Tag Archives: avptglobal

Four Pillars that underpin buyers requirements for eLearning

Get qualified in days not years

article by Diane Shawe M.Ed

Whilst I am in the industry and excited by the latest trends in e-learning  through blended Learning Management Systems (LMS)  learning being hugely of interest at present, I believe that the four  pillars that go to underpin the buyers requirements and therefore still define the industry offerings are centered around the following:

• Compliance and accreditation
• Scalable and flexible whilst achieving a real reduction in Cost
• Improving , track and measuring Learners performance
• Real time management, alignment and communication to support ongoing changes.

The ability to track and report learner performance remains upper most in many procurers mind.

It will become increasingly important to have specified learning strategy which can deliver effectively against all of these requirements, and getting the “e-learning mix” of technologies obviously including content, collaboration and communication environments (social learning) and control mechanisms will be the key to further industry growth.

Under-pining these trends we are seeing growing interest in how e-learning can address softer skills and this is why we have concentrated our LMS content to this area of learning.

Some vendors are following the vertical market and configuring the offer to meet specific needs, others are differentiating by adding social media and social learning functionalists, and others such as us are aligning the LMS to the latest technologies being colonised by the e-learning industry – mobile/smart devices and video driven content. The trend from the USA is strongly toward talent management and we are often lagging behind.

The smart vendors in my view are aligning and integrating with other solutions: HR, ERP, CRM etc…. Content or Content, which to choose…..?

These developments can only be positive for the industry, as the demand for quality and quantative content will grow and grow.

My one but final view is that we will progress from blending to mixing the content provision as this will be the key challenge to the e-learning industry. The importance of content won’t go away, its just changing faster becoming more “Re-purposable” , “Flexible”, “Interoperable”, and “Accessible” learning content!

Now get this, I am so loving the fact that on its way to us is 3 Dimensional technologies, simulation, holographic all of which will increase the demand for new genres of learning content into a learning reality!

http://www.expresstrainingcourses.co.uk

E-learning growth ‘set to rise to £19 billion by 2015

Get qualified whilst on the move with AVPT

article by Diane Shawe M.Ed.

Academy of Vocational and Professional Training (AVPT) finds that the market for e-learning just keeps growing and growing, according to various research and sales figure surveys

A survey by Ambient Insight Research has showed that the worldwide market for e-learning products was $32.1 billion (£20.5 billion) in 2010 and is expected to rise to $49.9 billion by 2015.

Products and methods of online learning that were deemed the most successful in sales rates included “how to” videos, step-by-step interactive guides and course notes which have multi-media inserts and annotations which directed learners to other resources.

Writer for Gadget magazine, Andre Joubert of MWEB Business said that he thinks the availability of media-rich, interactive e-learning content on the internet – and the advent of uncapped, business-strength broadband connectivity is changing the face of e-learning. He based his analysis on South Africa, but his principles apply worldwide as global sales figures show.

We noted from our research that Mr Joubert said: “E-learning has long been recognised as offering considerable advantages over conventional classroom-based training when it comes to training employees and management quickly, efficiently and conveniently.

So what about the Virtual Classroom?

We see 2012/13 as being the breakthrough year for virtual classrooms, as organisations move on from webinars (which are increasingly commonplace) to more interactive environments offered by virtual classrooms.

I am certainly excited by our  online courses which are recognised and accredited in over 200 subject matters.  As  result of this growing trend AVPT has launched the first globally accredited Virtual Tutor Facilitator course. To train

A New Career Opportunity as a VTF

professionals in becoming a qualified online Tutor who want flexibility and positive earning potential to assist individuals gain a professional recognised certificate  using a mobile learning Management solutions through facilitating their online learning.

Training through online learning is now widely available on the internet and can be beneficial to anything from flower arranging, PowerPoint presentations through to health and safety.

Soft skills is now becoming the new hard skills and offering mobile training and  advice  through e-learning are valuable to many people and a range of businesses globally.

Tim Dingle AVPT Chief Development Officer cited many benefits of the virtual classroom, such as convenience, relevance, immediacy, affordability and ease of use. He added that beginning the learning experience can be as easy as starting up an internet browser.

According to research by Key Note from last year, instructor-led training represents the largest sector of the market, although e-learning teaching – which includes blended learning – showed the highest growth over the review period between 2005 and 2009.

Mobile Learning forging forward.

A 2009 research report summarised that they thought mobile learning could be a “maybe just maybe”, In 2010  a definite trend was being recorded and in 2011 they saw mobile learning as a major driver for the growth of the e-learning market.

