E learn 11 Edition

JAN. 2016

TRENDS AND LEADERSHIP IN LEARNING TECHNOLOGY

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THOMAS EDISON S TAT E C O L L E G E 5 critical steps to a highly effective online offering

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Predictive Analytics Technology

ESCP EUROPE – Designing an online master program: lessons learned P.22

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E MA FFEC AN NA TIV D M GE ELY AT COU AN ER R D IAL SE EF S ACT FICI IVI ENT TIE LY S

Moodlerooms Making your online classroom more simple and manageable

Moodlerooms is an education technology company dedicated to bringing excellent online teaching to institutions across the globe.

Moodlerooms offers different levels of service and support to aid your institution’s online learning programs.

With a wide-range of educational and consulting services, we’re here to help you achieve your online learning goals.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

www.moodlerooms.com

CONTENTS JANUARY 2016

X- R AY

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FROM THE EDITOR ...........................02 EDUCATION

X-Ray Learning Analytics for Moodle: A ready-to-use predictive analytics technology.................... 03

E-LEARN MAGAZINE IS A PUBLICATION OF NIVEL SIETE, A BLACKBOARD COMPANY. For more information please contact CAROLINA.PINTOR@ BLACKBOARD.COM

EDUCATION

EDITOR

Thomas Edison State College: 5 critical steps to a highly effective online offering.............. 06

Carolina Pintor

EDUCATION

PHOTOGRAPHY

CONTENT

Manuel Rivera Victoria Holguin Jason Greer Alejandra Franco Ariel Gomez

Middlesex University: Online collaboration - a strategy for strengthening global education. 08 CORPORATE

ART DIRECTION

E-learning: A knowledge management strategy.................. 10

TRiiBU DESIGN

CORPORATE

Enny Rodríguez Camilo Higuera Juan Pachón

Tigo: Creating a corporate university for the development of organizational skills.................... 12

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

CORPORATE

Susan Nye Jenny Hernandez

Bayer: Using e-learning to improve sales effectiveness in Latin America............................ 14

PRINT

EDUCATION

CORPORATE

EDUCATION

Centrum’s brand new MOOC: Learning innovation from one of the top business schools in Perú............. 16

Compañía Colombia Automotriz – Mazda: Managing the cultural change when transitioning to online learning......................... 18

ESCP Europe - Designing an online master program: lessons learned............................. 22

INTERVIEW

Phil Hill Interview: Challenges and trends in the world of education............. 23

EDUCATION

The Medical University of South Carolina: e-learning in Health Sciences......................... 17

Auteco: committed to the safety of motorcyclists in Colombia........... 20

INTERVIEW

LEADERS

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Using learning analytics to “nudge” students into taking more ownership over their learning .... 24 EDUCATION

SUNY Plattsburgh highlights the benefits of the flexible and open Moodle platform............................ 26 CORPORATE

Scandinavia Pharma uses e-learning to train a superior sales force.... 28

Panamericana Formas e Impresos S.A. Printed in Colombia © 2015 E-learn Magazine is a product of Nivel Siete, a Blackboard company. All rights reserved. The views expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and do not reflect the opinions, policies or official positions of Blackboard, Moodlerooms or Nivel Siete.

Statements about future plans or prospects are given on the date this and not intended to be a prediction of future events. We assume no obligation to update any statement at any time.

EDITORIAL

From the editor

CAROLINA PINTOR PINZÓN EDITOR AT E-LEARN MAGAZINE

@CARITOPINTOR

JANUARY 2016

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he first quarter of 2016 kicked off with several large projects and big ambitions for us at the E-Learn Magazine. We are very proud to introduce this, our first international edition of the magazine in which we have collected and are sharing best practices and e-learning initiatives from across all regions of the world.

Being a part of the family of open source solutions within Blackboard Inc. provides us the opportunity to share our understanding of trends in North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America – our understanding of news, practices and initiatives related to e-learning solutions for teaching and learning.

In this edition, we introduce our X-Ray Learning Analytics product, a powerful predictive analytics technology ready for use with Moodle. Thank you to Aleksander Dietrichson, Ph.D. in Comparative Education and Senior Data Scientist, Blackboard Inc. who contributed this article.

I’d like to also thank our other key contributors to this edition: August “Chip” Stoll and Matthew Cooper of Thomas Edison State College (TESC) in New Jersey, Peter Friesen of the State University of New York (SUNY), Stanley Sulkowski at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Alex Chapman of Middlesex University in London, Sergio Vasquez of ESCP Europe in Madrid and Phil Hill, consultant and strategic partner of MindWires Consulting.

Within this edition, you will also find articles from international companies from industries beyond education, such as–Mazda, Bayer, Scandinavia Pharma, Tigo, SNC-Lavalin, Auteco and Centrum – all who have trusted Moodlerooms (formerly Nivel Siete) as their partner in attaining their teaching and learning goals.

This edition is the beginning of a journey that we want to share with our global audience. Our goal is to bring compelling content that is of interest to all of you.

SINCERELY,

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X-Ray Learning Analytics for Moodle: A ready-to-use predictive analytics technology X-RAY LEARNING ANALYTICS IS A p r e dic t i v e an al y t ic s s olu t ion t h a t goe s abo v e and be y ond r e p or t ing and s t a t is t ic s .

X- R a y L e ar ning A n al y t ic s ’ mo s t no t able f e a t ur e is t he u s e of qu an t i t a t i v e linguis t ic s - t he in - de p t h s t ud y of langu age u s e - t h a t allo w s t e ac he r s t o r e t hink t heir t e ac hing s t r a t e gie s and t he r e b y inc r e a s e s t ude n t s ’ ac ade mic s uc c e s s .

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earning Analytics refers to the measurement, analysis and generation of data around the performance of students in different contexts with the intent of optimizing learning. With this in mind, let’s consider the functionality and scope of X-Ray Learning Analytics, which integrates with Moodle through the Moodlerooms solution.

Let us imagine a technology so powerful that it enables teachers to concentrate their efforts on the academic progress of each individual student, while CONTINUE ON NEXT PAGE

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E D U C AT I O N JANUARY 2016

Aleksander Dietrichson,

“WITH X-R AY LEARNING ANALY TICS, TEACHERS ACCESS TO PREDIC TIVE ANALY TICS THAT WILL ALLOW THEM TO DIAGNOSE, UNDERSTAND AND AC T TO ENHANCE THE LEARNING E XPERIENCE OF THEIR STUDENT S.”

saving them time in processes like assessment . X-Ray Learning Analytics does exactly this through its analysis of discussions.

It prioritizes the quality of entries made by students through the linguistic features they use and it conducts frequency and semantic analysis on the use of words. It is also able to understand the social connections of students with other learners.

