Create Digital Learning Content: A Step-by-Step Guide

eLearning and online training are key pieces of the employee development puzzle. But creating digital learning content is a challenge for many companies. As an eLearning specialist or HR professional, you understand how important it is to provide your employees with high-quality training materials. But how can you create professional-quality online courses in-house, and which tools are best suited for the task? Is outsourcing content creation to an external provider an option? In this article, we’ll give you step-by-step instructions for planning and creating your eLearning content, as well as tips on how to decide when to collaborate with a professional content creator.

Before diving into the how-to, it’s important to understand why digital learning content is so crucial to your company’s success. Compared to traditional training methods, digital learning offers:

• Flexibility: Learners can access content anytime, anywhere.
• Scalability: Digital courses can be used to train large groups of employees with minimal additional costs.
• Interactivity: Multimedia and interactive elements enhance engagement and retention.
• Tracking: Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS) allow you to track learner progress in detail and generate reports.

However, digital learning content also comes with new challenges. Compared to in-person learning, employees may struggle with:

• Lack of face-to-face interaction: This can lead to reduced engagement if not managed well.
• Technical barriers: Learners may struggle with complicated interfaces or unfamiliarity with digital tools. This is especially true for older learners.
• Content fatigue: Courses that are too long or complex may overwhelm learners.

To avoid these issues, it’s important to follow best practices for digital content creation and review your content in a pilot phase before rolling it out to the entire cohort of learners. Creating high-quality digital learning content requires careful planning and execution. Let’s break down the process step by step.

To create and manage your digital learning course, you’ll need the right software. There are a few different options to consider, so here’s a brief overview:

• LMS (such as Knowledgeworker Share): Learning management systems let you manage the digital learning content you already have. They make it possible to track employees’ learning progress, design custom learning paths, and much more.
• Authoring Tools or LCMS (such as Knowledgeworker Create): Learning content management tools are ideal for creating your own courses. They offer templates, multimedia integration, and interactive features that make it easy to design your own unique digital learning content.

• User-friendly interface
• Support for multimedia content (videos, audio, animations)
• Responsive design for mobile compatibility
• Ability to incorporate scenario-based learning or learning flashcards for more variety

If you’re planning to create digital learning content on your own, it’s worth taking a deep-dive into the different software options. Here are some additional articles to help you find the best tool for your needs.
Suggested reading: Authoring tool checklist 

It can be hard to decide whether to create digital learning content internally or outsource it to a specialized agency. Let’s explore the pros and cons of each approach:

Consider outsourcing if you lack the technical expertise or time to create your course, or if the project is particularly complex and feels like more than you can handle. Choose in-house development if you have a dedicated content team with the necessary skills, and/or if you expect to update or modify the content regularly.