Tag: Learning Management System

Case Study

Whyte and Mackay Case Study

Post author By user
Post date January 12, 2022

Design and delivery of a learning management system

Delivered for WHYTE AND MACKAY

AT A GLANCE

Design and delivery of Moodle LMS.
Single sign-on.
Tailored user training.

THE CLIENT

Whyte & Mackay is an award-winning whisky maker, with five distilleries across Scotland. These distilleries produce exceptional whiskies and premium spirits, which are celebrated around the world.

THE CHALLENGE

Whyte & Mackay sought a professional learning management system provider to design, develop, and deliver of a platform for training line managers.

Key requirements included:

Integration with Whyte & Mackay’s authentication system.
Face-to-face bookings and tracking.
Forced progression through the courses.
Bespoke progress visualisation.

OUR APPROACH

SkillSet proposed a Moodle learning management system to satisfy Whyte & Mackay’s needs. It is the world’s most popular learning management system with more than 100,000 installations worldwide. Moodle is an open-source system but supported by a dedicated team of developers based in Australia. SkillSet currently hosts and supports Moodle for over 20 clients.

Moodle is compatible with all common browsers (including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge), running on all common platforms. Users can access content material on a full range of devices: PCs (including Windows 10), mobile phones, tablets, laptops etc.

SkillSet worked to an ADDIE (Analyse, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate) methodology. Each stage was signed off before progressing to the next, to ensure that the project met Whyte & Mackay’s requirements.

Analyse – SkillSet verified the project requirements, defined system roles and permissions, and mapped out the initial course hierarchy.

Design – SkillSet used the Whyte and Mackay branding and style guides to ensure that the learning management system blended seamlessly with its existing websites. Learning report contents and integration requirements were documented.

Develop – The Moodle platform was built using the outputs from the Analyse and Design stages. A staging platform for testing was also set up, replicating the live platform.

Implement – The whole system was tested by a small number of Whyte and Mackay staff, using example courses on the staging system. Once approved, the solution was migrated to the production environment for final testing and sign-off.

Evaluate – SkillSet continue to monitor the system for any potential issues. We also provide help in creating reports and management information.

The system is hosted in an AWS data centre in the UK. Both AWS and SkillSet are ISO27001 certified. The system also complies with GDPR/DPA 2018 and all other relevant data security legislation.

SkillSet utilise the AWS Cloudwatch monitoring tools for all the hosted system components. This alerts us if there are any issues with running services, memory/CPU/disk usage, or errors encountered on the servers.

SkillSet also provided training, tailored to different user groups and covering the following topics:

System administration
User administration
Content creation and upload
Reporting

THE RESULTS

Having completed an initial pilot in spring 2021, Whyte and Mackay is now looking to roll-out the LMS to the entire business as part of its digital strategy. This includes a bespoke dashboard. This allows managers to log into the platform and see a “My Staff” overview block on the homepage. This then gives them information such as their direct reports’ last log-in, assigned courses, and progress.

OUR PARTNER’S FEEDBACK

“When searching for the right supplier for this project, I spoke to around five others, who were all non-integrated and did not have single sign-on capabilities. Whereas SkillSet ticked all the boxes for us, particularly for the price. It was clear from the outset that SkillSet could meet our project needs. It felt really easy to work with Jemma, and also the proposed solution suited us in terms of its simplicity and user-friendly system.”

LAURA HENIGHEN, learning and development business partner

Tags Learning Management System, Private Sector

Case Study

Trade Skills 4U Case Study

Post author By user
Post date January 10, 2022

Upgrade and rebranding of Moodle learning management system

Delivered for TRADE SKILLS 4U

AT A GLANCE

Upgrade of Trade Skills 4U’s Moodle LMS
Hosting
Training and ongoing support

THE CLIENT

Trade Skills 4U is a national electrical training company. They have centres in Gatwick, Central London and Warrington, where 1000s of new and experienced electricians have passed their qualifications.

THE CHALLENGE

Trade Skills 4U contacted SkillSet, having recently introduced blended learning into its main qualification packages. This included SCORM-based eLearning modules, which were hosted on an existing Moodle learning management system.

This system was using an outdated version of Moodle, which meant that the site wasn’t providing Trade Skills 4U with all of the functionality that was required. Also, it was not visually appealing and intuitive to use.