Aleksander Dietrichson, PhD in Statistics and Senior Data Scientist at Blackboard Inc. shares that the use of X-Ray Learning Analytics “provides teachers insight that allows them to develop academic processes in courses, thereby delivering greater educational value to students.” Also, teachers obtain different reports when they need them through the use of the tool, thus allowing for course optimization.

X-Ray Learning Analytics’ mitigation of risk feature is another aspect that deserves highlighting. This feature is especially attractive as it provide results that predict which students are lagging behind in their learning processes. Instructors can then act to avoid failures that then impact dropout rates. Thus, not only is awareness being raised as to the different learning paces, but teachers are also insight into the effectiveness of various teaching methodologies.

Similarly, teachers and instructors directly benefit from having – simply and

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intuitively – an overview that favors the development of strategies and activities to overcome unwanted behaviors and suggest solutions, while measuring the levels of satisfaction and understanding the factors of motivation of students within a specific course; in other courses and even with cross-organizational performance. All this is done without the need to interpret complex or complicated metric data. X-Ray Learning Analytics facilitates this task by condensing data and delivering it ready for use.

An opportunity for teachers lies in the fact that they can use the grades suggested in the discussion fora, due to the fact that the technology in X-Ray Learning Analytics conducts analysis corresponding to the critical thinking that students use in order to write and perform their tasks.

By integrating this tool with Moodle, the teaching role focuses on selecting and developing activities that positively impact learning experiences, as well as to identify the behaviors of students to improve their performance and to promote student satisfaction; among others.

Thus, current educational dynamics demand that teachers employ analytical tools to handle their courses effectively and efficaciously, thereby fostering students’ participation and leading them towards success.

PHD IN COMPARATIVE EDUCATION AND SENIOR DATA SCIENCIST AT BLACKBOARD INC.

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Thomas Edison State College: 5 critical steps to a highly effective online offering MATTHEW COOPER, ASSOCIATE PROVOST, CENTER FOR LEARNING AND Te c hnolog y and A ugu s t “ C hip” St oll, A s s oc ia t e Dir e c t or, MIS , T hom a s E dis on St a t e C olle ge in Ne w Je r s e y (U S A ) s p e ak abou t t he s t r a t e gie s e mplo y e d t o build a s uc c e s sf ul online of f e r ing .

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homas Edison State College (TESC), founded in 1972, is one of New Jersey’s 11 public higher education institutions. With a student population ranging from 30 to 55 years of age, it is one of the first schools in the United States designed specifically for adults.

To meet their students’ growing demands for greater, high-quality, effective use of technology to enhance learning, TESC began to develop a centralized approach to online course design. They followed the following five steps to success.

• Step one: one common, consistent learning experience. The Center for Learning and Technology became responsible for developing courses for all the various colleges within the institution. Their goal was to guarantee a consistent learning experience across courses in order to minimize the learning curve and ensure

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all students had an equal opportunity for success.

In turn, they standardized on the Moodlerooms elearning platform and added plugins and tools such as: Questionmark Perception, Campus Pack and Kaltura. Once these solutions were in place, Stoll and Cooper felt that this combination of high-quality, integrated technical solutions created a foundation that would enable a level playing field between both onsite and online education.

• Step two: a team approach to course content. Creating online content and determining which technologies would best enhance learning requires a strong team. TESC ‘s course development team is comprised of an assessment developer, an instructor technologist, an instructional designer, the content creators and the subject matter expert – usually the professor - who determines the content to be included

August “Chip” Stoll ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, MIS

Matthew Cooper ASSOCIATE PROVOST, LEARNING AND TECHNOLOGY

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in each course, “This team approach makes us unique - to be able to provide a much more consistent online learning experience,” states Cooper

• Step three: curriculum mapping. Course objectives must be considered from the outset of course development and design. They must be aligned and mapped through the course’s development in order to ensure all objectives are accounted for and to make certain students are clear on how they will be assessed.

• Step four: ensure content is engaging. Generating engaging content encourages class participation. “Technology should encourage participation…the inclusion of simulations, special projects, videos and so on…that keeps the student passionate and continuously engaged,” shares Cooper.

• Step five: learner analytics. Critical to TESC’s success and one of its greatest differentiators is their collection and analysis of the student data. “Moodlerooms has tools that help collect and analyze a lot of data throughout the course in terms of student assessment and attendance,” explained Cooper. TESC uses this data to measure their performance and also identify students with problems early enough to be able to intervene and help them.

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E D U C AT I O N JANUARY 2016

WITH A HISTORY THAT DATES BACK 130 y e ar s , Middle s e x Uni v e r si t y is an e duc a t ion al in s t i t u t ion t h a t ar o s e f r om mul t iple c olle ge s and t r aining in s t i t u t ion s in Nor t h L ondon , E ngland c oming t oge t he r. Tod a y, i t is a w or ld - c la s s in s t i t u t ion wi t h c amp u s e s and p ar t ne r s hip s t h a t s t r e t c h ac r o s s t he globe.

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esearch with an international perspective is a core pillar for Middlesex University – as their ambition is to drive positive change and to make an impact on business, society and the world. In turn, they work to ensure their students have access to the latest research and cutting-edge thinking; a strategy that has enabled them to become a truly global university with institutions on three continents and students from more than 140 countries[i].

Given the strength and significance of their global student body, Middlesex University must provide students cutting-edge options for education – options like online learning. Their online offering provides students with opportunities for class collaboration and participation regardless of geography or learning modality, in a fully-supported manner. Instructors provide assistance and guidance throughout the curriculum, and the university provides technical support to assist with any difficulties that may arise. Online has enabled Middlesex

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Middlesex University: Online collaboration a strategy for strengthening global education

University to offer high-quality teaching globally thereby strengthening its international recognition Alex Chapman for innovative academic programs.

HEAD OF To build this online learning program, Middlesex TECHNOLOGY ENHANCED University partnered with Moodlerooms to create a LEARNING IN virtual learning environment optimal for its nearly 40,000 MIDDLESEX students. The focus of this partnership was on the de- UNIVERSITY. ployment of the technology, as well as – and equally important - on the strategic and tactical strategies for training their instructors. Their interest was to build awareness and skill around teaching and collaborating online with a global student body.

Given the focus on making a difference internationally and thereby wanting to constantly improve the quality of teaching and learning offered in each course, Middlesex University actively researches other institutions and organizations for best practices and new ideas. They are

constantly exploring success stories shared by others around increasing the level of student engagement.

