (staff only)
iSpring Suite	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	No	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Yes	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Evolve	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Limited	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Yes	⭐⭐⭐⭐
SoftChalk	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	No	⭐⭐	Yes	⭐⭐⭐
Camtasia	⭐⭐⭐⭐	No	No	⭐	No	⭐⭐
Coassemble	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	No	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Limited	⭐⭐⭐⭐
ActivePresenter	⭐⭐	No	Yes	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Yes	⭐⭐

 

 

How do I get my Youtube Channel to make money?

This post is specifically for content creators in Papua New Guinea. These are things I have learnt over the years when I first started my Youtube Channel and later had it monetized after meeting the requirements. I too had questions starting off but as time went by and after hours of reading and watching countless Youtube videos I began to understand this whole process. This short article with brief steps is an effort to help my fellow Papua New Guineans to monetize your Youtube Channel.

To monetize your YouTube account, you need to meet the eligibility requirements for the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) and follow these steps:

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1. 🔐Meet Eligibility Requirements

• Subscriber Count: Have at least 1,000 subscribers.
• Watch Hours: Accumulate 4,000 public watch hours in the past 12 months OR achieve 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days.
• Account Status: Follow YouTube’s Community Guidelines, with no active strikes on your account.
• AdSense Account: Have a Google AdSense account to receive payments. This requires you have a Visa Card.
  
• Two-Step Verification: Enable 2-step verification on your Google account.

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2. ✒️Set Up and Verify Your YouTube Channel

• Go to YouTube Studio and ensure your channel is complete with:
  • A proper channel banner, profile picture, and description.
  • Uploaded content that adheres to YouTube’s policies.
• Verify your channel with a phone number:
  • Go to YouTube Settings > Channel > Feature Eligibility > Intermediate Features > Verify Phone Number.

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3. 📈Check Your Progress Toward Monetization

• In YouTube Studio:
  • Go to Monetization in the left menu to see your progress toward the 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 public watch hours (or Shorts views).
  • Click Notify Me When I’m Eligible to receive an email when you meet the requirements.

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4. 📝Apply for the YouTube Partner Program (YPP)

Once you meet the eligibility criteria:

• Go to Monetization in YouTube Studio and click Apply Now.
• Complete the steps:
  1. Accept the YouTube Partner Program Terms.
  2. Connect or create a Google AdSense account.
  3. Wait for YouTube to review your application.

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5. 🔎Review Process

• YouTube reviews your channel to ensure it complies with their:
  • Community Guidelines
  • Monetization Policies
  • Advertiser-Friendly Content Guidelines
• The review process typically takes a few weeks but may vary.

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6. Start Monetizing Your Content

If approved:

• Enable Ads: Turn on monetization for individual videos.
• Explore additional revenue options like:
  • Channel Memberships
  • Merch Shelf
  • Super Chats & Super Stickers
  • YouTube Premium Revenue

If your application is rejected, YouTube will provide feedback, and you can reapply after 30 days. Continue to try and try until you get the channel monetized.

Enhancing your Youth retreat activity with Custom Word Search Activities: Using ChatGPT and Online Word Search Maker

Imagine a youth retreat program where students not only disconnect from their daily studies but also embark on a journey of self-reflection, relaxation, and spiritual growth. I've been invited to a number of retreat programs by DWU Chaplain, Madang campus and with every retreat I attend I tinker up activities for the students to do based on the theme at hand. Sometimes I get called up in the last minute and I have to do an activity as quickly as I can.

More recently, I was determined to create an activity that would captivate the students and ignite their enthusiasm for learning while nurturing their faith. That's when inspiration struck: why not incorporate technology into our activities, using the power of ChatGPT and an online word search maker to craft engaging and educational challenges?

At first glance, it may seem like an unconventional combination, but the results were remarkable. ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence language model, was used to extract key words and terms from long Bible passages and then these key terms were fed into an online word search make to create word search puzzles.

Here's my step by step on how to do this.

Part 1 Using ChatGPT to pickout key words from a Bible Passage

Identify the theme for the retreat and the key Bible passages.

Tell the AI model what you are planning to do and that you are going to give it a bible passage or an entire chapter and it has to extract at least 15-20 single words for the word search. You can even include in the prompt the theme.

Here is my example prompt:

Pretend that you are the youth leader for a group of 1st and 2nd year university students on a retreat event. You would like to create a word search activity for the youths to do in groups and these words will come from a bible passage. I will provide for you the passage and you give me a list of 10 key words from this bible passage and 10 key words related to the theme of "Making use of your talents".

In the example above, I copied the entire chapter of Mathew 25 on the Parable of the Ten Virgins from Bible gateway online (English Standard Version).

I then pasted the chapter into chatgpt and let it do its magic.

Part 2 Bringing the words into online word search maker 

Setting up a Live Event on Facebook Page

This post will demonstrate the step-by-step process required to setup a live event on Facebook page. You will need to do this when you plan to livestream an event via Zoom or through switching hardware or such as BlackMagic ATEM, Roland Switcher, or software such as Open Broadcasting Software (OBS), or online platforms like Restream or any other streaming applications.

Setup a Live Event

Step 1

Log into your FB profile that is linked to the page that will be used for the livestreaming.

Step 2

Navigate to the Page (I have a page called Tinkering Thoughts that I will be using for the demonstration here). If you have editor permission on the page you may need to click on Switch Now to have permissions to the page to create the Live event.

