elearning

Understanding the costs of developing eLearning modules

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 06:39:00 GMT

The cost of eLearning isn’t just about how long it is — it’s shaped by how it’s delivered, who it’s for, and the types of experiences you want to create.

What will it cost?

The honest answer is: it depends — but not in a vague way. The cost of eLearning is shaped by a series of key decisions around delivery, content, design, and experience.

The more clarity you have upfront, the more accurate—and cost-effective—your solution will be.

Below, we break down the key considerations that influence the cost of your eLearning project.

1. Module Length & Structure

The length of your learning is one of the biggest cost drivers.

2. Delivery Model (LMS vs Website vs Hybrid)

How your learning is delivered has a significant impact on both functionality and cost.

LMS (Learning Management System)

Tracks progress, completion, and assessment results
Supports structured learning pathways
Enables reporting and compliance tracking

Website Delivery

More accessible for public audiences
Limited tracking (typically completion only)
Requires workarounds for certificates and engagement tracking

Hybrid Approach

Supports both internal (LMS) and external (web) audiences
Requires additional setup, configuration, and testing

An alternative for external audiences is embedding videos, text and resources directly into your website. This can be more streamlined, but may be limited by:

Access to your web platform
Functionality constraints
Reduced data capture

Clarifying your delivery approach early is critical, as it directly impacts development effort and cost.

3. Content Development (SMEs vs Educational Design)

One of the most important distinctions in eLearning projects is:

Who creates the content, and who designs the learning?

Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

Provide the knowledge, policy and lived experience
Ensure accuracy and cultural integrity
Review and approve content

Instructional Designers

Translate content into engaging learning experiences
Structure information into logical, digestible formats
Design storytelling, interactions and flow

If your provider is required to:

Develop content from scratch
Source SMEs
Facilitate consultation processes

…this will increase scope and cost.

Clear role definition upfront helps streamline the process and avoid duplication.

4. Multimedia & Visual Storytelling

Visual storytelling is central to effective learning—but it’s also one of the biggest variables in cost.

Live Video (On Location)

Filming in communities or workplaces
Travel and coordination
Professional production and editing

This creates strong engagement but comes with higher cost and complexity.

Hybrid Approach (Recommended)

Combine selected live video with:
Animation or illustrated storytelling
Avatars or guided narration
Voiceover-led content

This balances authenticity with flexibility and cost efficiency.

Fully Illustrated / Animated

No filming required
Greater control over visuals
Easier to update over time

Cultural Considerations

When working with First Nations communities, there are important cultural protocols to consider—particularly regarding the use of imagery of individuals who may pass away.

In some cases, this can result in content needing to be removed or replaced in the future.

This is an important factor when deciding between:

Real people in video or imagery
Illustrated or avatar-based storytelling

5. Interactivity

“Interactive” can mean different things to different people, so it’s important to define what this looks like for your project.

Basic

Click-through content
Simple quizzes

Moderate

Case studies
Scenario-based questions
Decision-making pathways

Advanced

Simulations
Complex branching scenarios
Role-based learning experiences

Providing real-life examples or scenarios is one of the best ways to create meaningful interactivity.

6. Knowledge Checks & Assessment

Consider:

How often you want knowledge checks
Whether you need a final assessment
Whether results need to be tracked

Embedding knowledge checks throughout the module is a great way to reinforce learning.

However, if tracking results is important, this typically requires an LMS. Website-based delivery has more limited capability in this area.

7. Avatars & Characters

Using characters can make learning more relatable and engaging.

Options include:

Low cost: Standard characters (e.g. built into tools like Articulate)
Medium cost: Real images of people
Higher cost: Custom illustrated characters

Avatars can also:

Support storytelling
Reduce reliance on real individuals
Improve longevity of content

8. Voiceovers

Voiceovers add depth and accessibility to your learning.

AI Voiceovers

Faster to produce and update
More cost-effective
Increasingly natural, but may lack cultural nuance

Real Voiceovers

More authentic and engaging
Higher cost (talent, recording, editing)

A hybrid approach is sometimes used depending on content type.