Learning analytics is one of the best practices they have identified for incorporation into their online learning offering. Middlesex University sees the information learning analytics provides around the progress, achievements, participation and attendance of students as incredibly valuable in helping identify students’ learning and support needs. They intend on using this data to establish new assessment models to identify and assist in three critical ways. First, these models will help determine the most effective ways to teach concepts. Second, they will help identify successful students who may need extra support to reach their full potential. And finally, they will help identify at-risk students in need of intervention, which will reduce dropout rates and improve student success.

“WE CULTIVATE AND ENCOUR AGE THE AC ADEMIC COMMUNIT Y IN THE USE OF TECHNOLOGIES FOR COLL ABOR ATIVE LEARNING.” Middlesex University’s Moodlerooms deployment has provided them integrated plugins that facilitate their high-quality teaching strategies. For example, ebooks are used across all modules as the core text. The integration of electronic textbook content within the online course allows teachers to highlight certain sections, make recommendations or notations on key concepts and prompt discussion. The electronic textbook plugin encourages and supports ​​collaborative learning as it enables the opportunity for discussion and interaction while students are studying. The incorporation of social networks is also an example of a plugin that drives collaboration within a course.

Middlesex University realizes that quality teaching to a global student body is an evolving process; one that requires ongoing training. In turn, they are focused on offering instructors continuous training, support and time to help them develop and refine the skills required to confidently deliver a high-quality blended course. This will, in turn, ensure that at all levels of the institution stand out as excellent. [i] Middlesex University website @ http://www.mdx.ac.uk.

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E-learning: A knowledge management strategy KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IS ONE OF SNC-LAVALIN ‘S c or p or a t e s t r a t e g y pillar s . In t ur n , S NCL a v alin , C olombia f oc u s e s muc h of t heir ef f or t s on e - le ar ning a s t he y v alue t he be nef i t s i t of f e r s - br o ad r e ac h , inc r e a s e d f le x ibili t y and lo w e r c o s t, t o n ame a f e w. T he f ollo wing is b a s e d on our in t e r v ie w wi t h R af ael Or doñe z , Qu ali t y M an age r a t S NC- L a v alin , C olombia .

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NC-Lavalin, Colombia’s e-learning efforts were conceived to optimize the training process by offering a functional and user-friendly platform that would reach employees across all departments and geographical areas. Based on this need, the company engaged Moodlerooms (formerly Nivel Siete) to guide them on the graphic implementation and optimization of the Moodle platform in order to maximize the effectiveness of their delivery of courses, content, assessments, etc.

Of recent, SNC-Lavalin, Colombia’s focus has been on building and delivering an e-learning training program on AutoPLANT - an engineering design software used for projects in the oil and gas sector.

This AutoPLANT training program is comprised of 12 courses, each one of them comprising 4 to 5 modules. It was designed for engineering employees to learn to use this software so they can do their jobs more effectively.Prior to the adoption of e-learning, SNC-Lavalin, Colombia depended on face-to-face training which incurred high costs in terms of time and logistics, as each training required physically gathering employees together. Furthermore, the company lacked a course repository that could be used as reference by employees.

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With the e-learning project implementation, SNC-Lavalin, Colombia has realized numerous benefits: employees no longer need to travel for training which lessens cost and time, they can reach employees regardless of their location and employees have access to the content for the course as well as for reference later on. The result – more employees are acquiring the training critical to their professional development and critical to the increased effectiveness of the company.

Employee response to e-learning has been a testament to their success. María del Carmen Ramírez, Process

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Area Planner, affirmed, “In my opinion, e-learning is great; the Autoplant course has been very specific - it teaches the step-by-step process in a very detailed way. I can study at my own pace, making this platform an excellent tool.” Catalina León, Process Engineer, stated, “The fact that course materials can be queried as a reference - anytime and anywhere - and that feedback is received – it is amazing”. PSEsharedMthe quality of my greatinitiative.

While there are numerous benefits to e-learning as depicted above, it should be noted that e-learning is an ongoing process. SNC-Lavalin, Colombia works

with Moodlerooms to ensure Moodle is continuously upgraded and they are always looking for ways to better design, present and communicate the content in order to achieve improved learner outcomes.

Given their success with this AutoPLANT training program, SNC-Lavalin, Colombia is seen within SNC-Lavalin as a true pioneer. SNC-Lavalin is now considering translating the course into English to extend coverage to other company offices.

SNC-Lavalin is one of the leading engineering and construction groups in the world and a major player in the ownership of infrastructure. Founded in 1911, SNC-Lavalin, headquartered in Canada, has offices in 50 countries and does business in nearly 100 countries.

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Tigo: Creating a corporate university for the development of organizational skills

Felipe Murcia, TRAINING DIRECTOR, TIGO.

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IN 2013, AS A MEANS TO MEET AND EXCEED THE r e quir e me n t s of Millic om , t heir p ar e n t c omp an y, T igo c r e a t e d a c or p or a t e uni v e r si t y. It s mis sion is t o de v elop e mplo y e e or g ani z a t ion al s k ills ac r o s s all le v els of t he c omp an y. To ac hie v e t his , t he y e ng age d Moodle r oom s (f or me r l y Ni v el Sie t e) f or a s sis t anc e in de v eloping t he s t r a t e g y and t he n imple me n t ing t he e - le ar ning s olu t ion . T he f ollo wing ar t ic le is b a s e d on our c on v e r s a t ion wi t h F elip e Mur c ia , Tr aining Dir e c t or a t T igo .

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o meet the requirements of their parent company and help their employees excel, Tigo created a corporate university.

Their goal was to develop human talent, ensure adequate talent capacity and provide skill management. Hence, the corporate university operates as follows: there are six named competencies managed across all direct company employees. The content identified within each competency differs according to job title/level within the organization. There are four such levels: vice president, manager, director and staff. When an employee accesses the platform, he/she will find his/her curriculum based on his/her level within the organization.

Tigo’s objective is to ensure that each employee adopts and develops these competencies. The six competencies are: • Encouraging impact of their cross-departmental work in the future collaboration and • Preparing communication employees for – i.e. sharing of the acceptance experiences and of organizational knowledge - to build change and robust project teams attracting human • Promoting analysis talent with a of internal and positive attitude external attitudes and an amenable related to disposition corporate direction • Raising awareness and promoting on the importance employees to of employee think about the empowerment

Tigo views their ability to deliver this universally consistent, role-adapted content to all of its employees to be one of the greatest benefits of e-learning.

And based upon the positive response the corporate university has gotten, their employees agree. Employees appreciate the training and Tigo is committed to continuing the effort as a means to strengthen their organization in accordance with Millicom’s guidelines.