SkillSet was therefore engaged to update the LMS to the latest version of Moodle and apply new visual templates to match the Trade Skills 4U brand.

Trade Skills 4U asked SkillSet to move the Moodle site from their internal infrastructure to SkillSet’s. This allowed SkillSet to take full responsibility for hosting, monitoring and maintaining the site.

OUR APPROACH

The first step was to take a back-up of Trade Skills 4U’s existing Moodle LMS. This allowed our team to create a Linux-based staging site using Amazon Web Services (AWS).

SkillSet is proud to be a Consulting Partner with AWS. This alliance allows us to provide our customers with guidance on security, resilience, performance and back-up, ensuring that their cloud environment meets their requirements exactly.

Using the staging site, we then upgraded the system to the latest version of Moodle. We also updated all plug-ins and PHP on the staging site. At this point, Trade Skills 4U was invited to test the upgrade to ensure there were no functional errors.

Once the upgrade was in place, we then applied a new theme and configured this based on the Trade Skills 4U website to match the company’s branding.

SkillSet then configured the default dashboard to ensure that users have the required functionality at their fingertips and anything that is not required was hidden. We also set up tracking to allow students to track their progress through a particular course.

Trade Skills 4U signed off the staging site from a functionality, theme and dashboard perspective. We were then able to switch this over to the live site, with minimal disruption.

Finally, SkillSet provided support to Trade Skills 4U with a training workshop. This was held over two sessions, in which we worked through queries, customer feedback and general Moodle support.

THE RESULTS

Trade Skills 4U now has a robust, up-to-date Moodle, which allows the company to scale their business, continuing to add new courses and new clients.

The solution can be iteratively developed to support Trade Skills 4U’s requirements.

Since the initial implementation, SkillSet has worked with Trade Skills 4U’s clients and suppliers to create new integrations and new ways of working.

The SkillSet support team are ready to help when required and will continue to host, monitor, and maintain the site.

OUR PARTNER’S FEEDBACK

“Helpful and professional. I find SkillSet to be supportive and quick to respond.”

Adam Ormesher, Trade Skills 4U

Tags Learning Management System, Private Sector

Case Study

Wandle Case Study

Post author By user
Post date November 10, 2021

Safeguarding eLearning module, hosted on elasticLearning

Delivered for WANDLE

AT A GLANCE

Safeguarding eLearning module
Hosting on elasticLearning

THE CLIENT

Wandle provides social and affordable homes for rent, shared ownership, outright sale, and supported housing. Founded in 1967 as the Merton Family Housing Trust, Wandle has grown into an organisation with over 7,000 homes across nine South London boroughs. One of their key goals, as a developing housing association, is helping to tackle the shortage of good quality, affordable housing across South London.

THE CHALLENGE

Wandle wanted to roll out some online training to support a change in their safeguarding policy and procedure. The training requirement came in two forms: eLearning for around 180 staff (covering roles from the CEO to repair operatives), and face-to-face training for specialist roles.

SkillSet were approached by Wandle to develop the eLearning part of this provision. This formed a 20-minute interactive online learning module. Wandle also chose to host this module on SkillSet’s elasticLearning platform.

OUR APPROACH

Working with Wandle’s subject matter experts, SkillSet were able to clarify the aims and objectives, and the needs of a varied audience, enabling us to prioritise content as:

– Essential – this is directly visible on screen.

– Useful – this may be hidden on a “click for more information” button.

– Background – this was then removed from the main course and presented as a downloadable document.

We first produced a storyboard to show how content would be structured. Once this was agreed, we used Articulate Storyline 2 to build the eLearning. SkillSet added animation, graphics and a variety of user interactions, all appropriate for the varied levels of staff that would use the learning module.

To measure knowledge retention, we developed a bank of searching questions. These were designed to present different questions to users each time they took the assessment and without obvious answers. Feedback was provided for both right and wrong responses, allowing users to learn from their mistakes.

SkillSet hosts the safeguarding eLearning on our own platform, elasticLearning. Built on serverless technologies, elasticLearning is a SCORM-compliant, highly reliable and secure solution for the rapid deployment of learning modules globally.

elasticLearning provides a more cost-effective solution than a traditional learning management system. Customers do not have to worry about the number of users accessing the eLearning as there is no per-user charge. A variety of reports and a management dashboard allows Wandle administrators to track learner activity and success, and to ensure that all appropriate staff have passed the training.

