Lambda Solutions e-Learning 2.0 Online Training and Moodle Experts
Welcome Many of you already know that Moodle is designed to help educators manage online courses with opportunities for rich interaction. You know that its open source license and modular design has encouraged hundreds developers to contribute to its many resources. What you may not know is that the first Canadian MoodleMoot will be held in Edmonton, May 3 - 5. We would like to invite you to attend!
This issue is devoted to bringing you up-to-date on how to access various aspects of the conference and to inform you about where Moodle is at!
Martin Dougliamas, developer of Moodle recently had the following quote in one of his presentations, "Try not to get too distracted by shiny stuff!" In other words, it's the content that counts, not the format. Most people will see through the bells and whistles to what's underneath. This is where we at Lambda are focused, and what represents the foundation of one of our core values.
The following larger customers have recognized this core value and have been fortunate to implement Moodle-based customized online courses for:
See what I'm talking about by choosing one of the articles from this issue.
Thanks so much for your warm comments in our last issue. Please email us if you have any comments or suggestions.
Shevy Levy
President
Lambda Solutions
Connect Now to MoodleMoot! What will I Be a Part Of?
You will also have the opportunity to meet with other Canadian moodlers and can participate in real-time conversations and asynchronous discussions with worldwide Moodlers. Together we can learn more about using Moodle with others.
Connect to the MoodleMoot Conference site. Once you have logged in:
If you would like some of your questions answered about Moodle, read MoodleMoot's FAQ.
Newly Developed Website And to pick up on the theme of content being where it counts, we are thrilled to announce Lambda's newly developed website. You will find a much fresher look to the site, and with easier navigation. We are particularly proud of our case studies interactivity, as you will be able to see how we customized solutions for specific client needs.
Behind the scenes, we are using a mix of new technologies: JavaScript tools, including XHTML/CSS with PHP running in the backend.
Moodle Tackles eLearning Muddle Read the full article on ZDNet.
Last year saw the meteoric rise of an open-source eLearning environment called Moodle. A rise so swift in fact that, despite being almost unheard of five years ago, it is now the system of choice for 56 percent of all further-education institutions in the UK, according to a survey released last year by the Open Source Software Advisory Service.
There are currently more than 20,200 registered Moodle installations worldwide, which serve the requirements of about 8.3 million users in 169 countries. But as Mark Aberdour, a technical producer at eLearning consultancy and content provider Epic, points out: "It's an open-source thing that's risen from the grass roots rather than being introduced from the top down. No one's really gone out and sold it to educational establishments. People have just heard about it by word of mouth, used it initially in small-scale ways and seen its value, so it's penetrated into organisations in a slightly different way from normal."
While Moodle is well understood in the educational market, Moodle has also penetrated the corporate world.
Chris Howard, director of research at analysts Bersin & Associates, explains the difference between the two worlds. "Education is very structured and collaborative. A subject-matter expert such as a professor takes you through the entire learning process and, in many instances, it's the focus of students' attention over long periods of time," he says.
In the corporate world, however, the emphasis is different. Although the collaborative, in-depth approach is appropriate in certain areas, such as management training or specialized technical education, in most cases it is more about obtaining information quickly before being tested to see if it has sunk in.
"Companies don't want people to sit there for hours when they could be working, so it's about going in, taking the test, and getting out. It's not about collaboration. It's very much about transaction capture and management and is much more about the data behind it than delivering and managing the instruction itself," Howard says.
Lambda skinned view of Moodle LMS
Applied Approach to Moodle in the Corporate Environment Interview with Simon Fulber, Operations Learning Consultant, Vancity Background: Vancity needed a way to capture their knowledge capital and standardize product knowledge for staff.
Lambda developed online training modules that standardized their product training. Moodle was helpful in conducting employee pre and post-tests so that they would be directed to specific lessons most appropriate for their learning needs.
Our Newsletter editor asked Simon Fulber and his team the following questions about how the course, Building your Personal Financial Acumen has been received by employees.
It is always critical for a company to do follow-up evaluation and assessment on the products they produce. We wanted to learn how Vancity has adapted to using Moodle and to learn generally how the course was received by employees.
Have you received any verbal feedback or post-course evaluations on the course? If you could summarize the comments, what are the negative and positive remarks?
As the course belonged to part of a larger program, it was identified as the most valuable component by staff. Layout, easy to navigate, design (both visual and breakdown of content) as well as interactive features such as Activities and Tips seemed to resonate with our participants.
