Cost of developing interactive courses
One of the most common questions we're asked is "how much does it cost to develop an interactive course?" That's a bit like asking "How much does it cost to build a house?"... It's frustrating to get the answer "It all depends..." but it does. One of the key determinants of cost is the level of interactivity. Hundreds of pages of static content can be produced in the time it takes to build one sophisticated interactive learning environment.
One the other hand, the value of an interactive learning experience can be hundreds of times that of simply reading through electronic content....
Recent figures out from the US suggest that the custom development of learning content can range from US$15,000 per learning hour for low level interactivity to $42,500 per learning hour for full blown simulations.
We draw two conclusions from this:
1. If you look simply at the cost of development, you'll probably shy away from high level interactive solutions. Don't. Take the time to measure what the benefit is in changed behaviour that comes about from a successful learning experience. We've watched many organisations 'tick off' an eLearning initative because they've uploaded pages of content, even though nobody has changed how they do their jobs as a consequence. THAT is a waste of money.
2. New Zealand is a great place to get custom development done. Local costs are substantially below US prices, and you have the security of knowing that the solution will be developed appropiate to Western business processes.
Posted by Phil Garing at March 30, 2005 04:49 PM
