Siyandza to launch innovative e-learning solution

Siyandza Skills Development is set to launch an updated version of its Learner Management and e-Learning software platform in early 2012. To be called the Enterprise Learning Platform (ELP), it is expected to redefine the South African learning landscape.

Leveraging off Siyandza's existing Learner Management System (LMS) and Content Management System (CMS), Siyandza's ELP solution now enhances every user's overall experience, enabling not only robust and seamless e-learning delivery, full reporting and performance management throughout any size organisation, but, just as importantly, ELP has been designed to overcome many of the challenges presented by e-learning solutions built on traditional assumptions about occupationally directed adult learning.

Jeff Austin, CEO of Siyandza, says: “When deployed effectively, e-learning can offer organisations significant cost savings, and yet when compared with American and European companies, South African organisations are not taking up the opportunities presented by this exciting medium of learner management and skills delivery at the same pace.

“In 2009, when we began re-thinking our e-learning solution, we found out through the American Society for Training and Development (ASDT) that just 6% of South African companies were using e-learning, while a full 29% of American companies were utilising an e-learning solution,” says Austin. “These figures simply confirmed what we were already experiencing in our daily operations.”

“We had to first find out why South African companies were not following the global trend toward e-learning,” adds Austin, “when in so many other areas of business, American or European IT solutions have been eagerly implemented by South African business leaders. We then had to design our system to overcome any cultural, technical or cost constraints that may be preventing more companies from utilising e-learning more readily.”

The first issue identified was that South African managers appear to be habituated by a 1970s and 80s schooling culture, which views learning as only taking place when an authority figure and perceived expert lectures to a group of relatively passive learners.

“The managers we speak to simply do not believe that their subordinates have the maturity needed for self learning,” says Tim Andrews, Programme Manager at Siyandza Skills Development, “and this translates into a desire for classroom training as the primary learning medium.”

On the other hand, the rapid pace of change in the modern business world means companies are expecting staff to learn ever more complex and frequently changing information. Training teams are trying to work faster and harder as they attempt to 'download' information into the learners, 'rebooting' them into their jobs as soon as classroom session ends. Consequently, 'refresher training' has become accepted as a normal course, rather than an unwanted exception.

In the mean time, the same staff are rapidly learning from and communicating with one another through popular social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, proving that where the need to 'know' exists, and the channel is made readily available, little will hold people back, regardless of age, gender or culture.

Siyandza's ELP aims to help break this 'spoon-feeding' approach by wholly integrating the pedagogic principles of outcomes-based education (OBE), and the quality principles stipulated by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), principles that fundamentally place the responsibility for learning in the adult learner's hands.

“The OBE approach and SAQA guidelines have fortunately settled firmly into the South African Training and Development world,” says Austin, “and it was possible to even include certain nuances surrounding these into our design.”

The second identifiable problem was the general experience trainers and training managers had of either LMS or CMS software in the past.

“Generally we found,” says Andrews, “that people saw e-learning in terms of PDF files, e-books and online assessments, and did not yet have a concept of what could or should be done with all the technical power we now have on hand.”

“The sky is really the limit” says Austin, “if you think about the power of adding features and functions that can seriously aid learning in the modern organisation, such as social media, interactive videos, replicating proprietary software into training environments, multiple user gaming, online assessments, Flash video, and virtual conferencing, to say nothing of functions such as near field communications (NFC) and the value of real time reporting.”

It is all to do with the underlying perception at play, where the view of e-learning in general has been to try and convert traditional learning courseware into computer-based documents, rather than starting from scratch and looking at the features that could be included as if the system were a completely blank slate.

“We included as many of these possible features in our standard ELP solution,“ says Austin, “but perhaps, more importantly, have the skill and resources to quickly develop additional features, should a customer desire it. We recently rolled out a whole new e-learning system with chat, virtual classroom and virtual whiteboard functionality to a large mobile phone service provider in just under three months.”

Not being able to source local technology has been another chief hurdle preventing the development of e-learning in South Africa. Many local companies have simply not had the appetite to support yet another powerful, but demanding, technology platform as proffered by international suppliers.

And while the hosted solution is one way around the problem, dollar, pound or euro exchange rates have made maintenance costs prohibitive, and supplier protocols set up for American or European clients have made turnaround times too slow to react to real-world demand.

“Naturally, “says Austin, “we don't have to worry about the exchange rate as an obstacle, but perhaps, more importantly, we have designed the technology to achieve three things: firstly to give our clients the option of a cloud-based solution that requires no additional technology cost and seamlessly links multiple office locations or staff at anytime and anywhere in the world; secondly, to keep costs low enough to compete effectively with the costs associated with classroom-based training; and finally, to offer a 'try before you buy' pilot system.”

This means South African companies can say they are supporting local companies, using a BEE level 3 supplier, and winning the advantages of an e-learning system that has been thought through by South African trainers, defined by lessons learnt, and engineered to satisfy real, rather than perceived needs.