The driver is not one of simple learning enhancement and support but driven by a requirement for portability and availability made possible by smart phones and tablet devices, the learning “additionality”. The PC might still remain key to many learners for some years to come but I believe that the call for mobility, flexibility and the trends to workforce mobility will win the day.

We are particularly taken with the concept of second screen learning, in that learners will use mobile devices i-pads, smart phones etc… in conjunction with other forms media such as skype, bluetooth and appliances imbedded in a variety of devices such as the TV, car or even on your fridge.

I do not see mobile learning as a straight replacement to existing genres, and accordingly iIdo not advise organisations to rush headlong into mobile learning solutions because they can be an expensive option if not properly planned out.

Mobile learning in appropriate additional ways  can be used to enhance the learning mix. One principle game changer is our ability to upload current or new courses into our LMS, cutting down on project development planning time and costs and enabling a blended Learning proposition to commence not only laterally but securely, scalable and in real time.

For instance the unemployed, people of disability, prison population, senior citizens and excluded children from the educational system could all benefit in real time whilst keeping the overall unit costs down by scaling and up-skilling with an emphasis on inclusion and virtual support.

Content can now increasingly be authored or in many cases converted to become fit for all purpose all range device delivery and in real time.

HTML5 coupled with Cloud based services will further embed e-learning into the all- pervasive always on internet. Indeed the terminology of mobile learning/ e-learning will lose differentiation, as will the nature of the device that the learning is undertaken upon.

Technology coupled with the growing importance of social media learning will lead to greater learner acceptance. I for one have seen a pattern stemming from the services we are offering to date and look forward to 2013 as we believe it is going to be a bumper year for mobile learning.

Visit us on http://www.expresstrainingcourses.com or call us if you would like more information on 0203 551 2621.

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E- Book Culture Gaining Momentum spearheaded by Amazon

Article by Diane Shawe M.Ed MIod

Historical evidence has shown that over the past 5 years, some universities had tried to break away from the traditional textbook model in the past—and failed, due to a lack of feasible alternatives. But many academic teachers and private training schools are finding that the online materials now available allow them to teach entire courses without textbooks, with no negative consequences to student learning. In some cases, digital materials may be even better than traditional texts because of their variety and timeliness and media.

Technological revolution has change the way students are educated. Diane Shawe the founder and CEO of Academy of Vocational and Professional training has demonstrated time and time again that the tablet and the e-book has change how students learn through their Learning Management Solution. LMS.

A recent Tech event lists several advantages for tablets and e-book:

  • Tablets are lightweight compared to textbooks. This is true given that we can store a large number of books on a single tablet.
  •  E-books are cheaper than traditional textbooks. This is a somewhat fallacious argument. Textbooks can be used standalone while tablets require electricity and the initial cost of a tablet is still pretty high. E-books will probably be sold at a cheaper price than traditional textbooks, but e-books cannot be resold once the class is over and thus the overall cost for the student could be as high as today. A major advantage of e-books for publishers is that they might be able to kill the second-hand market
  •  E-books provide richer content. This is potentially true. For some topics, multimedia content will be a benefit. However, this argument was also given when the first e-learning software were distributed, for hyper-card, CDs and other types of technologies
  •  E-books can be automatically updated. This is both an advantage and a drawback. For the student, this means that it can get the latest content. Note that this does not require a tablet and nature has introduced a principle of biology textbook that is hosted on its servers and also regularly updated. For the teacher, it means that he/she has to check the updates of the e-book each year and reflect them for his/her classes.

I think that it is useful for teachers and even the educational departments throughout the UK begin to experiment with the utilisation of e-books in classes as well. Instead of storing lots of paperback text books, the saving could be stealth like which the saving could be redirected to other much needed resources short of funding. The courses are packaged in a chunk-able format so that blended learning can take place whilst the student is on the move and help young people into work quickly.”

Academy of Vocational and Professional Training Ltd has expanded it online suite of courses  to help students access whilst on the move a range of soft skills courses.  Tim Dingle the Chief Development Officer states: “The ‘Chunk-able format’an  Introduction to a new kind of Learning  in which the courses are designed in, allows students to work on the move using their tablet, smartphone or notebook, rather than committing to a 2000-word essay and most courses can even be completed in just one month! Every student is assisted by a live Virtual Tutor Facilitator so as to ensure every student completes there course in four weeks”

As initiatives such as those mentioned above are expanded, they just might be catalysts for growth in the market for low-cost or free digital textbooks. And as far as the educators who’ve created their own digital alternatives are concerned, these efforts have the potential to replace textbooks altogether.