|
|
Questions and Answers
|
|
FlexTraining now powers
E-learning initiatives across all industries and in every kind of learning situation.
|
| What kinds of
training can be performed with FlexTraining? 
|
 |
Any kind of training that serves a distributed
audience and needs a practical solution. Examples might include Employee
Orientation, Technical Skills Enhancement, Continuing Education for Professionals,
Computer Systems workshops, Personal Enrichment courses, Public Service and Citizen
Involvement courses, and many others.
|
| Exactly what is
"Automated Remote Enrollment" ?
|
|
It means that once you set up and schedule
a class (using the FlexTraining point-and-click form-based interface) students can use
your Training web site to enroll at any time, without your involvement.
FlexTraining can automatically approve the enrollment, or
you can ask that each student be on hold until you use the Enrollment Approval form to
activate them. FlexTraining can even collect and process credit card payments as the
student enrolls. |
| Do we need to have
our Information Systems staff set up each course for us?
|
|
No. After the initial one-time
FlexTraining installation, the user/administrator can define courses, schedule classes,
approve enrollments, track testing and progress, and operate the FlexTraining system
through the Administration Module's web-based interface. |
| Do the
students have to have plug-ins in their web browser?
|
|
No. FlexTraining itself requires
absolutely no plug-in software, and no download-and-install procedures for the
students. If you choose to have audio, video, or special formats in your course
material, then you need to make sure the end users (students) have the proper equipment
and software. If your course material is built with HTML, tables, images, photos,
etc, then students don't need anything more than a standard web browser with email and
news capability. |
| We have all our
course material in Microsoft Word. How can we convert it to FlexTraining course
content sections?
|
|
You can use them
as-is, with no conversion. Or, you can choose to convert to
HTML. FlexTraining handles any web-deliverable document or file
format.
|
| If I set up
a FlexTraining training system, who trains my students, the computer or a live instructor?
|
|
The answer is either or both, depending on
your needs. FlexTraining is designed to facilitate direct interaction between
students and instructor (if an instructor is used), and among the students in each
class. To do so, FlexTraining utilizes Electronic Mail, Internet-style Newsgroups,
and the Web protocols. With FlexTraining, your Students learn directly from your
prepared course content and/or your Instructor, and from each other in open discussion
forums. |
| Do the
students and the Instructor ever have to be online at the same time?
|
|
Absolutely not. Instructors can log in
at any time, day or night, to collect assignments, assign new work, track students’
progress, and post discussion questions to the online forum. Students log in at
their convenience to view Course Content, review the online Course Guide, receive
assignments, add notes to their Personal Course Notebook, submit completed assignments,
read and respond to the Discussion Forum, and monitor their progress in the course. |
| Do we need
to have an instructor at all?
|
|
No, it's up to you. When you define your
Course Lesson Plan (using the Administration Module) you tell FlexTraining whether the
course you are building requires an instructor. With no instructor, a class is more
automated, but does not have the interaction with an expert that some courses need. |
| What kinds
of materials and references can the courses utilize?
|
|
A wide variety. First, a FlexTraining
course can have as many Content Sections as you wish. The Content Sections
are the "meat" of the class, flowing in a natural sequence from section to
section, much like the lecture series in a college class.
Next, a Course Guide for each class is built into
the system, in both a word-processed and an HTML (Web) version. The course guide and
content is normally developed by the Instructor or training administrator, and may include
formatted text, tables, graphics, and hyperlinks to external web pages. The FlexTraining
database and Student Menu make both formats instantly available to each student. The
Course Guide may have any number of chapters, would likely be comprised of reference
materials, and can be thought of as the textbook in a college class. |
| How long do
the online classes last, and how many tests and assignments should there be? |
|
That’s completely up to you.
Consider your class size, complexity of the training content, and the workloads of the
participants. FlexTraining can handle courses of any length. |
| Are tests
defined online and graded automatically?
|
|
Yes. The Administration Module lets
you build tests as part of the "Create a Course" feature. You also define
how the testing process works for each course, including:
- percentage of correct answers needed to pass.
- Number of attempts allowed.
- Whether FlexTraining should show a student the correct
answers and explanations after each test.
Tests are graded automatically, as they are taken.
The Activity Reports Menu (in the Administration module) includes an online report that
shows how each student has done on all tests. |
| Is
FlexTraining designed to AICC & SCORM Guidelines?
|
|
The answer is
"Yes", and then some. The AICC concept is aimed at
making sure that learning content can be delivered in different
Learning Management Systems. FlexTraining goes beyond this
goal in delivering every format that can be addressed by a
web browser. See the white
paper on the AICC/SCORM initiative.
|
|
