Modules headed to Ireland
11/27/2000 3:19:00 PM
November 16, 2000 - Small and medium sized businesses in Newfoundland and Ireland are one step closer to reaching the world thanks to a new “electronic library” being developed in this province.
With technical help from College of the North Atlantic, Memorial University of Newfoundland, and the Open Learning and Information Network, the E-Learning Repository for Small Business being developed by Operation Online will feature 15 modules designed to teach entrepreneurs how to become e-business ready.
Kevin Deveau, an instructional designer with College of the North Atlantic’s Distributed Learning Centre in Clarenville, has just put the finishing touches on six of the e-learning modules being created by the college for the project.
Those six, along with the remaining nine were recently handed over to Media Touch Technologies – a St. John’s company responsible for creating the multi-media version of the modules, transferring them to XML and uploading the content to the internet.
The modules will be available on the college’s WebCT site – the tool used by the Distributed Learning Centre to deliver online training.
“The project brings together the Irish experience in mentoring and small and medium-sized enterprise support, the Newfoundland e-business experience, Newfoundland’s experience in distance delivery and already existing Irish and Newfoundland distance programs to develop a new assessment, mentoring and training program that can be delivered online,” says Janice Cooper, Director of Health and Education Initiatives with Operation Online.
“The repository will focus on training to support companies accelerate the uptake of e-business and enable them to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to become e-business ready.”
Each of the 15 modules takes about five hours to complete. And because the modules are media-rich and interactive, there is no need for textbooks or other off-line materials.
“Operation Online approached us to see if we were interested in providing content and instructional design expertise for the repository,” says Deveau.
After an initial meeting, it was agreed the college/DLC would be responsible for providing content for six of the 15 modules with Memorial University’s School of Business and the P.J. Gardiner Institute creating the rest. The college would also play a significant role in the instructional design of all 15 modules along with instructional designers Genevieve Gallant at OLIN and Jennifer Bates at MUN.
There are five instructors from College of the North Atlantic campuses across the island helping develop the six modules the college is responsible for, however Deveau has a role in overseeing them all.
“As the instructional designer, I oversee development of all six modules and work with the content experts to ensure the learning materials they provide can be organized and presented in an online environment so that the learning needs of all ‘students’ are addressed,” he says.
“This involves creating clear and easy-to-use course structure or navigation, making effective use of the technology, ensuring we address all learning styles and so on.”
Since the modules are being developed by different people in different organizations, Deveau works with the other two instructional designers to ensure consistency and educational quality across all 15 modules.
When Media Touch finished their work with the modules (mid-November) they were sent to Ireland for review. Final edits are expected to be made in early December with the pilot project scheduled to run for the month of January. The pilot will be reviewed in February with the official launch of the new E-Learning Repository slated for March.
Funding for the project is being provided through the Canada/Newfoundland Agreement on Economic Renewal.
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For more information contact:
Stephen Lee
Communications Officer
College of the North Atlantic
tel: (709) 643-7928
fax: (709) 643-7932
email: stephen.lee@northatlantic.nf.ca