Beyond improving day-to-day processes, Tigo’s success with this program has enabled them to better manage times of disruption. For instance, Tigo is currently going through a merger with the telecommunications firm UNE resulting in significant organizational changes. These changes are being successfully managed and overcome thanks to the training aimed at change management.

This merger provides great opportunity for the corporate university to continue growing their e-learning offerings across the organization as it is estimated that nowadays, 98% of direct employees - equivalent to nearly 1200 people - have access to the platform and use it for training purposes. After the merger, this figure will double thereby positioning the corporate university more prominently within the company.

The need for talent management to achieve corporate goals is a reality in today’s world. Companies must lead the process by creating sound human talent development programs and use the new methodologies the global word offers to facilitate and improve organizational processes, just as Tigo is currently doing.

and the value of independent work • Maximizing client service efforts through the design, planning and execution of metrics and strategies that reward a positive relationship with internal and external clients • Ensuring that all projects are of high quality and delivered on time

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Bayer: Using e-learning to improve sales effectiveness in Latin America BAYER, THE PHARMACEUTIC AL industr y giant, finds e-learning to be an extraordinar y resource in improving its coaching and training of their medical sales representatives and district managers. This ar ticle is based on our inter view with Rafael Vargas, Ph.D. of Educational Sciences, specializing in Biology and Chemistr y, Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Latin America.

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ayer’s training platform, Pharmaestro, was created 7 years ago when they partnered with Moodlerooms (formerly Nivel Siete), the largest Moodle partner in Latin America. It has since evolved to become a regional training model for success within the company.

Bayer’s path to success followed three distinct stages:

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STAGE ONE: THE CHALLENGE

Bayer needed to train its sales force – most of whom were unfamiliar with the pharmaceutical and medical industries. They were faced with educating them on the science of their pharmaceuticals as well as training them to confidently and comfortably communicate with doctors.

Bayer did offer an intranet-accessed virtual library, but that was useful for content review only. All other study materials were sent via email which was not guaranteed to go through and was impossible to manage.

• The majority of the training took place face-to-face training, which also had its challenges. It was considered: • Too long and tedious as it lasted 5-6 weeks • Expensive as food, transportation and accommodation expenses were incurred • Exhausting for the trainer

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STAGE THREE: SUCCESS

Since their e-learning launch, the outcomes have been very rewarding: • Leaners come to class prepared since they have advance access to the course content • Examination feedback enables the learner to improve and succeed • Communication with the learner is much more personalized and thereby effective • Live sessions are offered to answer questions and resolve concerns • Significant cost savings due to no longer incurring the faceto-face course expenses • Able to offer a broader range of courses • Learner flexibility as they can advance at their own pace and whenever they would like given 24x7 accessibility; they can even train minutes before they begin their visit to the doctor Today, the platform is fully established within Bayer. The sales force knows that this is their single source for everything they need to be successful at their job. The impact has been so positive that other business units in the company, such as consumer care and animal products, have begun to implement similar e-learning strategies to achieve their own objectives.

STAGE TWO: RESEARCHING SOLUTIONS

Bayer started looking initially for a multimedia content creation solution and in their search came across Moodlerooms, a learning management system (LMS). After several meetings with Moodlerooms, they began to value the benefits an LMS offers beyond that of solely creating engaging content. They began to see how the implementation of an LMS platform would enable them to graphically customize their content so that it would be eye-catching, but would also enable them to manage grades, setup exams, present and manage interactive content, incorporate forums and chats to keep communication more fluid, etc.

And so, Bayer determined that their best approach would be to partner with Moodlerooms (formerly Nivel Siete), a process which included: • Training on Moodle • Developing their e-learning skills of uploading, managing and administering courses • Acquiring 24/7 support Overall, Bayer found the Moodlerooms implementation process fast and efficient.

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E D U C AT I O N JANUARY 2016

Centrum’s brand new MOOC: Learning innovation from one of the top business schools in Perú

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entrum, powered by Moodlerooms (formerly Nivel Siete), announced they will be offering massive open online courses (MOOCs).

These free and open virtual MBA courses with a certification option, are open to all students. And the reaction to this announcement was tremendous - within four days of the launch, the registration numbers have outpaced expectations.

Centrum’s objective in building these MOOCs was to create a new alternative for higher education in Peru and thereby attract those who might not otherwise be interested in furthering their education. Their goal is to make access to education more equal.

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CENTRUM, THE BUSINESS S c hool of Uni v e r sid ad C a t ólic a del P e r ú , launc he d one of t he mo s t inno v a t i v e, s op his t ic a t e d and mode r n e duc a t ion p r oje c t s of P e r u .

For the student, starting a MOOC is very simple and non-threatening as the only thing it requires is registering and enrolling in a course. From there, Centrum has made every effort to ensure that the content is engaging, informative, high quality and even entertaining. Beyond content, Centrum also requires that each course is facilitated by an instructor with the goal of ensuring student progress.

At present, Centrum has four MOOCs available: Strategic Administration for Management, Productive Operations and Services Management, Financial Engineering and Global Financial Markets, and Strategic Design for Organizations. An additional two new courses are expected to open in the upcoming days. It is worth highlighting that the only payment made by users is if they would like a certification documenting successful course completion.

With 6,500 active MOOC students, this project is considered an enormous triumph. The success of it is attributed to the strong, collaborative partnership between Centrum and Moodlerooms (formerly Nivel Siete). While Centrum provided the content expertise, Moodlerooms (formerly Nivel Siete) provided its advisory and consultancy services to design a sound, ambitious project, based on the requirements of the Business School. Due in large part to this partnership, Centrum has been ranked first in Latin America in the Online MBA ranking, according to the 2014 Financial Times.

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The Medical University of South Carolina: e-learning in Health Sciences THE LEARNING PLATFORM OF THE MEDICAL University of South Carolina (MUSC) annually receives about 2,500 individuals to take virtual courses geared to support their education processes, with student’s ages ranging from 16 to 50 or even 60.

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onsidering that MUSC focuses on matters related to health sciences, they have been very careful in creating contents for the platform, as they are fully aware of the need to properly separate subjects, given that some experiences are to be acquired in on-site classes, such is the case of clinical practices, which are difficult to replace with online simulated practices. Nonetheless, in the e-learning

scenario, there is a lot of introductory content –for students’ first years – covering all the subjects to be studied.

This is why the College of Nursing at the University has stood out as experts in the implementation and management of the tools that the platform offers. Thanks to good instructor-student communication, uniform and consistent course design, and easy-to-access resources like audiovisual materials, (in this case videoconferences) students have enjoyed a closer learning experience. This results in a more satisfactory experience for professors and excellent student performance.