9. Accessibility Requirements

Accessibility is a key consideration, particularly for government projects.

This may include:

Closed captions
Full transcripts
Screen reader compatibility
Clear visual design

While essential, these requirements do add additional time and cost to development.

Bringing It All Together

eLearning costs aren’t based on a single factor—they’re shaped by a combination of:

Duration
Delivery method
Content readiness
Multimedia approach
Level of interactivity
Accessibility requirements

The more clarity you have across these areas, the more efficient and cost-effective your project will be.

Final Thought

If you’re still working through these decisions, that’s completely normal.

The most successful eLearning projects start with a clear scoping phase—where these elements are explored, tested and refined before development begins.

Getting this right upfront will save time, budget and rework later.

See some examples of interactive functionalities created by Captovate.

Request a link to view a live Rise course and explore examples of our previous projects — including specific features tailored to your needs.

Below are some examples of interactivity created by Captovate.

Drag and drop

The below example explores if the learner has really understood the objectives of each of the policy documents. Asking them to drag the document cover to the right explanation ensures that they read and understand the description, therefore genuinely considering the different purposes of the documents.

Simulation

In this example, users were able to put their learnings into practice. They had learnt how to calculate the whole of life cost of an item they need to purchase, and then they were given a real life scenario to practice with.

Screencasts

Screencasts are an effective tool to demonstrate how to use a software program, for example.
We can record the interaction with the interfaces, and include instructions. This is particularly effective when combined with a simulation - so we teach learners how to do it, and then ask them to complete the steps themselves.

Case studies

Adding case studies is a great way of relating concepts to real life scenarios. In this example we procured voiceovers and added background noises to add authenticity to the creative.

Scenarios

Another example of scenarios is getting the users to actively undertake the task, such as the examples of looking for scam emails.

Gamification

Gamification is the strategic use of game design principles and mechanics to motivate learners, increase retention, and make the educational process more enjoyable.
In this example we created a 3D image of an office place and asked the learner find the example of security breaches.
Sometimes it is also about making dry topics a bit of fun, such as this phishing scenario.

Practice of processes

Within this module the learners we given the opportunity to complete the form, using the information they had learnt in the previous section of the module.

Knowledge checks and assessments

Understanding the factors that contribute to the cost of e-learning development is essential when requesting a quote.
Be as clear and specific as possible about your project's requirements to ensure you receive an accurate estimate. Keep in mind that investing in high-quality e-learning materials can lead to more effective training and improved outcomes for your organisation, making it a worthwhile investment in the long run.

Setting up Azure

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 02:14:00 GMT

Integrating high-quality voiceovers into your eLearning content is essential as it provides additional engagement, particularly for auditory learners, and ensures your outputs conform to accessibility guidelines.

At Captovate, we use Microsoft Azure because it offers a powerful, secure, and efficient platform for accessing and utilising voiceovers. By leveraging Azure's advanced AI capabilities, you can create natural and expressive voiceovers that enhance your content's appeal.

Why Choose Microsoft Azure for Voiceovers?

Enhanced Security

Microsoft Azure prioritises the security of your data. With robust encryption protocols, multi-factor authentication, and compliance with international security standards, Azure ensures that your voiceover projects and sensitive information are protected against unauthorised access and cyber threats.

If you work for a government agency, this helps ensure you conform to your internal cybersecurity requirements (although it is important to check with them).

Save Output

Saving voiceover outputs using Microsoft Azure is straightforward and secure. After generating the voiceover using Azure's Text-to-Speech service, you can download the file directly to your computer in formats like MP3 or WAV. This makes it easier for you to edit content if something changes.

Customise Pronunciations

Customising pronunciations using phonetic codes in Microsoft Azure involves using the Speech Synthesis Markup Language (SSML) to define how specific words or phrases should be pronounced. By embedding phonetic codes within your text input, you can control the pronunciation precisely. For example, using the `<phoneme>` tag with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) or custom phonetic alphabets within SSML, you can specify the desired pronunciation for each word, ensuring accuracy and clarity in the generated voiceover. This flexibility allows for tailored speech outputs that match regional accents, technical jargon, or specific name pronunciations.