Step 3

Click on the Live video icon

The first two options you should see are ‘Go live’ and ‘Create live video event’.

 

To promote the event prior to the actual event and share with your audience, it would be best to create a live video event. If you are creating the event on the go, use the Go live option. In this case I will create a live video event.

Step 4 Create a live video event.

Select the ‘Create live video event’ by clicking on the Select button. This will now take you to the page where you will add in the event details.  

Evolving as a Digital Teacher: Tools of the trade (Part 9)

Over the years I have used a couple of apps/software to produce the videos I share on my Youtube channel of the same name https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-jwZp3df8qWrzAXxpiovfQ

Some of these apps are free open source while others are proprietary (commercial paid software). I share here the apps and their use.

 

Shotcut - one of the first open source lightweight video editing tools I have used. I no longer use that but still have it. Find it here https://shotcut.org/

 

Wondershare Filmora - decided to try a proprietary software on a 1 year license. Paid K200+ for this software for a 1-year license. Great tool but decided it was too much for me and I had to look for a free alternative. https://filmora.wondershare.com

 

Capcut - First used capcut on the phone and realized this was the best video editor with tons of features. I think late last year or early this year they released a free PC version and now I am using that for all my video editing. The music videos with lyrics I use Capcut and the Karaoke text feature to do them. Highly recommended. https://www.capcut.com/

 

FormatFactory - a free software that is handy for formatting video into different video formats and also great for splitting audio from video vice versa. http://www.pcfreetime.com/formatfactory/

 

HandBrake - my go to tool for compressing larger videos for web use. Sometimes I produce videos that are over 500MB to 1GB in size. This tool helps me compress the videos while maintaining the quality. https://handbrake.fr/downloads.php

 

Let me know of a tool I don't have on this list but is also worth looking into. Perhaps one that you use.

Experimenting with AI tools

On the 27th April I was invited to present on Artificial Intelligence. I presented not as an expert in the field but rather an AI enthusiast and thought I should share some of the interesting things I'm experimenting with using AI. 

I share here snippets from the presentation (which by the way was generated with the help of an AI tool, Magic Canva). Each image is accompanied with a brief description of what tool was used and for what purpose. The objective was to stir the interest in the audience mainly young students in the STEM field but also students from other disciplines to find an area of interest in which AI can be applied.

You can also find the presentation on Canva using this link:  Canva Magic Presentation

1. What basically is Artificial Intelligence?

 

 

2. Examples of areas where AI is mainly used.

3. How AI is serving others especially in the area of Healthcare, Education, Business, and Environment. There are many areas however I highlighted only these four.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Then came the question of "How can we adopt AI to address some of our challenges (social, economical, law and order, educational etc..) of new ways of doing things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evolving as a Digital Teacher: Tools of the trade (Part 8)

Hello!! It has been like ages since I last put up something to continue this series on "Evolving as a digital teacher: Tools of the trade". So much has happened in that time and space and I don't even know where to begin.

Let me try to pick up and start with Part 8. I joined the Center for Learning & Teaching, Divine Word University as the Director and this (2022) will be my second year in this office. Last year was an exciting year and so is this year 2022 as we embark on new learning experiences and try to share as much as we can to build our community of practice at DWU.

One of the things we have embarked on this year as a Centre is to create short informational videos as part of our Academic Policy Awareness drive or campaign. I purchased personal individual licenses for two additional software I am adding to my arsenal; Wondershare Filmora and Doodly. 

I decided to try a number of the informational videos with Doodly and so far I think Doodly's worked well for me with the intention and the kind of message I envision to bring across to the audience with it.

Here's two videos I have done so far with Doodly, 

Let me share with you for the third video the process I follow to produce these kind of videos. 

Do an Online Course this year 2022.

Do an Online Course this year 2022. #Post1

This is to you the young men and women who just finished from high school or are still looking for opportunities to continue to tertiary level.

 Spaces at universities are limited, including vocational centers. Even if you do find a space, school fees per semester are outrages. They keep increasing every year. To a certain degree, many higher ed institutions lack quality in their programs. You do not get the value for money from the program offered. There are many factors that add to this. 

 

Here is my suggestion.

Work experience is important

Work experience, whether its big or small, should be an integral part of any diploma or degree program. I remember back when I was studying in the Information Systems (IS) department, DWU, we were required to carry out nine (9) weeks of work experience prior to graduation. Although the department and staff had a responsibility of work placement, onus was largely on students to do this during the end-of-year breaks.

It was in fact a course requirement which was later done away with in the program as it no longer appeared on our transcripts during the later years of our study. I suppose the argument that time was that companies and businesses weren't giving students the opportunity for work experience. Or maybe because of the educational reforms that were taking place in the country which had to be reflected in the program requirements and documentations. I don't exactly recall why.

My short keynote message for the IS/MCS Symposium 2021

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, staff and students of IS/MCS departments and sister departments. This is your day final years, and I wish not to bore you to death with another lecture or a lengthy speech written only a few hours ago. Which is kind of true J

But please spare me a couple of minutes to just share with you a few thoughts of mine.

We will continue to witness more of our senior students present what I call the “first fruits” of their aspirations in this interesting journey of curiosity and wonder in an ever changing, technologically advancing, PNG power dependent (pun intended), innovations in ICT for our beautiful country.

Your efforts that have been or will be demonstrated today through the presentations are only just the beginning of you living up to the expected program outcomes of IS, MCS and DWU as your alma mater.

So what are the expectations?