In this regard, it is important to recognize that courses are created by experts, who are part of each college’s staff, who have adopted a pragmatic attitude toward content development and maintenance, and therefore, encourage content creation. Thanks to this there has been a successful transition from traditional learning to virtual learning, as this has implied substantial time savings for both instructors and students, enabling different learning paces given that content is fully available 24 hours a day on the platform.

With the foregoing and according to the results and the experience acquired by MUSC, in future the platform design is expected to be more accessible so students with any visual impairment (or other kinds) gradually get a much more complete and dynamic learning experience and so make the most of all the content.

Stanley Sulkowski DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTIONAL SYSTEMS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND FACULTY RESOURCES.

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Compañía Colombia Automotriz – Mazda: Managing the cultural change when transitioning to online learning ARTICLE BASED ON OUR INTERVIEW wi t h Jair o Gir aldo L ondoño , Tr aining Dir e c t or, C omp añía C olombian a A u t omo t r i z - M a z d a .

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ore than six years ago Compañía Colombiana Automotriz-Mazda began transitioning from onsite to online training aimed at developing competencies amongst all of their dealership employees, but especially

those of technical personnel, client service representatives and spare parts consultants – many of whom are not comfortable using computers.

EMPLOYEE TRAINING IS A CRITICAL CONTRIBUTOR TO HIGH CLIENT SATISFACTION

In order to add value to their products, Compañía Colombiana Automotriz-Mazda began introducing onsite training classes and workshops more than 30 years ago aimed at providing improved sales and post-sales services. The success of this training has been a key factor in gaining high client satisfaction marks and has, in turn, lead to an increase in financial results across all business functions.

Mazda’s corporate training department, though, needed to balance the value of training with the cost and limited coverage of the onsite modality. In turn, they began to pursue and develop online training.

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Jairo Giraldo Londoño, Mazda.

TRAINING DIRECTOR COMPAÑÍA COLOMBIANA AUTOMOTRIZ-MAZDA

It is worth highlighting that each and every one of the courses is part of the academic program that all workers must successfully complete in order to be certified.

FINDING EXPERT GUIDANCE

“When faced with change and breaking paradigms, the initial phases will always be less certain and full of obstacles. In our case, we were well advised by Moodlerooms (formerly Nivel Siete) from day one which allowed for a smooth transition. The solutions proposed by the Moodlerooms experts contributed to overcoming obstacles in an agile and timely manner, so that the transition from onsite to online training was neither traumatic for our instructors nor for the online learners, who for the most part were just beginning to get started in the online world,” states Jairo Giraldo.

THE NUMBERS SPEAK TO SUCCESS

Jairo Giraldo, Mazda’s Training Director shares, “At this point, we have reached a fair balance between the two modalities of learning - to the point that both onsite and online courses complement each other and contribute to the improvement of employee competencies across the dealership network.”

BREAKING THE PARADIGM

Though many Mazda employees transitioned to online learning easily, there was a large group of automotive technical employees who were not accustomed to using a computer. Their comfort level with a computer and therefore online learning was low. So, when introducing online learning, Mazda’s training team had to account for a change in modality as well as overcoming the barrier of educating employees on how to use the computer to access and complete the training successfully.

Today, Mazda has a sound training program with nearly 1,400 registered learners. Learners use it to take courses as well as to keep updated on news, sales manuals, vehicle data sheets, owner´s manuals, newsletters, driving techniques videos, etc.

The course completion rate is 85% - a huge testament to the degree of commitment and responsibility by both learners and instructors, especially given that the training is free. This completion rate is also a testament to Mazda’s success in adapting their organizational culture to become one where workers value these online training courses and view them as a key tool for improving their competences and for personal growth.

Finally, it should be noted that Mazda´s training, teaching and coaching model is the result of long, ongoing and innovative work. At this point, online training has become the ideal complement to onsite training as it enables mass training, cost reduction and a high availability of learning as it is delivered anytime, anywhere.

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INTERVIEW JANUARY 2016

Auteco: committed to the safety of motorcyclists in Colombia THE AUTECO ORGANIZATION, WITH 72 YEARS OF m ar k e t e x p e r ie nc e, is b y f ar t he le ade r of t he mo t or c y c le indu s t r y in C olombia .

It s c ommi t me n t t o t he c oun t r y goe s be y ond mo t or c y c le m anuf ac t ur ing and s ale s – t o ini t ia t ing and s up p or t ing s oc ial r e s p on sibili t y ef f or t s p e r t aining t o mo t or c y c le s af e t y.

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ván García has been Auteco’s Social Responsibility Chief for the past 8 years. In this role, he has spearheaded various critical projects including market research and client management. Garcia is also teaches at various universities in the city of Medellín.

THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXCERPT FROM OUR INTERVIEW WITH IVÁN GARCÍA. INTERVIEWER: HOW WAS THIS MOTORCYCLIST SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PROJECT CONCEIVED AND WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE?

IVÁN GARCÍA: The World Health Organization has declared the motorcycle

road accident rate to be an international health problem. Colombia has seen this first hand and, therefore, Auteco realized the importance of leading and delivering activities, exercises and initiatives around road safety. We believe it is our social responsibility to devise strategies and partner with other organizations to improve the accident and road safety rate figures – and driver education is our top strategy.

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Therefore, we created the Auteco education program, which encompasses more than 10 social responsibility initiatives. One of them is the creation of an online training course delivered on an e-learning platform, Moodlerooms, which will allow us to reach a large number of new or future motorcyclists with a message of road safety, safe road behaviors and knowledge specific to their vehicle.

INTERVIEWER: WHY E-LEARNING? WERE YOU INSPIRED BY AN INTERNATIONAL PROJECT OR BY A WELL-KNOWN CASE STUDY?

IVÁN GARCÍA: E-learning allows us to broadly commu-

nicate the road safety message to all motorcyclists; it gets us closer to the drivers on the road. We want to eliminate the barriers to road education that exist for motorcyclists and therefore, wanted to make available simple and informative courses that are accessible to all without any time or space boundaries.

Auteco has strong ties to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF), one of the most important motorcyclist road safety organizations. MSF has been successfully using e-learning as a powerful tool to educate people regardless of their location. We looked to MSF as an example given their initiatives and goals were similar to those of our project - as we wanted to reach most of the municipalities in Colombia with a clear road safety and safe motorcycle driving message.

We saw two major education gaps that we could help close: 1) the lack of knowledge on the part of those buying the motorcycle, and 2) the lack of an adequate education around motorcycle driving.

Therefore, we believe that having free e-learning courses will allow us to reach many people in a fun and enjoyable manner with a very clear message. At a minimum, if by the end of the course learnershave gained certain awareness that motorcycle driving is a major responsibility, we will have made tremendous advances in achieving our purpose.