THE RESULTS

The Wandle safeguarding module went live on elasticLearning in May 2018. The hosting agreement has been renewed each year since.

Tags ELearning, Learning Management System, Public Sector

Case Study

South Lakeland District Council Case Study

Post author By user
Post date November 1, 2021

Development of a Moodle learning management system and GDPR eLearning course

Delivered for SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCIL

AT A GLANCE

Moodle learning management system including single sign-on and iTrent integration
Tailored GDPR eLearning course

THE CLIENT

South Lakeland District Council (SLDC) is the local authority for the District of South Lakeland, which is one of England’s largest shire districts, covering an area of 155,000 hectares with a resident population of over 103,000.

The council has over 400 members of staff, providing services used by all residents in the district.

This project resulted from SkillSet winning a tender published by SLDC for a cloud-based learning management system (LMS). The primary use for the LMS was to provide a blended learning and development platform for the council.

THE CHALLENGE

The council required a solution that was SCORM compliant and would work with the Articulate authoring tool that the council uses for in-house eLearning development. SkillSet also use Articulate for most of our eLearning development, so we were well placed to advise the council in this area.

SLDC also wanted the ability to track and report on the learner journey and on test results.

The council also needed the solution to integrate with their internally hosted HR system – iTrent.

OUR APPROACH

SkillSet proposed a Moodle-based solution for the council’s LMS. Moodle has a clear and easy-to-follow structure, with a course catalogue shown on the user’s dashboard as well as a powerful search function to provide easy access to the courses.

Another of the council’s requirements was a single sign-on ability. Moodle can support a range of authentication types and SkillSet has implemented single sign-on for many customers. In this case, we used the SAML2 (Security Assertion Markup Language) plugin, which allows integration with Active Directory. Using Active Directory in this way, the learner provides the same logon and password as they do to log into their PCs, minimising authentication issues.

Moodle also provides progress tracking, so the last page that the learner visited is recorded for all SCORM- based activities. The next time that the learner opens that activity, they will be asked if they want to continue from the last page. This tracking also allows learners to check their personal progress of completed courses and chapters within courses.

We also provided a one-day, comprehensive training course for the system administrators, as well as an introductory eLearning course and downloadable documentation for end users.

When the learning management system had been implemented, the council asked SkillSet to develop an eLearning module covering the fundamentals of GDPR.

SkillSet tailored its existing eLearning material, including branding with the SLDC logo and colour scheme, and two customer-specific scenarios illustrating key points of GDPR. This meant that learners would better relate to the content. We also included a short knowledge check at the end of the course.

This GDPR eLearning course was published as a SCORM pack and then made available on the Moodle LMS. SLDC were assigned a perpetual license to use and amend the module as they see fit.

THE RESULTS

SkillSet continues to host, maintain and support the SLDC Moodle system. We have recently upgraded the system to the latest version and provided further administrator training to ensure SLDC are getting the most out of the platform.

The council have been very happy with the service provided by SkillSet, extending the contract beyond the initial tender agreement. They have provided us with the following feedback:

OUR PARTNER’S FEEDBACK

“Jemma Greener has been brilliant. Incredibly helpful, knowledgeable and supportive. Many thanks! I was also kept well informed when the LMS was upgraded, even when there was a problem, which was greatly appreciated. Customer support is excellent.”

DAWN BRADLEY, South Lakeland District Council

Tags Learning Management System, Public Sector

Case Study

Transforming resourcing at a multi-national oil company

Post author By user
Post date September 29, 2021

Transforming resourcing at a multi-national oil company

AT A GLANCE

Blended learning solution to support the rollout of a global resource management solution.

THE CLIENT

Our client is one of the world’s largest companies, employing over 90,000 staff worldwide and generating revenues in excess of $300billion. With operations in over 90 countries and almost 7,000 new hires in 2009 alone, the company faced a number of challenges relating to global resourcing and talent acquisition.

In 2006 the company launched a programme to transform resourcing across its global operations. The programme was part of a broader five-year initiative with the aim of upgrading the human resourcing activities to better serve the future needs of the business. To enable more efficient and effective resourcing, it implemented a single global process and system to manage all internal and external recruitment activity.

