e-BusinessExperience in offering eLearning programmes for SMEs
Introduction
Training the eTrainers
Online Courses Model
http://www.timsoft.ro
Experience in offering eLearning programmes for SMEs
What means eLearning
quality materials, simulations
Experience in offering eLearning programmes for SMEs
Current situation
“eLearning: Designing tomorrow’s education” initiative – CE, 24 May 2000
eLearning Europa
eLearning Romanian Projects – universities, schools, firms
eLearning Programme 2004-2006: “Promotion of digital literacy, creation of European virtual campuses, e-Twinning of schools in Europe and promotion of teacher training and transversal actions for the promotion of e-learning in Europe ”
E_COMM_LINE_2004, October, 21-22, 2004 Bucharest
Experience in offering eLearning programmes for SMEs
Timsoft experience in eLearning
Timsoft Ltd – http://www.timsoft.ro - is an active actor in eLearning:
developed VLE eLearnTS , with variants in Romanian and English; flexible, secure, based on open technologies: Perl, mySQL, Java, XML, Soap, RSS, RSS-LOM
offers online courses – IT, Training the eTrainers –
for 3 universities, firms, individual learners
hosts Romanian eLearning Community;
eJournal; Weblog; eLearning Resources
Partner in Educational Projects
Experience in offering eLearning programmes for SMEs
Phare Project: eLearning for Managers – http://www.timsoft.to/phare
in the county of Cluj, 2003-2004
Partners: Expert Consulting - coordinator, Timsoft , IVS Consulting
Aims: to offer online training in Management/Marketing tailored on the firms specific needs
Target groups: managers and employees in firms, but also students from Management universities
E_COMM_LINE_2004, October, 21-22, 2004 Bucharest
Experience in offering eLearning programmes for SMEs
Activities:
Train the trainers for online teaching
Instructional design of the online courses
Online courses delivery
Online collaborative space for parteners
Online courses: Training the eTrainers, General Management, Marketing, Financial, Management, Human Resources Management, Ergonomy, Quality Management, Logistics
Over 120 participants, 15-25 participants/course, 30% - 2-3 courses
E_COMM_LINE_2004, October, 21-22, 2004 Bucharest
Experience in offering eLearning programmes for SMEs
Training the eTrainers
Peer Mentoring Activities
The program is aimed at training the participants to carry out:
online courses and
giving them knowledge and experience in online communication and collaboration.
Skills for eTutors listed by recognized International organizations as Institute of IT Training in UK or International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction in USA
E_COMM_LINE_2004, October, 21-22, 2004 Bucharest
Experience in offering eLearning programmes for SMEs
Online Course Model (1):
Applied Adult Education Principles: self-directedness and an active learner role, as well as solution-centered activities
Adapted to Learning Styles
Involve all interactions: learner-learner, content-learner, learner-facilitator
Conferences: asynchronous discussions – quality: reflection, searching, validation, more active members
Quality Materials: static and dynamic parts
Visiting Experts lectures – in the course for eTrainers: Jane Knight, e-Learning Cen UK, Mihai Jalobeanu, UVVG Arad
Empowerment Evaluation
Experience in offering eLearning programmes for SMEs
Online Course Model (2):
clearly stated objectives, a set of guiding principles
subtle, experienced, enthusiastic instructor
good virtual environment.
Experience in offering eLearning programmes for SMEs
eLearnTS
Authoring system - An authoring component used by the space administrators in creation and edition of the materials.
Registration system - The database with the participants specific information.
A content delivery function - The content may be in the form of text, images, sounds, animations.
A navigation model - Syllabus, members list, links, search. Learners Portfolios.
Synchronous tools - Chat-room allows the members to communicate in real time between them and with the instructors; Live Chat .
Asynchronous tools - public, private,gated conferences ( web-forums).
Security system - A component for controlling the access to the virtual environment.
VLE was recently extended with RSS feed, RSS-LOM authoring tool
E_COMM_LINE_2004, October, 21-22, 2004 Bucharest
Experience in offering eLearning programmes for SMEs
Materials
Experience in offering eLearning programmes for SMEs
Conferences
Experience in offering eLearning programmes for SMEs
Conclusions
We appreciate that the success of the the "eLearning for Managers project" was due to the training the eTrainers and to the blended approach of the courses.
The project team want to continue to deliver the online courses developed in the project on a regular basis, and to integrate them in a Master online program.
Also we should mention a special interest of the managers trained in the project in implementing online training in their firms.
Thank you!