INTERVIEWER: HOW IS THE COURSE STRUCTURED? IVÁN GARCÍA: To market our safety and road education

initiatives, we created a character and named him “Teco”. Teco is an exemplary, well-educated motorcyclist who knows his vehicle extraordinarily well and who also knows the responsibilities he assumes when riding a motorcycle. We use Teco to market our

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To accomplish this adaption, we built a project team of both internal and external people who are well versed in motorcyclist education. The team’s objective was to ensure that the student can identify with the information and that it is close to 100% applicable to his/ her day-to-day life. We hope that this will encourage the student to reflect on the need to learn how to drive his/her vehicle expertly.

And, we view Moodlerooms as our ally in our process to develop this dream. We have found the information, methodology, customization and tools proposed for this project to be in perfect alignment with our needs. And, more importantly - they have believed and supported us with our vision.

INTERVIEWER: WHAT IS NEXT FOR THIS PROJECT? IVÁN GARCÍA: Next, we are going to focus on assessing

our success. Since this is the first time that the motorcycle automotive industry in Colombia has had a virtual social responsibility initiative devoted to road safety, we must review and study critical success indicators, such as suitability of content and user acceptance.

We are considering future phases for drivers who require more thorough knowledge of driving techniques and people who rely on their motorcycles for work. Therefore, we are convinced that this project will increase in relevance and will become the focus of road safety educational initiatives industry-wide.

INTERVIEWER: HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS? IVÁN GARCÍA: Since this is a social responsibility initia-

message of safety and to increase awareness of our education offerings to all Colombians.

The content of our e-learning offering is that of a basic motorcycle driving course. It is divided into four sections. Upon completion, the motorcyclist will be prepared to drive his/her vehicle responsibly.

Iván García AUTECO’S SOCIAL RESPONSABILITY CHIEF

tive, and a part of our mission, the outcome we expect to achieve is to raise awareness and to educate motorcyclists on driving their vehicle, which will contribute to the motorcycle accident rate reduction. To measure this, we will look at the number of people we train - not only in the main cities where the highest accident rates are reported, but also beyond.

INTERVIEWER: HOW DID YOU CREATE THE TRAINING CONTENT? IVÁN GARCÍA: There is a basic international motorcy-

INTERVIEWER: WHAT WOULD BE YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS

cle driving manual, which was the foundation for the content. We modified and adapted the content in this manual so it would be truly applicable to our local conditions and met more of the educational needs of our motorcyclists.

IVÁN GARCÍA: In the 21st century, all organizations

TO OTHER LEADERS WITH SIMILAR GOALS?

should have e-learning initiatives. I think e-learning could eliminate all displacement issues we face in Colombia by removing the time and space barriers to education and knowledge that many currently face.

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E D U C AT I O N JANUARY 2016

ESCP Europe Designing an online master program: lessons learned SERGIO VASQUEZ, LEARNING INNOVATION MANAGER of E S C P E ur op e, t ells abou t his e x p e r ie nc e a s t he f or me r dir e c t or and c r e a t or of t he E x e c u t i v e M a s t e r s in In t e r n a t ion al B u sine s s (E MIB) f or t he E S C P S c hool C amp u s in M adr id .

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SCP Europe is the oldest business school in the world, founded in 1819 by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris. Today, it has six campuses in Europe: London, Madrid, Paris, Berlin, Italy and Warsaw.

Sergio Vasquez, began his work at ESCP, Paris, in 1992. In 2013, with over 30 years of experience using and applying technology for education improvement, he transferred to ESCP, Madrid to build their online Executive Masters in International Business (EMIB) program. Vasquez started this initiative by developing and creating the program master – one complete, customizable, fully online EMIB program that blends traditional learning with tools like videogames and audiovisual materials. This massive effort took about a year and a half and was launched on October 20, 2014.

Moodlerooms was chosen as the platform of choice for this online

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offering because of its versatility.

Vasquez and his team were looking for a solution that would deliver a pedagogic design that will provide the student learning beyond just the theoretical – it needs to go on to close the gap between theory and the reality the student will face in the professional field. Moodle provides the tools and technology that enables these connections.

The two most critical learnings Vasquez shares from this experience were 1) a different financial model for online programs is required, and 2) online master programs must be created in a way that they can be easily customizable.

ONLINE FINANCIAL MODEL IS DIFFERENT THAN A TRADITIONAL, ONSITE PROGRAM

An onsite professor is paid according to the number of teaching hours. This model is not sufficient in online learning though. A new online program must account for the

significant time and effort required creating, building and designing the course contents. For this reason, it is imperative that an online program have a strong money investment at the beginning in addition to the ongoing costs of the program offering.

BUILT FOR CUSTOMIZATION AND LOCALIZATION

“Wanderer, your footsteps are the road, and nothing more,” is a quote from Spanish poet Antonio Machado that Vasquez uses to explain the importance of ensuring that the master course be built in a way that it can be easily customized and localized. User experience, graphics, content all have to be created so they can easily be adapted to other localities. These design requirements were a major reason as to why the project took a year and a half to complete.

As the result of this successful design, the course built in Spanish will soon be translated into English and French. The goal is for students to truly experience international business by interacting with international students while in their postgraduate studies. Moreover, this will provide students practice and experience with varying languages which is a further differentiator when entering the job market.

SUCCESSES

The successful delivery of this online EMIB program enabled ESCP, Madrid campus, to meet the needs of one of their biggest clients, Respol, Spain’s major oil company. This model will also be used to advance other clients such as: the Polytechnic University of Madrid, the School of Industrial Engineering of the University of Chile, L’Oreal and Pfizer, among others.

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Phil Hill Interview: Challenges and trends in the world of education PHIL IS CO-PUBLISHER OF THE E-LITERATE BLOG, COP r oduc e r of e - L i t e r a t e T V, and P ar t ne r a t Mind W ir e s C on s ul t ing . A s a m ar k e t an al y s t, P hil h a s s p e n t t he la s t 15 y e ar s an al y z ing t he gr o w t h of t e c hnolog y - e n able d c h ange f or e duc a t ion al in s t i t u t ion s , unc o v e r ing and de s c r ibing t he m ajor t r e nd s and implic a t ion s f or t he br o ade r m ar k e t.

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-learn interviewed him and this was what he shared with us: E.L: ACCORDING TO YOUR

EXPERIENCE, WHAT SHOULD HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS TAKE INTO

not easy to understand, and they are not easy to implement. Schools need to be patient.

E.L: HOW SHOULD EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL OF ONLINE EDUCATION?

P.H: In the US, the problem is that institutions and ven-

dors often talk too much about the potential without being realistic. Online education is powerful, but it is not easy. For example, developing online education and teaching the course can cost more money, at least in the early stages, than traditional education.