THE CHALLENGE

The client implemented a resource management solution to support a globally consistent resourcing process. The solution would enable the organisation to manage strategic recruitment activities more efficiently and proactively, while streamlining processes and introducing a more consistent approach to talent acquisition. Aimed at simplifying and standardising global hiring activity, it anticipated that the solution would deliver global savings of $12million per year through the delivery of operational efficiencies and reduced time to hire.

Our client viewed the resourcing solution as a key component of its HR transformation. The solution was accessed by recruiters and HR staff across the organisation to manage the resourcing process.

Without a highly effective training programme, the client realised that they would not be able to achieve the optimum return on investment or use the system to its full advantage.

OUR APPROACH

SkillSet has worked with this client since 1992, providing support for transformation projects, soft skills training, systems-based training, process analysis and documentation.

SkillSet developed and delivered a blended learning solution to support the rollout of the solution across a two-year period. SkillSet worked with key stakeholders, including recruiters, HR generalists, heads of resourcing, programme directors and the programme board in the design and development of the blended solution. The materials delivered ensured that system users were able to maximise their use of the tool, enabling the client to realise the full benefits of the solution.

With over 450 global recruiters and almost 10,000 global hiring managers, the client’s recruitment solution contained over one million CVs. To support system users, SkillSet produced engaging and user focused classroom, virtual classroom and eLearning content.

SkillSet provided a number of services to support the client’s resourcing programme, including:

Instructional design to clarify learning objectives, structure, curriculum, roles and responsibilities.
Storyboards to define content, text and graphics.
eLearning development tool configuration which included setting templates and standards to ensure consistency, usability, accessibility and compatibility with other systems used by the client.
Recommendations on how training and process documentation will be maintained on an ongoing basis.

Our client aims to be a ‘local company’ as far as possible, and this ethos is strongly reflected in its resourcing strategy. As such, it was important that any training materials were able to take into account differences in regional resourcing processes. SkillSet identified areas where materials could be standardised to reflect global practices. Materials were then localised to take into account differences in regional policies, reporting requirements and standards.

THE RESULTS

The blended learning solutions designed, developed and delivered by SkillSet ensured staff made the most effective use of the recruitment solution.

During the first eight months of 2009 there were 178,837 applications to roles across the global organisation via the new system. Due to effective system and process training, 40% of applications were screened out at the first stage using automated qualifying questions. Through effective use of the tool, 2% of applicants progressed to the final stage of the resourcing process, with 95% accepting job offers.

Tags Learning Management System, Public Sector

Case Study

Sparsholt College

Post author By user
Post date December 16, 2020

Design and delivery of eLearning courses and a learning management system

Delivered for SPARSHOLT COLLEGE

AT A GLANCE

Moodle learning management system
9 eLearning modules covering a wide variety of topics from cyber security to soldering

THE CLIENT

Sparsholt College offers a wide range of further and higher education courses. It is one of the leading providers of courses about the land and environment in the UK. An assortment of degree courses are validated by the University of Portsmouth and ranked in the top 2% of world universities. There are currently 2658 full-time and 2332 part-time students including 356 at HE level.

Sparsholt College mainly operates from two locations: a 450-acre campus at Sparsholt (near Winchester) and Andover College (in central Andover). Sparsholt is the second largest college in Hampshire.

For this project, Sparsholt College acted as lead partner of the Innovation South Virtual Campus (ISVC), funded by the EM3 LEP.

THE CHALLENGE

Sparsholt College issued two invitations to tender; the first for the development of an online learning platform to deliver blended, vocational, online learning to their employees. The second was for twelve eLearning modules to be launched with the platform.

Initially, the college wanted to reach 2500 learners. This capacity had to be scalable so that the platform can support tens of thousands of users across the globe in the future. The college also required the facility to charge customers for accessing learning services.

SkillSet were subsequently successful in winning this tender for the LMS and six of the eLearning modules. We were then given a further three modules after successfully completing the initial six.

OUR APPROACH

SkillSet employed an agile approach with this project to rapidly deploy the solution and regularly receive feedback from the college to ensure that the tight timescales could be met.

