The 5 Best Free eLearning Tools You Need to Know About

Building an eLearning course doesn’t have to be as expensive as you may think, especially if you take advantage of free tools. Between free tools and tools that offer a free trial, there is no reason that you should have to pay for a tool upfront before testing it out. Take a look at our favorite free eLearning tools.

A Refresher on the Three Pillars of eLearning

You’ll notice we talk about most of these free eLearning tools based on how many pillars of eLearning they can cover. The three pillars of eLearning are content, technology, and distribution. Each is crucial, and sometimes you can get all of them in one tool. Other times, you may need a combination of these tools to create your eLearning program. 

Loom

Loom is a screen capture program, making it great for sharing graphics, processes, presentations, formulas, PowerPoints, and anything else on the computer. It records your audio and video as well as your screen. Loom handles all three pillars. You create the content on it. Loom hosts your content, hitting the tech pillar. For distribution, you can just send a link or organize items into folders.

Keep in mind that Loom offers a free package with up to 25 videos, each of which can be up to five minutes. This is enough for one or two microlearning courses. After that, if you like Loom, you will need to buy it, but it is only about $10 a month, and there are discounts if you buy it for a year.

Video Ask

Video Ask is an excellent tool for interactive videos. You can create quizzes or other types of interactive videos. Video Ask also hits all three pillars. You create the content on it, then it hosts the content (technology). You can share a link to your content for distribution. But you can also use Video Ask to get testimonials and use that as part of your marketing or distribution strategy.

Video Ask offers a free plan as well as paid plan. The free plan lets you process up to 20 minutes of audio or video each month. This means you can build as long of a course as you want as long as you are willing to wait. If you are in a hurry or want more than three users, then you’ll want to pay for an upgrade. The same is true if you want more than three steps.

YouTube

YouTube is a well-known video hosting platform. You can use it to host your content and distribute it. If you want to record a live video, you can even use it to create content. You are more likely, however, to create the content somewhere else and then bring it to YouTube.

Excel or Google Sheets

Excel or Google Sheets may seem like basic spreadsheets, but they make it easy to distribute your course. You can arrange your courses by module, topic, and more. You can create columns for comments and allow for collaboration.

Your Smartphone

When it comes to creating content for an eLearning course, take advantage of your smartphone. While it wasn’t free, you already have it. Most smartphones have surprisingly good video and audio.

Bonus: Two Great Paid Options

If you want a paid tool with a free trial, we suggest Kajabi for external programs and Talent LMS for internal ones.

Conclusion

With the right tools, you can create, host, and distribute your eLearning course for free. At the very least, you can try out the free eLearning tools to see if they are right for you without any financial commitment.