Going online is not an easy path to “save money”, at least in the short term. Over time, assuming that a school reduces its need for physical facilities, online education can save money, but that requires commitment and difficult decisions.

So my answer is that US institutions need to do a better job at raising awareness of the true potential of online education, setting expectations that can be met. I believe in Latin America it is somewhat of a different challenge; however, I think it is important to be realistic.

ACCOUNT IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT ONLINE EDUCATION PROGRAMS?

E.L: WHAT ABOUT MOODLE? WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON MOO-

P.H: The most important factor is for

DLE IN LATIN AMERICA?

the institution to have a clear idea of what problem they are trying to solve, which should be focused towards gathering an understanding of the target student group. The schools that simply say, “we want a higher enrollment” or “we want to be modern” are most likely to have problems.

Schools that say, “we need to offer this student group what they did not have before, and they need X type of program with Y type of support” are most likely to succeed. While that is true for other types of education, it is especially important for online education, where students might not be used to the format and need extra support.

P.H: Moodle is very important in Latin America due

E.L: REGARDING THE NEW WORLD OF DIGITAL EDUCATION, WHAT ARE THE MAJOR CHALLENGES THAT UNIVERSITIES AND K-12 DISTRICT SCHOOLS SHOULD FACE UP TO?

P.H: The biggest challenge in digital education is to avoid the tendency to

think that digital is easy. Many people think because young people have more experience with the Internet that moving to digital is easy. However, many forms of digital education require re-thinking of how to design courses and a reconsideration of the teacher’s role. These changes are

to its almost universal and low-cost availability. The software is free, and with hosting services, schools and companies can get a low-cost, flexible system.

During my visit, I got a strong sense from people that they pride themselves in being able to solve problems without a lot of resources. Moodle adapts well to this sensitivity, being open source with no software licenses required, as well as being modular and flexible.

E.L: WHAT KIND OF PROBLEMS SHOULD LMS FOCUS ON? P.H: LMS should focus on solving basic problems

and stepping out of the ordinary” to read “LMS should focus on solving basic problems and getting out of the way. The best use for LMS is making lists, course assignments, grading, discussions in simple format, so that teachers and students can focus on learning and not on technology.

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LEADERS JANUARY 2016

Using learning analytics to “nudge” students into taking more ownership over their learning BEC OMING AN INDEPENDEN T OR SEL F -R EGUL AT ED lear ner is an impor t ant par t of becoming a mor e ef fec tive lear ner. T he char ac t eristic s of a selfr egulat ed lear ner include “ t heir r esponsiveness t o feedback r egar ding t he ef fec tiveness of t heir lear ning, and by t heir self-per ceptions of academic accomplishment ” (Zimmer man (2000:14)). For t his t o occur, not only must t he lear ner t aking r esponsibilit y for t heir weaknesses, but facult y need t o give t hem t he oppor t unit y t o identif y, cor r ec t and impr ove upon t hese weak nesses (Frit z (2013)).

T

he following discussion has two aims. Firstly, to outline how a faculty member can redesign their learning activities using the virtual learning environment to provide richer feedback and trigger conversations to nudge their students to become more effective self-regulated learners. Secondly, to outline the case for senior managers to drive this redesign process to enable the institution to take better advantage of learning analytics and data driven decision making.

Davenport et al., (2000) define learning analytics as “the application of analytic techniques to analyze educational data, including data about the learner and teacher activities, to identify patterns of behaviors and provide actionable information to improve learning and

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learning related activities”. An important aspect within this definition is the concept of the data being “actionable”, by either the learner, teacher or another stakeholder group.

To gather data and take actions requires the learning model to move away from an orthodox approach designed around a few high stake summative assessments (typically one essay and an unseen exam) towards one which provides more frequent feedback opportunities and learning loops for the student, while being sustainable and scalable for the faculty member. The orthodox design does not readily develop self-regulated learners because there are not seldom enough reliable and actionable data points.

Consequently, the re-designed approach should include using the VLE quiz

engine, the submission of short online writing tasks (with defined marking criteria) and potentially classroom voting technologies. For example, you could deploy a four online tests (of 5 questions) to be completed by all students at regular intervals throughout the course. This would generate a significant amount of actionable data without significant work. Also, by using a variety of different question types you can easily ensure you are testing the higher order thinking skills of analysis and synthesis. The question types might include Likert scale (to what extent do you agree with …), and short answer questions (in less than 200 words, explain why …). The individual will be able to access their score and feedback online, and compare themselves to the average grade.

The faculty can dedicate a proportion of the next face-to-face teaching session to provide additional feedback on the questions. The learning model should align to the seven principles of good feedback, which includes, helping to clarify good performance, reflection in learning, encouraging teacher and peer dialogue around learning, and providing information to faculty on how to shape their teaching (N icol & Macfarlane-Dick (2006).

So, why should senior managers encourage faculty to

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REFERENCES Bichsel, J., (2012) ECAR Study of Analytics in Higher Education, available at:http:// www.educause.edu/library/ resources/2012-ecar-studyanalytics-higher-education (Accessed October 2015) Davenport, T., Harris, J., and Morrison, R., (2010) Analytics at Work, Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation Fritz, J., (2013) Using Analytics at UMBC, Educause Center for Applied Research, Research Bulletin, available athttps:// net.educause.edu/ir/library/ pdf/ERB1304.pdf Nicol, D., &

Macfarlane-Dick, D., (2006), Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: A model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), 199-218 Nussbaumer, A., Hillemann, E-C., Gutl C., and Albert, D., (2015), “Competence-based Service for Supporting Self-Regulated Learning in Virtual Environments, Journal of Learning Analytics, 2(1), 101-133 Zimmerman, B., (1990), “Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Achievement: An Overview” in Educational Psychologist, 25(1), 3-17

enhance their technology based learning designs? The simple answer is, from the institutional perspective, using the VLE to generate and share data underpins the effective adoption of learning analytics. These individual re-designs will act “as a series of small steps designed to gain experience and make the case that data-based decisions have enhanced value” (Bichsel 2012:26). The use of small scale pilots is essential as learning analytics does not require perfect data, while to identify the benefits of learning analytics an institution needs to apply it to their unique conditions.

Therefore, a number of small scale pilots which are focused on enhanced reporting and effective intervention strategies will enable the institution to improve its readiness for learning analytics. The pilots would instigate conversations around institutional culture, people and processes, as well as technology infrastructure.

What’s next for you? If you are a professor, a good starting point would be to explore the functionality and possibilities of the online quiz tool and grade center.

If you are a senior manager, a good starting point would be to explore effective academic adoption models Andrew Ramsden within the context of your institution.