As with all our projects, we began with a joint project kick-off meeting. Here we agreed, and documented, ways of working on the project, the project review schedule, and key milestones. A project initiation document was created and distributed to all key stakeholders, detailing scope, timescales, and budget.

SkillSet used Jira (an online project management tool) to track progress on the project. The college’s project teams were given access and could therefore monitor progress continually.

SkillSet developed a Moodle learning management system for the college. This was installed in a secure Amazon Web Services environment in a UK data centre. The AWS platform will auto-scale to support the required number of users. This allowed us to deploy Moodle within the project deadlines, whilst also satisfying the college’s long-term scalability requirements. Amazon hosting is secure and supports our ISO27001:2013 processes.

The Moodle system was customised to match the branding for the college and configured to support the users’ accessibility requirements. Students are able to access the learning content from a range of devices, removing barriers to learning. They are also awarded digital badges on completion of relevant courses and activities.

SkillSet used Articulate Storyline 3 to develop the eLearning modules. The output was published in SCORM-2004 format. The material covered a wide variety of topics from cyber security to soldering.

THE RESULTS

SkillSet was able to meet the project timelines and launch the Moodle learning management system in March 2020. SkillSet continue to extend the functionality through custom plugins, new themes, mobile applications, and reporting. The system delivers blended vocational online learning to college employees. The next stage for the college is to provide access to their customers; the system has the facility to charge customers for accessing learning services.

OUR PARTNER’S FEEDBACK

“SkillSet have been a dream to work with. Their project management is watertight, and their can-do solution focused helpfulness and flexibility has hugely contributed to a smooth and successful project delivery.

I’m very optimistic that much more work will follow, and you guys will be my first port of call. As for Jemma, an absolute gem of a project manager!”

MARTIN SIMMONS, Project Manager

Tags ELearning, Learning Management System, Public Sector

Case Study Uncategorized

Jisc Case Study

Post author By user
Post date October 28, 2020

Learning analytics

Delivered for JISC

AT A GLANCE

Development of the Jisc learning analytics service
Ongoing support

THE CLIENT

Jisc is a not-for-profit company whose role is to support higher education and research institutions. It provides network and IT services, digital resources, advice, and procurement consulting, while researching and developing new information technologies and modes of working. Jisc is funded by a combination of the UK further and higher education funding bodies, and individual higher education institutions.

THE CHALLENGE

The Jisc learning analytics service development project is the world’s first national learning analytics service developed to address the key strategic goals of HE and FE organisations. SkillSet CEO, Tim Stratton, was engaged in the early stages of this project and was tasked with managing the implementation of the service, even as it developed, in the “pathfinder” institutions.

These pathfinders included the very earliest adopters, such as the University of Gloucestershire and Cardiff Metropolitan University, who were very much involved in shaping the Jisc service.

Tim inherited a number of projects that had already commenced and implemented strong project management controls. He created project initiation documentation, planned and coordinated communication with the institutions and managed subcontractors.

OUR APPROACH

Jemma Greener joined Tim on this project due to the number of pathfinder institutions (more than 20 concurrent) and the consequent volume of work. Tim and Jemma worked closely as a team, providing the main liaison between Jisc and the pathfinders. This enabled the Jisc technical team to spend much less time dealing directly with the institutions and more time on developing and setting up the service.

The project management team developed, or helped to develop and manage, several processes:

Support, including the introduction of Freshdesk – a trouble ticketing system.
User groups for Data Explorer, Study Goal, and the core Learning Records Warehouse set of products.
Project set up and reporting.
Implementation of Jisc systems (Data Explorer, Study Goal, plugins and data extraction) for each institution.

THE RESULTS

Both Tim and Jemma had considerable experience with relevant systems, particularly virtual learning environments, but throughout this project they have developed a deeper understanding of the technology and issues relating to learning analytics. For example:

Data structures – helping institutions to understand how their data should be used to populate the LRW. The progression codes and assessment data fed in by the University of South Wales from its Quercus and Blackboard systems is a good example.
Predictive modelling – explaining to customers how the predictive models constructed in OLAP and Tribal Student Insight work. Discussing data and model quality with Unicon and Marist College.
Data protection – Tim helped to deal with queries from customers relating to both the original and new data protection/service agreements and for getting these extended/signed by the institutions. Tim and Jemma were also involved in some of the technical implications e.g. the withdrawal of consent by a student who had previously agreed to let their personal data be used for analytics purposes.

