E-learning the PurpleTrain way

E-learning is the latest buzzword these days. Right off the top of the mind, we know that it stands for the convenience of studying anywhere, anytime.

Yes, the advantages touted are many. You no longer need to fight traffic to get to class, have dinner at 10pm after class or put up with a boring lecturer. You can discuss course materials with lecturers and fellow students while working late at the office or even while having dinner at home. Best of all, its flexibility allows you to study at your own pace.

But e-learning is more than just about convenience. The possibilities it offers are limitless and can be harnessed to actually make the study process more effective.

However, the e-learning world is relatively new to many and students might not be aware of or know that it can be harnessed to yield the advantages beyond the anywhere, anyplace concept.

With this in mind, PurpleTrain was developed to become a comprehensive learning tool to guide students through the e-learning environment. It offers the tools that allow the students to exploit to full advantage this new medium of learning.

At its most basic, course contents are posted online. But even at its most basic, there is an advantage to having the all lecture notes posted at the start of the course. Faster students can shoot ahead as they no longer have to wait for the scheduled classes to cover the particular topics.

As in a traditional classroom course, students are told clearly the goals of the course at the start of each module and what is expected of them. The outline of the syllabus, assessment criteria and reference reading list are clearly spelt out as well as the scheduled activities for the module such as tests and quizzes. All this is to aid students in designing self-paced study structured around a specific timeframe.

One thing that worries students embarking on an online course is the fear that they will have no one to turn to when they need help. At PurpleTrain, students need not worry about studying in a vacuum.

They are assigned chat room sessions when they where they can interact with other coursemates and ask questions of the lecturers. Conducted in real time it offers a multicultural opportunity to exchange views and gain the perspectives of other students from around the world. Students who miss a session also have the benefit of looking up the chat logs to find out what had been discussed.

For those who do not wish to engage in the vigorous debates of the chat room, the discussion rooms offer the venue for them to post questions directly to the lecturers or to each other. Postings in the discussion room are made public so that all students can share information and have the opportunity to post their views as well. This is also an excellent venue for collaboration and exchange of ideas. Post your team discussions here and you would probably receive valuable feedback from others, offering a whole new perspective.

The discussion room also provides a venue for detailed discussion of topics and replies from the facilitator are expected within 24 hours.

Afraid to post queries about your grades or you do not want everyone to know that you have forgotten your password. No worries, there is the private e-mail facility. Here, students can pose questions on anything other than academic matters.

The human touch is very much in evidence at PurpleTrain. Students are not left to swim or sink on their own. An online facilitator, an expert in the subject is assigned to each course. The facilitator takes on the role of a lecturer and leads students through the learning process on a weekly basis, interacting with students via regular chat sessions and answering all questions posted in the discussion room.

Profiles of other students in the course are also available so that they can initiate their own discussion groups.

PurpleTrain is very much a learner-focused system. It allows the user to control his own learning. In fact, it can function very much like a personal study organizer.

It offers value-added services such as a resume session function which marks the page in the course notes the student last accessed and brings him back to the marked page the next session.

A compile function is also available to enable students to compile and print out the required course materials easily. Students have access to off-line support as well. A team of dedicated technical professionals support students through their whole experience on PurpleTrain by providing chat room facilitation support, online exam revisions as well as round-the-clock customer service.

And if you fall off the track somewhere along the way? PurpleTrain tracks the study habits of students and prompts them if they lag behind. So if you haven't logged on for a while, it is likely that a reminder will be on its way to remind you that you need to catch up.

In summary, the e-learning experience on PurpleTrain ensures that not only is the same curriculum coverage, reference materials, study guides and recognition as classroom-based courses is given; but that additional benefits such as immediate feedback on learning progress for self-evaluation and consistent quality of course delivery that does not vary from instructor to instructor is evident.

About PurpleTrain

PurpleTrain.com is an e-learning portal offering a one-stop service for business and IT education programmes, corporate training courses and education-related services.

By combining innovative technology with world-class training content, PurpleTrain.com offers companies and individuals a high value, quality and effective online training solution. About 200 online courses are available, from degree, diploma, certificate to corporate IT training programmes. Our online learning community now stands at over 23,000 users.

PurpleTrain.com is a 100%-owned venture of Informatics Holdings Limited, a leading training and education provider listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

About Informatics

For the financial year ended March 31 2000, Informatics attained a Group turnover of S$159.7 million, an increase of 10% over FY 1998's turnover of S$145.2 million. Its Group Net Profit jumped by 29% from S$10.0 million in the previous year to S$12.9 million due to an increase in demand for IT training and education services. Overseas operations accounted for 61% of the Group's turnover and 58% of the Group's Profit Before Interests and Taxes.

Building on its strength in Asian markets, Informatics made inroads into Europe through its 100% acquisition of NCC Education Limited (previously named as NCC Education Services Limited). NCC is the accreditation centre for computer courses worldwide. In the following year, it acquired CTEC (Computer Training and Education Centre Limited) which has since been re-named Informatics CTEC. It has also acquired 30% of Institute of IT Training in UK which is a standards setting body for "Train the Trainers Programme". In 1999, Informatics partnered with the University of Nottingham to establish Informatics Institute of Information Technology in the University. In the same year, through Informatics Investments Limited, its 60% owned subsidiary, it further acquired 60% equity in Cornerstone Sweden Aktiebolag and increased its stake by another 20% in March 2000.

Informatics has trained over 450,000 students annually worldwide. It currently has partnerships with universities and training establishments such as The University of Nottingham, the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate, RMIT University, Curtin University of Technology, University of London and University of Wales. To further strengthen its products offering and services, Informatics continues to look into new collaborations with renowned education partners and international IT vendors.

<<< back

All trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners. Certain of the statements in this press release are forward-looking in nature and, accordingly, are subject to risks and uncertainties. The actual results may differ from those described or contemplated.

Copyright © 2002. All Rights Reserved. PurpleTrain.com Pte Ltd.