Insider knowledge: For some reason, voiceover software has issues with pronouncing words ending in "ies," such as "policies." This customisation allows us to control the output. We have created a lexicon for challenging words.

Cutting-Edge AI Technology

Azure's AI-powered text-to-speech capabilities deliver natural and expressive voiceovers, enabling you to create more immersive and engaging content. With a wide range of voices and languages, you can tailor your voiceovers to match your project's specific requirements.

Cost-Effective

Azure's pay-as-you-go pricing model ensures that you only pay for what you use, making it a cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes.

How to set it up

Step 1

Go to https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/

Step 2

Click the "Start Free" button.

Step 3

If you haven't already got a microsoft account, create a new one.

Step 4

After you have filled in the relevant information, watch the two videos below.

First first - Watch Video
Second step - Watch Video

Step 5

In the browser type in speech.microsoft.com

After that you should be ready to go.

How to Publish a Storyline LMS File onto Your Intranet: A Step-by-Step Guide

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 01:43:00 GMT

Do you need to publish a Storyline file to your website or intranet?

Publishing a Storyline LMS file onto your intranet or website involves a few key steps: exporting the project, uploading it to your server, linking it, and ensuring it is responsive. Following this guide will help you smoothly transition your eLearning content, making it accessible and effective for all users.

Your elearn contractor would have provided you with a zip file containing the LMS version of the files.

Step 1: Upload files to your server

Access Your Server:

Use an FTP client or a file manager provided by your hosting service to access your server.

Navigate to the Intranet Directory:

Locate the directory on your server where you want to host your LMS files. Typically, this would be within a folder designated for intranet resources.

Upload the ZIP File:

Upload the ZIP file.

Extract the ZIP File:

Extract the contents of the ZIP file into the desired directory. This should create a folder containing all necessary files and subfolders.

Step 2: Link the course

Identify the URL

Once the files are extracted, note the URL path to the index.html file within the extracted folder. This URL will be used to access the course.

Embed using an iframe:

Embed the following iframe replacing the example url with your own.

Step 3: Ensure responsiveness

Check Mobile Compatibility:

Open the course URL on various devices (desktop, tablet, mobile) to ensure it displays correctly.

Use Responsive Design Tools:

If your intranet supports responsive design frameworks (like Bootstrap), wrap your course URL in responsive containers to enhance compatibility.

Test Interactivity:

Ensure all interactive elements (quizzes, drag-and-drop) function properly on different screen sizes. Adjust any Storyline settings if necessary.

For any further assistance, feel free to contact our support team or leave a comment below. Happy publishing!

Innovative Ideas for eLearning

Fri, 20 Mar 2020 05:43:00 GMT

We recognise that they key to success is to ensure learning modules are ‘designed to be interactive and engaging’. As innovation gurus, Captovate has a number of innovative suggestions for increasing efficiency and effectiveness. While not delivered via the LMS, they do serve to create a ‘life long learning model’ - which sees learning go beyond the classroom and fit into various dimensions of a person's whole life.

Social Media - a familiar alternative

Social media now provides many options for the professional workplace. As users of platforms such as Facebook visit it regularly, we recommend including it as an environment to engage in professional development which results in greater buy-in to participation and immersion into course content.

Captovate are experts on creative ways to embed social media into corporate workplaces.

Our innovation suggestion is to consider Facebook Workplace as a platform for managing the student/facilitator conversations.

Facebook workplace links colleagues via their work email addresses, not their personal Facebook profiles
Allows for collaboration on documents, topics and discussions
Has the unique functionality where participants can watch videos from anywhere, and have a live discussion forum.
Allows course content to be inserted into their daily social feeds, transitioning the learning environment into an everyday dialogue.