OUR CLIENT’S FEEDBACK

Jisc rated SkillSet as a 5 out of 5 on our annual customer satisfaction survey for project management and system implementation. They also provided us with the following feedback:

“Very pleased with our dedicated resource.”

PAULETTE MAKEPEACE, Jisc

Tags Learning Management System, Private Sector

Case Study

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service Case Study

Post author By user
Post date October 26, 2020

Provision of a key training platform

Delivered for ROYAL BERKSHIRE FIRE SERVICE

AT A GLANCE

Delivery of a Moodle learning management system
Training on eLearning content creation
Custom plug-in development

THE CLIENT

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) provides prevention, protection, and response services across the County of Berkshire. Twelve whole time and four on-call fire stations cover 486 square miles, from Langley in the East, to Lambourn in the West. It serves a diverse cultural population of 863,000, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The authority offers a wide range of services to help keep communities safe, including safety and protection advice to residents and businesses. They also enforce fire safety legislation and help to reduce fire risk in buildings.

THE CHALLENGE

On behalf of RBFRS, Royal Berkshire Fire Authority issued an invitation to tender for a platform to build and host eLearning courses, as well as provide reporting on these courses.

Staff members at all levels of the Service need to complete various courses to undertake their roles. The system also needed to track user progress in order to complete personal development plans, ensuring that staff meet fire service standards.

The system needed to understand complex organisational structures and provide reports on user progress.

OUR APPROACH

SkillSet won the tender with a solution based on the Moodle open-source learning management system (LMS). Moodle supports numerous ways of creating engaging course content within the system itself, using activities. These include (but are not limited to):

Lessons.
Assignments.
File attachments.
Video.
Quizzes.

Moodle also supports eLearning content compliant with SCORM, AICC, and Tin Can. It also integrates with RBFB’s active directory for authentication purposes.

SkillSet used role-based groupings to map qualifications, training and the learning standards of the fire and rescue service. This allowed us to create learning plans and assign competencies to them, allowing reporting and tracking of users’ progress.

SkillSet also partnered with RBFRS to advise them on eLearning content creation. The tool we jointly selected for this task was Articulate 360. This is a license-based eLearning tool, which can be used to create engaging and interactive content. We created a course template and provided training for the relevant staff so that they could design and build content themselves.

SkillSet used our experience in content creation to work with the authority to ensure their content is displayed to learners in the most effective way. We also helped to ensure that the content supports a variety of learning styles and engages the learner.

THE RESULTS

SkillSet continues to maintain and support the Moodle learning management system for the fire service. Most recently we built a custom plug-in to integrate the LMS with the RBFRS’s HR System, allowing them to map their organisational structure to the Moodle LMS.

Tags Learning Management System, Public Sector

Case Study

Welsh Government Case Study

Post author By user
Post date October 26, 2020

LMS migration from Totara to Moodle

Delivered for the WELSH GOVERNMENT

AT A GLANCE

Migration from Totara 2.9 to Moodle 3.5
Customised approach with bespoke plugins and APIs

THE CLIENT

Business Wales, part of the Welsh Government, provides business skills training to those in Wales who either have or, are thinking of starting, their own business. They provide this service through their site – BOSS (Business Online Support Service) – https://boss.businesswales.gov.wales.

THE CHALLENGE

SkillSet originally provided both the eLearning content and the learning management system for the BOSS site. For a few years, SkillSet supported the Totara site and developed several additional plugins and enhancements.

Those enhancements included:

Funding assistance requests
Simple administration user search tool with easy access to key admin functions
Integration with Sign-on Cymru, an Azure AD B2C solution with a common core data store intended to be used by many Business Wales services

The number and complexity of the integrations increased over time as they might over any significant project lifecycle. The rate of development of interesting new features in Moodle was increasing, while Totara didn’t seem to be offering as many new developments appropriate for the Welsh Government. Therefore, the Totara site was beginning to look outdated compared to what a Moodle platform could offer.

Another issue for the Welsh Government was the cost of the system: the cost for a Totara site with over 20,000 user accounts and growing is significant when it is just one of many platforms that organisations like Business Wales and Farming Connect provide. Whereas, Moodle, being open source carries no license costs.

