I just wrapped up a free ILG webinaron optimizing your e-learning software toolkit, which you'll be able to view next week on ILG's YouTube channel.We had a great turnout and a lot of good questions were asked. The questions posed by the participants got me thinking about what I've learned from developing a number of mobile appsand mobile web sites.

I've used a lot of authoring tools throughout my career. Some projects I've worked on required tools meant for programmers, like Flash and hand-coded HTML5, but I've completed other projects using only tools that didn't require programming skills. I thought it might be valuable to share what I've learned from using these types of authoring tools, which are primarily designed for use by instructional system designers.

• HTML5 output from Lectoraand Captivate: Allowed ILG to develop a course for iPad that matched the capabilities of the PC version, including content presentation and software demonstrations.
• PhoneGap Build: Made it much easier to deploy an app than the older, downloadable version of PhoneGap, which required numerous setup steps before use.
• ŸBrainshark: Seems to be one of the easiest tools for instructional designers to pick up. We were able to develop content from PowerPoint and deliver to a wide variety of phones and tablets quickly and easily. We recently completed a large batch of courses using this approach, and we'll be using Brainshark on additional projects we've just been awarded.
• ŸExperience API(Tin Can API): Addresses limitations of older e-learning tracking standards that focus on formal learning and browser-based solutions. I'm seeing quick adoption of the Experience APIby authoring tool providers, but I'm not seeing clients move quickly to adopt learning management systemsthat make use of it.

I hope sharing what I've learned from these authoring tools helps you, and I'd love to hear about your mobile learning successes using these tools. As I mentioned above, the webinar I conducted on March 6 will be on YouTubesoon, and you can hear more about authoring tools and their ever-changing capabilities.