Linfield College have put together an exceptional guide for adults in their online courses. The guide is a great introduction for learners who are new to e-Learning. Obviously the next step would be to turn it from a static text page into an actual e-Learning module but this is a nice start.

View the guide to online learning here.

Thanks to Bob Johnson for alerting us to this guide.

In the process of evaluating a student recruitment system on behalf of a university client, we came across an excellent free enrolment system. OnCourse, which is made by Sydney-based company ish, is a powerful tool for RTOs and universities. OnCourse is not really a learning management system but rather a system for recruiting, screening, enrolling and managing students and learners.

For an open source platform, onCourse really has some extensive features. As well as helping to manage contacts and communications, there are some tools that are useful for staff management, timetabling and reporting. Basic customisation of the system is pretty simple and because its open source, good developers could easily perform more significant customisations and integrations with other systems.

We managed to get onCourse up and running in a few minutes. For Australian RTOs, the system has NTIS data for all of your units pre-loaded so it would be a great solution for those with time constraints and budget constraints. Though the system was easy for us to install and use, it may be worthwhile engaging the ish team to help with customisation, hosting, data migration and training. Ish offer many of these services by subscription and their prices are fully public here.

Overall, a great system which should be included in your short list of potential management systems.

Platform: Client-server system with PC and Mac Versions

Cost: “Free to a good home” (open source).

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Good processes make doing training and eLearning projects so much easier. The current process we propose is as follows:

1. Identify learning objectives
2. Evaluate the needs of learners
3. Sketch workflow of each module
4. Decide on assessment methods
5. Select appropriate eLearning technologies
6. Source, edit and reformat videos and audio
7. Prepare master templates
8. Upload multimedia and learning content
9. Reformat and edit content
10. Configure assessments and progress reporting (such as SCORM)
11. Export the draft module to a website or to portable media (CD, DVD or USB)
12. Review the draft module to ensure it meets course objectives
13. Gain feedback from learners, clients and other stakeholders
14. Address issues and feedback identified for the draft module
15. Publish the final module and monitor feedback from learners

It would be great to hear from other eLearning providers and even learners, how this process can be improved.

The reason that this eLearning business exists is that we have been burnt by extremely poor eLearning implementations. As students at Australian and British universities, as distance students with Australian RTOs and as users of iTunesU, we are tired with the failings of most eLearning providers. We have formed this business to:

Improve the quality of eLearning in Australia and then the world so it is more interactive, effective, accessible, engaging and fun.

We demand an end to eLearning mediocrity and will work with forward-thinking clients to ensure:

• An end to eLearning that leaves learners feeling isolated and dissatisfied
• An end to text-only eLearning modules
• A new beginning for collaboration, learner engagement and flexible distance learning

To deliver real value to clients we will adhere to Cath Ellis’ ten commandments of eLearning:

1. Put the pedagogy (not the technology) first
2. Be aware of workloads and work patterns (yours and theirs)
3. Balance risks with safety
4. Balance obligations with rewards
5. Make ethics a priority
6. Model good practice
7. Make expectations clear
8. Establish patterns and stick to them
9. Keep spaces available for students to use and shape to their own needs
10. Use/develop protocols

On this site we aim to engage the eLearning community in relevant conversations about how we can make eLearning as effective as face-to-face training delivery. Please join the conversation on your blogs and with the comments below.