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E-learning on PurpleTrain - hi-technology with a human touch
You sign up for an e-learning course and on the day the course starts, you log
on and everything is ready for you. The class notes are up, you have been
assigned a chat schedule and the chat rooms are up and waiting for users to log
on.
Very hi-tech and extremely efficient and it would not have been possible without
technology. But e-learning at PurpleTrain provides more than that.
" Students feel more comfortable knowing that there is a human touch involved.
That there is someone assigned to look after their progress, a person they turn
to if they face problems within the e-learning environment," said Ms Lee Su Ann.
E-learning co-ordinator, Su Ann is the human touch at PurpleTrain. Other than
the facilitators, she is the person from PurpleTrain that students will come
into contact with most often.
Her job, in a nutshell, is to work with all the parties involved in the
e-learning environment to ensure that ultimately, the students get the best
e-learning environment possible.
"I co-ordinate the multitude of tasks that goes into setting up the e-learning
environment. I have to ensure that everything runs smoothly from the first time
they log in until they finally sign off, when they graduate," said Su Ann.
This means that her job begins even before the start of the course.
" I have to make sure that the course materials for the preparatory course are
ready for the students who want to get an early start. I will also liaise with
the facilitators on their feedback of the materials. This process is very
important because it ensures that our course materials are always current.
" For new facilitators, I have to ensure that they are trained in the technical
details of the e-learning system and that they know what is expected of them in
terms of their online duties and responsibilities."
When the course starts, Su Ann is often the first person most students 'meet'.
On 'orientation day' or the first day of course, students receive a notice from
her introducing them to their virtual classrooms and instructions on how to
navigate through them. Some students, however, will hear from her more often
over the course of the term.
"Once I know that a student has not participated in the chat rooms or discussion
rooms as often as could be possible, I send them e-mails to encourage them to
participate more frequently."
But how does she keep track of how actively a student is participating in online
activities?
This is the part of the system that is not visible to most people. Apart from
the upfront elements that are visible in the virtual classroom, e-learning
management at PurpleTrain also consists of management tools that allows each
student's progress to be tracked.
" We are able to keep track of their participation in the chat room and
discussion board, even private mail to facilitators. We are currently working on
a system that will allow students to directly access this data in some form so
that they can keep monitor their performance vis-à-vis other students. These are
some of the ongoing enhancements that we are always looking," said Mr Raj Singh,
Assistant Director, PurpleTrain.com
Su Ann also makes sure the interactive elements in the e-learning environment,
namely the chat room and discussion board, run as smoothly as possible.
She observes chat room discussions to ensure that the facilitators answer all
questions posed, that chats start and finish on time and do not divert from
academic topics.
"I also make sure that questions posted in the discussion room are answered
within 24 hours. Sometimes I take on the role of policing them as well to make
sure that the topics posted are not inappropriate. We do evaluate the
performance of our facilitators in the chat and discussion rooms."
Students get so used to her presence that they often treat her as a one-stop
assistance centre. Besides the usual questions on assignment extensions, log in
or system queries, students have even asked for advice on how to take exams and
even for the private e-mails of other fellow students that they have taken a
fancy to!
Su Ann's responsibilities are not over when the end - getting revision classes
up and running and collecting student feedback on the course and facilitators
still need to be done.
"The students' evaluations of our facilitators form part of our internal
on-going evaluation process. To ensure that students get the best quality
facilitation, we do hold regular feedback sessions with our facilitators, "said
Raj.
After observing many students in the e-learning environment, what is her advice
to them?
" I strongly encourage students to take part in the interactive elements of
their program. Embarking on an e-learning course does not mean that you cannot
have discussions and interaction with other students. E-learning just allows you
to do that in a different - more convenient and accessible way.
The interaction gives additional knowledge and insight on top of that available
in the textbooks and course notes, the synergies that results from the
interaction between all students benefits all."
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.
For more information, please contact :
Adeline Cheong
Marketing & PR Manager
Tel : (65) 568 0810
E-mail : acheong@purpletrain.com
Website : www.purpletrain.com
www.informaticsgroup.com
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