Difficulties around Log In process, Computer Requirements (resolution), and Navigation (links sometimes had to be double clicked to access) were mentioned, but were very minor and could be dealt with once participants spoke to our team of Field Trainers. In terms of Admin, other than minor glitches, the only challenging component is the Marking Scheme or Logic with Quizzes.
What was the process of developing the course like for your team?
Collaborating with Lambda Solutions on our Building Your Personal Financial Acumen program has been a very educational and effective experience for our whole team. From the Design, Development and Project Management perspective, Lambda was very flexible and adaptive to our needs. For some members of the team, this was their first eLearning project. I can safely say that it was a positive experience and Lambda staff really provided assistance, support and learning that will prove invaluable!
Has the course been easy to maintain thus far?
Overall, the course has been fairly easy to maintain and the members from Lambda have been very helpful when we have needed to figure things out. They have always made themselves available and have responded to all our questions and requests.
Have you been able to define a Return-on-investment (ROI) from this course?
At this point, we have not yet calculated an ROI on the program. We have been using the Building Your Personal Financial Acumen program as of last September and while we have some data that will formulate our ROI, we are not yet comfortable to share results.
Lambda Participates in Upcoming MoodleMoot In order to give you a more intimate view of our organization, we will continue to feature each individual member of our company so that you may get to know us better.
Scott Tearle, Director of Information Technology, has a broad knowledge of computer systems, both hardware and software. He has experience in Windows, Linux, A5400, Solaris, and Mac environments. Scott has worked extensively with TCP/IP, network analysis and design.
Lambda's newsletter editor, Cheryl Milner, had some questions to ask of Scott.
How long have you been with Lambda?
I've been with Lambda since its inception, and we began operations in 2003.
What are your short-term goals for Lambda?
There are many exciting things ahead for us both in the short term and long term. Most immediately, we would like to expand our hosting services, develop additional Moodle courses for our new and existing Corporate Clients, and make course authoring and maintenance more intuitive for our clients
What about Lambda's future goals?
There is some very exciting development work in the offing, but you'll have to wait until marketing releases the details.
You are participating in the upcoming MoodleMoot in Edmonton, what will you be speaking about?
Our talk is about Moodle Shared Services for BCcampus. My portion of the talk will focus on the technical aspects of providing Moodle support. We do this in partnership with Donat Group within the BCcampus Moodle shared services initiative.
Tell me more about BCcampus.
BCCampus provides student access to services, resources, and online courses from a number of participating institutions. BCcampus has built the infrastructure and technical delivery mechanism to allow smaller institutions to deliver their courses to a broader community. Our role is to provide the Moodle support.
Besides an obvious love for technology, what do you like to do outside the office?
I'm a rock climber and try to spend time in Squamish and Skaha. I also really enjoy to watching films on rock climbing. A few of my buddies are filmmakers and often get to see some amazing climbs through films showcased at the Banff Mountain Film Festival.
Veteran Lambda Associate — Scott Tearle In order to give you a more intimate view of our organization, we will continue to feature each individual member of our company so that you may get to know us better.
Scott Tearle, Director of Information Technology, has a broad knowledge of computer systems, both hardware and software. He has experience in Windows, Linux, A5400, Solaris, and Mac environments. Scott has worked extensively with TCP/IP, network analysis and design.
Lambda's newsletter editor, Cheryl Milner, had some questions to ask of Scott.
How long have you been with Lambda?
I've been with Lambda since its inception, and we began operations in 2003.
What are your short-term goals for Lambda?
There are many exciting things ahead for us both in the short term and long term. Most immediately, we would like to expand our hosting services, develop additional Moodle courses for our new and existing Corporate Clients, and make course authoring and maintenance more intuitive for our clients
What about Lambda's future goals?
There is some very exciting development work in the offing, but you'll have to wait until marketing releases the details.
You are participating in the upcoming MoodleMoot in Edmonton, what will you be speaking about?
Our talk is about Moodle Shared Services for BCcampus. My portion of the talk will focus on the technical aspects of providing Moodle support. We do this in partnership with Donat Group within the BCcampus Moodle shared services initiative.
Tell me more about BCcampus.
BCCampus provides student access to services, resources, and online courses from a number of participating institutions. BCcampus has built the infrastructure and technical delivery mechanism to allow smaller institutions to deliver their courses to a broader community. Our role is to provide the Moodle support.
Besides an obvious love for technology, what do you like to do outside the office?
I'm a rock climber and try to spend time in Squamish and Skaha. I also really enjoy to watching films on rock climbing. A few of my buddies are filmmakers and often get to see some amazing climbs through films showcased at the Banff Mountain Film Festival.
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