Enterprise E-Learning

T+D, April, 2003 by Martha Gold

Power of the portal

Signing up for SAP implementation training, together with all of the other training and e-learning courses, takes place at a companywide intranet portal, where consultants access the Learning Channel, powered by an enterprise LMS from Saba. Employees register for all classes and gain access to most of the electronically delivered courses through the portal. The curriculum consists of thousands of online courses from SkillSoft, internally developed courses, and courses other content providers that work with Braxton.

The LMS behind the Learning Channel centralizes administrative functions, such as registration, accounting, and tracking of individuals' learning. It also gives CLO van Dam an "at a glance" look at where the company is in its various learning initiatives. The LMS is accessible via the Learning Channel. From there, employees have ready access to their records, classes, and information about upcoming training requirements--all in one spot. Scholz says that Braxton set up the portal with a focus on user interface and efficiency.

"We wanted to avoid duplication of effort," says Scholz. "We have direct feeds into our learning catalogue from our external vendors. That was one of the key elements. In the Learning Channel, there are four quick links that connect a person smoothly to different areas of interest in Saba. We have a single sign-on so that once a consultant logs on, he or she doesn't have to log on again to access e-learning."

The portal has direct links to Centra's virtual classroom platform, which is proving to be a popular way to conduct training via live, synchronous sessions. It also includes simulation games, online self-study guides, video, PowerPoint presentations, email, and white papers. Those are available for employees to search and download quickly for on-the-job information or for preparation for a new project. Employees will soon be able to communicate with each other in the Learning Channel portal via chats and bulletin boards.

Standards reality check

The variety, depth, and breadth of learning and other information resources offered through Braxton Learning are comprehensive. The bulk of its content is provided by SkillSoft through a US$10 million, five-year contract that allows Braxton employees virtually unlimited access to SkillSoft's online course library, whose topics span IT, business skills, and executive education. Numerous smaller providers--such as the New York Institute of Finance, MicroMash, PeopleSoft, Siebel, Intellexis, Intuition Publishing, and SAP--also provide content to Braxton Learning.

To build a comprehensive course library, IT and Learning Technologies and Infrastructures worked with many content providers to make their products compatible with Saba and other systems at Braxton. In doing that, they discovered what has become a common surprise to e-learning implementers: E-learning "standards" don't guarantee plug-and-play compatibility.

"We told [vendors their] courses had to be AICC-compliant," says Scholz, referring to one set of industry interoperability standards in wide use. "They said their courses were set up that way, but later in the process we'd find our that they didn't really understand our requirements.