Using everyday tools like Facebook supports the lifelong learning principles where practices learnt through the official learning platform can be extended with shared social spaces. The key to learning is to be immersed in it regularly. Learning shouldn’t be done alone, and Facebook allows a platform for colleague support and sharing.

LinkedIn - an alternative source

Captovate is a LinkedIn partner and therefore can broker a relationship between yourselves and LinkedIn Learning regarding some specific course topics, should that be of interest.

A mobile alternative to induction

Captovate has recently developed an induction App. Different from the more content intensive learning modules that are often required for more complex skills transfer. The purpose of the App is to provide a mobile friendly interface from which employees can access key induction materials anywhere at anytime in a secure way. This may include:

a welcome video from the CEO
a listing of core policy and procedure documents, with a validation function to confirm employees have read the documents (which, for some organisations is a mandatory employer commitment)
short, DIY instruction videos (such as demonstrating how to record data correctly into job systems)
plus step-by-step user manuals for process driven activities (how to set up the phone system for example).

The aim of the App is to allow easy updates to content by internal staff, and easy and continuous access by staff, who may need to access core organisational policies, or knowledge articles outside of the office environment or after hours.

This App is a product that can be immediately implemented. The App can function offline, so is appropriate for remote location inductions

Working offline

Explainer videos are a quick and effective way of creating content that provides explanations of concepts in an engaging and animated effect. With graphic designers on staff we develop the visual storyboard and use tools like VideoScribe to build the animation. Below is an example project Captovate is currently developing for the Department of Education to clarify their new approach to a School Improvement model.

Gamification

Gamification is becoming a common requirement of many digital applications. Badges, points, and leaderboard incentives help to maintain enthusiasm. Healthy competition between colleagues is recognised as an effective form of engagement. While not related to the eLearning space, Captovate has used the concept of rewards for a behaviour change campaign for Power and Water in an attempt to encourage reduced water usage in consumers. Users gained badges for various events. With coders on our team, Captovate is well placed for implementing this innovative functionality. Gamifying makes the process more fun, as you feel like you're gaining something that's more than just knowledge.

Virtual and Augmented Reality

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality online training content is becoming more common every year. This is primarily due to the fact that it has so many applications in Learning and Development, from immersive task-based online training simulations to more interactive serious games. Virtual and Augmented Reality have the power to transform online training experiences by putting corporate learners into the middle of the action. Thus, they are able to gain more real-world experience in a risk-free environment.

Captovate has recently procured Facebook’s Oculus headset. Not yet released in Australia, Captovate has ordered one from the US. Our goal is to be in the forefront of these innovation engagement tools, and explore ways to utilise these virtual experiences, where users are immersed in virtual situations, which is a fabulous learning experience. The Facebook platform allows ‘players’ to explore worlds with other Facebook users.

This could be a very unique and engaging way to connect staff located in different offices.

Click to try this memory game by Captovate.

eLearning Creative Methods

Fri, 20 Mar 2020 05:25:00 GMT

We are skilled at ensuring eLearning modules are designed to be interactive and engaging. The tools we use have the functionality to allow inclusion of creative media, voice-over, online videos, and hover text. This approach includes a variety of learning pedagogies to maintain interest and accommodate individual learning styles. Below are a few of the ways in which we approach the creative.

Avatars

Avatars are a good way to establish a connection with the audience, especially if there are voiceovers, as it gives the audience context and a more personal feel. There are different approaches we can take when creating avatars.

Using real photos – The example below is a project we worked on for the Department of Education, where we created real life characters to support the content.

Drawing photos – This process includes adding a treatment to a real photo. This can help if individuals in the photos need to be de-identified.

Avatars created from Articulate – The Avatars that come with the program are animation style images but also come with a huge suite of poses and expressions, so it enables us to place the ‘people’ within the story and gives them life and personality.

