When SkillCentric began to develop its e-learning technology, it was very aware of learning principles and based its platform on the fact that the key to learning is to keep the learning process job-relevant and to include human coaching and feedback. Shaun Lake, from SkillCentric, says: “The type of training outputs along with helpful feedback from a tutor to students is as vital for online learning as it is for classroom learning. There are no short cuts here. These are the core principles on which our approach is based.”
SkillCentric set out to make its technology simple and easy to use, whilst remaining robust and intuitive. Lake says: “This approach has paid dividends and has allowed us to launch projects globally, however large or small, with ease due to the minimal need for orientation. We've deployed learning into as far flung places such as China, Vietnam and Canada without ever having to go there.”
The company has certainly achieved its aims, and Lake says that one of the greatest compliments they have received thus far was when a student was asked how they found e-learning and had no idea what e-learning was, despite the fact that he had participated in SkillCentric's courses for some time. Lake says: “It felt like a normal course to the student because he was focused on the course, and was not in awe of the technology.” By enabling students to print assignments and notes, they have the feeling that studying online is no different to the way they have always studied, except of course, the extra advantages of being in constant touch with the tutor, accessing a wide range of online materials, and the ease of submitting and managing their assignments.
SkillCentric's platform has developed over the years, but the simplicity and ease of use has been retained. The company has been reluctant to adopt many of the gimmicks used by other e-learning providers, since these detract from the efficacy of the teaching process. Although it's attractive to use media such as videos and animation, or to run live virtual workshops, it's also costly and time-consuming when creating or organising these. The added value of this on the learning process is insignificant. “Hundreds of thousands of people over the years have managed to gain degrees from correspondence universities using textbooks, why suddenly are media rich content and live virtual classes so vital to learning?” asks Lake. “Fancy ideas can also be frustrating for users who cannot view it for lack of the requisite software or bandwidth. Too many e-learning products are more obsessed with the show rather than the result, leading to an over-emphasis on flashy content,” he says.
While SkillCentric recognises that automated marking and assessments have a place in e-learning, it feels that a human tutor is still necessary, despite the fact that most e-learning approaches frown on it as cumbersome. “People do develop better with a human touch,” says Lake. This point seems to have eventually come home to roost with many of the leading e-learning vendors conceding that the lack of the human touch has affected their programmes negatively.
On the topic of course development, Lake was upbeat saying “this is one area that we have focused on and have come up with a genuinely easy to use approach”. Greater importance is given to the tutored exercises, which allow a broader set of assessment options and are designed to focus more attention on coaching and exercise quality. Once the exercises are in place, creating or identifying reference materials is easy. “There is so much out there on the Net that can be leveraged into the course, this is really where e-learning comes into its own,” says Lake.
SkillCentric concentrated on alleviating important administration problems with their pro-active management system, which cuts down on paperwork and puts training first. The SkillCentric technology allows for regular alerts to be sent to both learners and their managers, enabling both parties to view the performance of any learner participating in the course. “We have noted a drop in student progress when the alerts were disabled which proved time and again the necessity of this system. People need someone to keep tapping them on the shoulder to do their work,” says Lake.
SkillCentric's current innovation focuses on encouraging students to work even harder than before, using motivational methods guaranteed to achieve this. Lake is mum on the details but says: “It's inspired by social networking and grounded in social psychology.”
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