Creating eLearning material for multilingual audiences requires a certain toolset to help you produce content and translate it for each target market. Choosing multiple software platforms for any kind of project can be daunting, but selecting multiple tools for creating learning material and then translating it effectively is particularly challenging.
In this article, we are going to look at all of the essential tools you need to get the job done – from creating quality eLearning content to translating it quickly and effectively into every target language.
Tools for eLearning content creation
Two of the biggest names in eLearning publishing tools are Articulate Storyline and Adobe Captivate. Both are highly capable tools for creating eLearning material, although Articulate is the more expensive option and it is not available on Mac.
Meanwhile, Adobe Captivate is a strong option if you are already investing in any of Adobe’s other software. The downside to both of these options is that they are native applications, which means you have to download the software to your devices and this can limit you to specific devices while also making collaboration more difficult than with cloud options.
The good news is there are plenty of online options like Coassemble that allow you and your team to create eLearning material in the browser. This gives you access anywhere and makes it easy for teams to collaborate on the same project.
The downside to these online options is they tend to be more expensive in the long-run, but it all comes down to what your needs are.
Tools for translating eLearning material
Before we talk about the translation tools you will need for publishing multilingual eLearning material, let’s take a moment to talk about instant translation. This is not something you should be using to translate learning resources – or much of anything for that matter.
eLearning material requires precise translation that communicates ideas and educates readers/viewers effectively. You are simply not going to achieve this if your translation process relies on tools like Google Translate.
So, the first thing you need is a solid team of human translators to deal with your content.
Next, you need a software to help you manage your translation projects online, track progress and collaborate – a translation management system (TMS). This should act as a single place where you can manage every aspect of your eLearning translation. In most cases, your translators will have extended permissions to make changes to your content as necessary and you will use the platform to access content, keep track of progress and add notes where necessary.
With project management taken care of, the focus turns to making the translation process more efficient. The first tool you want to look at is translation memory (TM). This stores all of your translated content in individual phrases and automatically inserts these translations when they are present in future content.
On average, this reduces translation time by 30% for ongoing projects – saving you time and money on every future piece of content.
It also helps you achieve greater consistency by ensuring the same translation is used for each repetition. This means multiple translators can work on your eLearning material without unwanted variations and inconsistencies creeping into your content.
Another important tool for maximising consistency is terminology management, which stores specific translations for industry terms, technical phrases and any brand language associated with your organisation. This is especially important where the most common interpretation of a word or phrase is different to the translation you require – for example, a “bug” referring to a software issue rather than an insect.
With the right tools at your disposal, you can create a seamless process for creating and translating eLearning material. Efficiency is crucial for ongoing projects like this and you need a toolset that allows you to publish material quickly and accurately.
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