I am putting together an Open Learning Centre for 53 staff. I have selected a variety of resources from books to CBT. The Centre is new and I want to make sure that we put in place the right administration and support for staff to have access to the resources within it in a timely manner.
At the same time I want to make sure that the resources we have do not wander off and that we can track their use. Our network cannot support LMS or eLearning.
Any suggestions?
Christina Lecatsas-Lyus
3 Responses
Open learning centre
We have a staff support centre which staff can use for their own work or to study towards a qual such as ECDL. We also run I.T. training within the centre. To track use staff sign in and out and also sign for any resources they borrow which are issued by myself. We also have laptops for use for up to a week, they are signed for by the member of staff borrowing the laptop and are therefore responsible for its safe return. Although the centre is open all day there are set times for I.T. workshops where a tutor will be available whilst the open learning is taking place. Staff can also access the materials through our intranet site.
Hope this helps.
Levels of Sophistication
Support systems can range from a simple spreadsheet containing the portable resources with manual entries for the CBT, or combining a spreadsheet with the CBT course vendors’ own in-built student tracking systems, if they have them. Some organistations have created similar MS-Access Databases too.
There used to be a number of LRC management systems available, when I was advising clients on their use a while ago, that were much more cost effective than the full-blown LMS. It all depends on how sophisticated you want to be!
I would recommend ensuring that you have a feedback mechanism built in to whatever system you decide to adopt, so you are collecting qualitative evaluation data from Day One on each item in the centre.
Setting up a Learning Centre
Christina,
you may find it useful to get hold of a copy of the BAOL Guide for Managers and Practioners “Learning Centres: a Guide, making it happen”. This is available free from the DfES, by phoning 0845 60 222 60 and quoting code LLTD7. It civers a whole range of relevant matters, and a new edition is currently in preparation. Hope it is useful.