Timsoft experience in eLearning

1

• Introduction
• Timsoft experience in eLearning
• Project eLearning for Managers
• Partners, Aims, Target Groups, Activities
• Training the eTrainers
• Online Courses Model
• VLE eLearnTS
• Conclusions

Carmen Holotescu - Director Timsoft Ltd,
Romania http//www.timsoft.ro
2

• What means eLearning
• eLearning means the use of multimedia
  technologies and Internet
• ?quality materials, simulations
• ? online resources
• ? collaboration, sharing,
• communities

3

• Current situation
• eLearning Designing tomorrows education
  initiative CE, 24 May 2000
• eLearning Europa
• http//www.elearningeuropa.info
• Many schools and universities offer online
  modules for their courses, online courses, or
  even degrees online 75 companies use eLearning
  in their training programs
• eLearning Romanian Projects universities,
  schools, firms
• http//www.timsoft.ro/resurse.shtml
• Accreditation by the Open Distance Learning (
  ODL ) Commission of the Ministry of Education,
  Research and Youth
• 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
  

4

• 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
• organizes international online workshops
  partner e-Learning Centre UK http//www.e-learni
  ngcentre.co.uk
• Partner in Educational Projects

5

• 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

6

• Activities
• Assessment of the target groups training needs
• Train the trainers for online teaching
• Instructional design of the online courses
• Online courses delivery
• Evaluation of the training impact in
  organizations, and dissemination
• 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

7

• Training the eTrainers
• Training Program for eTrainers
• Online Course
• Peer Mentoring Activities
• The program is aimed at training the participants
  to carry out
• online courses and
• online events, such as online workshops and RT
  meetings,
• 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

8

• Online Course Model (1)
• Blended approach
• Learning process Learner centered process
  Constructivist approach
• Applied Adult Education Principles
  self-directedness and an active learner role, as
  well as solution-centered activities
• Adapted to Learning Styles
• eLearning Methodologies PBL, Study Cases
• 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

9

• Online Course Model (2)
• Trainees and Instructor Learning Community
• clearly stated objectives, a set of guiding
  principles
• subtle, experienced, enthusiastic instructor
• motivated, interested participants
• integrate content with discussions
• informal sharing tacit knowledge
• metaphors for linking the participants
• good virtual environment.

10

• 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

11
Materials
12
Conferences
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• 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!