STRATEGIC Information on both of these is availCONSULTANT: EMEA BLACKBOARD able on Blackboard’s website(http:// www.blackboard.com).

INTERNATIONAL

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E D U C AT I O N JANUARY 2016

SUNY Plattsburgh highlights the benefits of the flexible and open Moodle platform

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CURRENTLY, THE STATE Uni v e r si t y of Ne w Yor k (S UN Y ) in P la t t s bur gh h a s abou t 6 , 0 0 0 s t ude n t s e nr olle d - 5 , 6 39 unde r gr adu a t e s and 412 p o s t g r adu a t e s .

I

n 2011, SUNY Plattsburgh decided to move its online course offerings to the Moodle learning management system. Since then, they have seen an impressive increase in the creation of courses each semester across all modalities: fully online, hybrid/blended, and in support of face-to-face classes. Some 475 course sites were being created and managed by faculty every semester in 2011; today, over 775 course sites are developed each semester.

SUNY Plattsburgh attributes much of this success to the flexibility the platform offers. They have maximized this flexibility by developing their own plugins, such as: • Trouble Report: a block that appears on all pages, making it possible for students to quickly send a support request that automatically includes necessary information regarding the course site and content being viewed, and the browser being used, along with instructor and student contact information • Course Manager: helps instructors duplicate course sites, shift course sites from one semester to the next, dynamically populate course rosters • Library Resources: a contextually aware integration between Moodle and the library system, matching course

sites with research guides so students can easily research topics from within their course

Amongst these, the Course Manager block has had the greatest positive impact with instructors at the university. It was created with the goal of eliminating any obstacles instructors might encounter when managing their course sites, giving the faculty full control over the creation of sites in both the production and development environments.

The block allows faculty to roll over course sites from one semester to the next, attach one (or more) rosters of students to any of their sites, and create new sites (or duplicates of existing ones) in a test environment where they can experiment with new ideas and approaches.

These tasks could be accomplished in Moodle without the block--given sufficient clicks, confirmations, and form fields--but the Course Manager block simplifies the procedures to the point where a single click is often all that’s needed. The block gives the faculty a measure of independence, letting them quickly perform complex tasks without support staff intervention, and the result has been that the faculty have been creating and refining more course sites with every passing semester.

For instructors and learners, these plugins have helped eliminate complicated workflows, reduce the number of clicks, and maximize the learner’s experience.

In the picture (left to right): TJ MYERS, THOMAS BURL, KAREN CASE, PETER FRIESEN, SHAWN AGUGLIA, AARON STANLEY.

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C O R P O R AT E JANUARY 2016

Scandinavia Pharma uses e-learning to train a superior sales force TRAINING IS ONE OF SCANDINAVIA PHARMA’S s t r a t e gic c or p or a t e pillar s . A nd our t r aining p r ior i t y is c le ar - t o e n s ur e t h a t our s ale s f or c e a t t ain s s uf f ic ie n t s c ie n t if ic , me dic al and c omp e t i t i v e k no wle dge t o be ef f e c t i v e in an e v ol v ing m ar k e t. W i t h t he ini t ial go al of t ime op t imi z a t ion , w e f oc u s e d on e - le ar ning a s our me t hod of deli v e r y f or t he s e t r aining c our s e s .

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s background, Scandinavia Pharma’s sales force is divided into four sales segments:

• Brand activation staff: whose clients are the final consumer

• Point of sale representatives: whose clients are pharmacists • Medical sales representatives: whose clients are physicians • Institutional sales representatives: whose clients are health institutions

Scandinavia Pharma recognizes that while all four of these sales teams need to learn our common language and approach, each segment also requires their own unique knowledge, skills and training to be successful.

In turn, we selected the Moodlerooms e-learning platform to deliver customized, role-based content while simultaneously providing a consistent structure to reinforce a common approach to the market. As a result, we have managed to ensure that all sales representatives adopt a common nomenclature, consistent study habits and a collective awareness of the importance of education as a method of continuous self-improvement.

In order to ensure we are accomplishing our training goals, we made specific online course design decisions. For instance, all online courses

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Excerpt from an interview with Dr. Miller Santos Homes, EDUCATION AND TRAINING MANAGER, SCANDINAVIA PHARMA, COLOMBIA.

The response by employees has been highly positive and the benefits span well beyond time optimization: • Highly educated and well-prepared sales force • Comparably low and affordable cost for our e-learning solution • Increased delivery and design flexibility as we customize learning experiences • Great user flexibility given the 24/7 access

have frequent assessments in order to provide the learner an on-going measurement of their knowledge level. If someone does not achieve the required grade, a reinforcement strategy or improvement plan is implemented to improve the knowledge in the deficient area(s). We have also started to implement the use of Articulate Storyline which has helped us incorporate more interactive resources into the courses making them more engaging.While we try to use the e-learning platform for all of our education, we do feel it necessary to have some in-person courses. These in-person courses augment the online courses by focusing on using the knowledge learned online in role-playing scenarios which seek to simulate conversations with clients in the field.

The success of this strategy has been astounding. Using the robust Moodlerooms platform, we have been able to achieve our goal of time optimization.

The Moodlerooms platform has allowed us to improve on our course production cycle. We are now creating 11-12 courses each production cycle of roughly every 22 business days. Given this pace, we expect to have close to 158 courses by the end of the year. And, we expect to have 95% of our sales representatives compete these courses with a grade of 90% or higher.

Finally, thanks to our sound education and training program, Colombia is now viewed as Scandinavia Pharma’s online education leader. Our proven ability to successfully deliver online programs to sales teams has enabled us to ascertain continued corporate support for other e-learning-supported initiatives – like corporate onboarding, our next project.

X-ray Learning Analytics

X-Ray Analytics for Moodlerooms can help you, and your teachers/instructors to

LEARN HOW TO SELECT AND DEVELOP ACTIVITIES AND MATERIALS THAT POSITIVELY IMPACT THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Evaluate effectiveness of course materials and activities.

IDENTIFY AND FOCUS ON AT-RISK STUDENTS

Drive positive outcomes for at-risk learners by recommending specific actions in a timely fashion.

GAIN DEEP INSIGHTS INTO STUDENT BEHAVIOUR AND PERFORMANCE DRIVERS

Improve course-wide student performance and satisfaction.

EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY MANAGE COURSE ACTIVITIES AND MATERIALS

Simplify and enhance course facilitation for instructors and drive deeper interaction and adoption of your LMS. PROMOTE STUDENT SATISFACTION

Develop strong learner communities through discussions, materials, and assessments.

FOR MORE INFORMATION www.moodlerooms.com

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