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Virtual-IT

Is your office in chaos?

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:55

By a Client of Virtual-It

As a training provider, you probably experience the same anti-climax as I do when you are forced to go through the tedium of having to sort out piles of information, for your learners and your Seta. If your office is like mine, your learner personal information is at one end of the office, their results at the other and you have a complicated, error-riddled Excel spreadsheet that you just can't figure out!

However, recently I came across a tool that seems to expedite this process, a Learning Management System (LMS). It's made my life so much easier. In one package, I can get my hands on any information in less than a minute.

I must admit, I was doubtful in the beginning, but it turned out to be the most efficient tool I've come across. Not only is there the perk of the hassle-free report, but it also simplified my filing system. I can now access almost any information, as quick as can be.

It used to take me a half an hour to find Joe Soap's home telephone number and now it's almost instant. I now use it as my ultimate filing tool. It doesn't just hold all the information I need about a learner, a course, my client, etc., it even has a facility that lets me put a hyperlink in the system that links to important documents.

So, if I'm looking for ALL the information on Joe Soap, I can not only access his telephone number, but, from the same page, I can access a copy of his ID and his Portfolio of Evidence.

If you are a small business owner, like I am, you can't afford to spend an incredible amount of money, regardless of how it may help you in the long run; but I found that I could get an LMS for a lot less than expected. The one I researched was the Virtual-IT Single User LMS. It's quite cheap, only R6850.00 exc. VAT, for a single-user, perfect for the SMME).

I've listed what I like about LMSs and how they work below:

• It keeps all your information in one application, from learner-personal data, to client data and even the specific details of your course (what Unit Standards or Modules it’s comprised of, how many credits it has allocated to it, etc.).

• It automatically combines and sends through the necessary information your Seta needs.

• It can also help you plan, schedule and budget for training events. Some packages even track what seating is available.

• It then tracks the information of your course in conjunction with your learner’s progress, so you can follow that Joe Soap has handed in his POE for Unit Standard 115753 for conduct outcomes-based assessment, and that his POE has gone to the Assessor.

• Another nifty tool is that it allows for report compiling on just about anything, e.g. a report that says that on this course we taught the specifics of US 11782 and US 12532, we had 14 Black: African people attending and 6 Indian people, 18 were female and 2 were male. It can even give me feedback on amounts invoiced overall per client and can further breakdown into spend per equity, gender or OFO.

Hopefully this helps you as much as it helped me!

PS. A hint: Try to find an LMS, like the Virtual-IT one above that is cost effective and covers your Learner Reporting needs. It’s quick to install on your computer, you don’t need to have bandwidth or 3 G signal, you just capture your data and away you go, it’s perfect for us SMME's

For more information, visit Virtual-IT.