Skills2Learn has appointed Barungwa Consulting, a skills and business development consultancy, as a reseller of its HIV/AIDS e-learning software.
Lebogang Gwanga, managing member of Barungwa Consulting, says the Skills2Learn HIV/AIDS e-learning course satisfies the company's requirements in terms of relevance and focus. "The software is gender-sensitive and politically correct, and is all-encompassing in terms of what we need to do to manage HIV and AIDS," says Gwanga.
The material comes in a story format and has the ability to both educate and influence behaviour. Available in multiple languages, it uses familiar vocabulary, voice sound and phraseology. Gwanga believes the course encourages and empowers people to take responsibility for prevention and treatment.
"Whatever our level of functioning, we can decide about our own sexual behaviour. The course emphasises this important point, because if we don't look at the choices we make, we will have to spend three times more on antiretroviral treatment," Gwangwa says.
Gwanga says a major problem is that most government and non-government initiatives are interfacing with AIDS only once people are infected. "I'd like to see the Skills2Learn course going into the curriculum of learners - to help teenagers make an informed decision.
"The course can be effectively aligned with a moral regeneration programme. After all, you determine your choices based on your moral socialisation. I would like to see strategic links being made with the education and health departments in promoting the good lifestyle incorporated in the training course."
Gwanga, who provided input into the course material, says the program has many applications for corporates and for government institutions.
"Especially at large companies, not all staff have access to computers. These organisations can set up a common room with facilities for workers, so that they can learn to work a mouse or sit and watch a presentation during their teatime, or whenever. Staff such as cleaners often have no access to HIV/AIDS information."
The simplified format enables computer-literate and non-literate alike to use the software, she says.
"In addition, the course satisfies the requirements of outcomes-based learning, as learners can be assessed on the spot to see how much they have understood."
Skills2Learn chairman Frank Keery adds that the course material is available to people who do not have access to computers. "The materials have been written in such a way that they are deployable on a computer for a single person, or two to three users around a PC. They can be projected on to a screen for an audience - this takes only one computer and a projector. Where no computers are possible, written manuals are available which contain all the course materials in both student and instructor formats. Course materials can also be provided in audio tape format, in eight languages, for standalone use or for use in conjunction with the printed manual."
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Skills2Learn, a provider of world-class e-learning courseware and services, serves its worldwide customers' e-learning systems requirements completely, consistently, and affordably, leading its staff and suppliers in achieving this goal. It is dedicated to increasing the quality, reliability, performance and value of its e-learning products and services on an ongoing basis.
Skills2Learn strives to positively impact the global communities where it conducts business, in particular assisting the disadvantaged in their quest to compete in the digital revolution. It brings best-of-breed learning tools to emerging markets at a price and value that makes mass access possible.
Together with US-based In2ition, Skills2Learn specialises in IT-intensive educational courseware, as well as soft skills training, delivered in a variety of electronic formats. It also provides learning management systems to assist in tracking and managing employee progress through the training process.
Skills2Learn recently released a South African first HIV/AIDS e-learning program, in an interactive story format, concentrating on behavioural modification as well as education.
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