Activity based learning

Captovate’s instructional designers follow recognised andragogy (adult learning) practices - a theory that holds a set of assumptions about how adults learn. It uses approaches to learning that are problem-based and collaborative rather than didactic (traditional lecturing or teacher "knows all" model). Captovate aims to approach content creation by applying ‘Gagne’s 9 Events of Instruction’ to developing storyboards and scripts. These are:

Gain attention
Inform learners of objectives
Stimulate recall of prior learning
Present the content
Provide “learning guidance”
Elicit performance (practice)
Provide feedback
Assess performance
Enhance retention and transfer to the job.

Captovate looks to develop engaging content using a variety of techniques to optimise learning such as reflection, summarising, feedback, goal centred problem solving scenarios, connecting knowledge from prior experiences, repetition and real world branching scenarios.

Captovate’s eLearn developer is familiar with the functional possibilities of Articulate to bring this approach to life. Below we have designed a game to demonstrate the capabilities of Articulate to deliver activity based learning.

Below is an example we developed for the Northern Land Council demonstrating how an interactive simulation can teach about driving distractions.

Click to try this interactive driving simulation by Captovate.

Assessment features

Articulate Storyline provides various options for assessment tools, allowing for short answer questions, multiple choice and interactive, drag and drop questions. Combining these functions with visual scenarios creates a powerful active learning space.

The following are just some of the possible Articulate activity functions:

All of these can be tailored to your look and feel, and all include graphics and photos.

Bite-Sized Support Resources

Learners usually don't have time to sit through a half-hour online training course. Especially when they're in the middle of a task or trying to overcome a common challenge. This is why bite-sized support resources are essential. Everyone acquires the information they need to solve the problem and build their skills.

An example where Captovate has implemented bite size learning was with the DriveSafe project. Captovate developed a mobile App containing just the keywords relevant to each module. The keywords included a voiceover that pronounced the word, and gave its definition. The key was to help those learner drivers with limited English or low literacy, to practice the common words they would need for their driving test. This familiarisation technique was aimed to encourage learners to use their phone Apps anywhere anytime in preparation of the final written assessment.

Gamification

Request a link to view a live Rise course and explore examples of our previous projects — including specific features tailored to your needs.

Customized Avatars – Captovate's illustrator created unique characters, and bespoke imagery to fit the content requirements of the Northern Land Council.

elearning

Understanding the costs of developing eLearning modules

What will it cost?

1. Module Length & Structure

2. Delivery Model (LMS vs Website vs Hybrid)

LMS (Learning Management System)

Website Delivery

Hybrid Approach

3. Content Development (SMEs vs Educational Design)

Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

Instructional Designers

4. Multimedia & Visual Storytelling

Live Video (On Location)

Hybrid Approach (Recommended)

Fully Illustrated / Animated

Cultural Considerations

5. Interactivity

Basic

Moderate

Advanced

6. Knowledge Checks & Assessment

7. Avatars & Characters

8. Voiceovers

AI Voiceovers

Real Voiceovers

9. Accessibility Requirements

Bringing It All Together

Final Thought

See some examples of interactive functionalities created by Captovate.

Below are some examples of interactivity created by Captovate.

Drag and drop

Simulation

Screencasts

Case studies

Scenarios

Gamification

Practice of processes

Knowledge checks and assessments

Setting up Azure

Why Choose Microsoft Azure for Voiceovers?

How to set it up

How to Publish a Storyline LMS File onto Your Intranet: A Step-by-Step Guide

Do you need to publish a Storyline file to your website or intranet?

Step 1: Upload files to your server

Access Your Server:

Navigate to the Intranet Directory:

Upload the ZIP File:

Extract the ZIP File:

Step 2: Link the course

Step 3: Ensure responsiveness

Innovative Ideas for eLearning

Social Media - a familiar alternative

LinkedIn - an alternative source

A mobile alternative to induction

Working offline

Gamification

Virtual and Augmented Reality

eLearning Creative Methods

Avatars

Activity based learning

Assessment features

Bite-Sized Support Resources

Gamification

See more examples of eLearning methods

Explainer Videos

Storyboard

Watch full video below.