It was at this time that the decision was made to migrate to Moodle 3.5. There was no standard upgrade path from Totara 2.9 to Moodle 3.5, which meant we had to come up with a custom plan to perform this migration.

OUR APPROACH

SkillSet analysed what was currently being used in the Totara feature set, and then divided this functionality into three categories:

What stays the same and therefore can be copied across
What needs some small modifications or adjustments
What needs to be created from scratch

We then went through the development process, building each of these categories into repeatable tasks that could be run against a known-state backup, so that we gradually created an automatic build script that took a current backup of Totara BOSS and turned it into a Moodle BOSS with as little human interaction as possible.

Once we had completed this phase, we were then able to run the scripted process, which took around 30-40 minutes to build a new Moodle version of the BOSS site in Azure, from the current Totara site.

The third category (what needs to be created from scratch) there was a clear need to focus on the end user experience. This is what initially lead to the development of the funding request system, which drastically simplified the process for users to request support for face-to-face training. This led us to decide that the out-of-the-box Moodle learning plan and competency-based functionality would be too complicated and that we needed to create a bespoke layout to present the development plans and records in a much more straightforward manner.

THE RESULTS

SkillSet were able to migrate the BOSS site from Totara to Moodle and hand over the site for UAT testing within a matter of a couple of hours.

The Welsh Government was very pleased with the result, and we have been awarded the follow-on contract extension to continue to provide support and development for BOSS. As part of this ongoing support, we are currently looking at developing several new functionalities, including new API changes, and a combination of face-to-face and third-party webinar services.

Tags ELearning, Learning Management System, Public Sector

Case Study

Office of Rail and Road Case Study

Post author By user
Post date October 26, 2020

Data security course

Delivered for the OFFICE OF RAIL AND ROAD (ORR)

AT A GLANCE

Bespoke GDPR eLearning module.
Hosting on SkillSet’s own learning platform – elasticLearning.
Reporting dashboard in elasticLearning.

THE CLIENT

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is the independent economic and safety regulator for Britain’s railways, and monitor of performance and efficiency for England’s strategic road network. It regulates Network Rail, including setting the targets it has to achieve and they report regularly on its performance. The ORR also monitor Highways England, ensuring it improves the performance and efficiency of England’s roads.

THE CHALLENGE

The ORR wanted to roll out online training for all their staff to support the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). SkillSet were approached to develop and host an ORR-branded GDPR eLearning module.

OUR APPROACH

Working with the ORR, SkillSet were able to clarify the aims, objectives, and the needs of a varied audience, enabling us to prioritise content as:

– Essential – this is directly visible on screen.

– Useful – this may be hidden on a “click for more information” button.

– Background – this was then removed from the main course and presented as a downloadable document.

We first produced a storyboard to show how content would be structured. Once this was agreed, we used Articulate Storyline 3 to build the eLearning, adding animation, graphics and a variety of user interactions, all appropriate for the mix of staff within the ORR.

To measure knowledge retention, we developed a bank of searching questions. Users are presented with different questions each time they attempt them. Feedback is provided for both right and wrong responses, allowing users to learn from their mistakes.

SkillSet hosts the GDPR eLearning on our own platform, elasticLearning. Built on serverless technologies, elasticLearning is a SCORM-compliant, highly reliable and secure solution for the rapid deployment of learning modules globally. elasticLearning provides a more cost-effective solution than a traditional learning management system; customers do not have to worry about the number of users accessing the eLearning as there is no per-user charge. A variety of reports and a management dashboard allows ORR administrators to track learner activity and success and to ensure that all appropriate staff have taken and passed the training.

THE RESULTS

We were able to roll out the ORR’s GDPR course to all of their staff rapidly and effectively. In our annual customer satisfaction survey, the ORR rated the elasticLearning platform as a 5 out of 5 for ease of use, account set-up, and value for money.

OUR CLIENT’S FEEDBACK

“The SkillSet team have been extremely helpful and ensured that the eLearning course was up and running within a very short time frame. The main benefit of elasticLearning for us, is the ease-of-use, allowing staff to complete the course at a time that suits them and – at their own pace.”

Sue MacSwan, Information manager, Office of Rail and Road

Tags ELearning, Learning Management System, Public Sector