The biggest E-Learning news of last week came from Adobe who announced a brand new LMS arriving later this year, which they are calling Adobe Captivate Prime, but will this new offering break new ground in the education and training sector?
After all, cloud based learning management systems are nothing new, and the rise of Google Classroom at certain educational levels in both the US and UK would not have escaped Adobe’s attention.
Adobe seems to be putting alot more thought and attention into the larger E-Learning market as a whole with its product range this year. One of the things that stood out to me with the 2015 update of Creative Cloud was the increased product range focusing on E-Learning and online instructional development in what Adobe calls its Technical Communication Suite. Of course, the flagship program Captivate is still there, but it is now joined by FrameMaker, RoboHelp and Presenter as additional tools for Instructional Designers to get their teeth into.
And now we have the delivery platform, the Adobe brand LMS to sign off the entire learner experience. No doubt integration between Captivate Prime and Adobe’s other products will be seamless, and Adobe has already assured us that SCORM conpliant objects and the traditional mediums of video, Powerpoint and PDF will all be supported. Good news for those making really good work in Articulate Storyline these days.
But to the product of Adobe Captivate Prime itself, I just wonder if it is too little too late. I certainly felt a buzz about the product when it was announced, but that is because I’m an E-Learning Developer who loves new software, and so are many of my fellow colleagues. I just wonder how this announcement really translates out there right now in the real world, both in business and the training sector.
Sources already seem to indicate that this new LMS will be offered on a subscription model/licence basis per seat, and it is likely going to need a large group of learners to really get the return on investment for managers. So would businesses making the first move into E-Learning for staff really jump into this new product? And would anyone be likely to switch from their current LMS if it is something the company has invested a lot of time, money and training into to get right?
Difficult to say until we see some real marketing and more unique selling points, but for now I would definitely recommend Small to Medium Enterprises consider an in-house bespoke LMS solution, which can now be achieved easily and affordably.
Get in touch with Discover eLearning today to talk about our unique offer, and what we can achieve for your business’ online training needs.
