FAQs

FAQs

Hopefully this page will answer some of the questions you may have. If not, please click here to complete our enquiry form and a member of our team will be in touch.

What is the ISS Intelligent Shell System?
ISS enables you to create and maintain professional-looking, engaging, e-learning course materials without technical skills. It’s all done via simple web forms and is as easy as creating a document in Word. You don't need to be able to use Microsoft Frontpage or Macromedia Dreamweaver or similar professional web tools. Neither do you need to worry about FTP accounts or web hosting as we take care of all that; you simply edit your text, or browse for an image to add, then click 'Update' and your change is instantly live. It's similar to a 'Web Content Management System' but its one which has been developed specifically for

e-learning.

What is Web Content Management?
The conventional way of creating and maintaining websites has been to use so-called 'static' HTML pages where the content is contained in the code of each page. This is fine for smaller websites and those where the content does not often need to be changed. But for large sites with content that needs to be updated on a regular basis, and where changes need to be made by administrative staff rather than technicians, this approach is not practical. Instead it is best to separate the content from the code for each page and put it in a database. Each page is then effectively an empty shell that pulls out the latest content from the database every time someone views it. This approach requires a 'back end' where site administrators can log in to change the content in the database via online forms. Systems that offer this facility are known as Web Content Management Systems, or CMSs.

Can I make sure my staff are accessing the online materials?
User tracking of e-learning courses can take several forms and all of them are possible with our ISS. The basic form is website traffic statistics which merely indicate how many people have visited specific pages, or the entire site, over a defined period. At the next level, assuming that users have to log in to your course (as they would normally do with the ISS), it is possible to collate statistics for use of the site by an individual user, down to whatever level of detail is useful to you. Finally, if you have quizzes or more formal online assessments in your course, the scores can also be tracked – total score, individual question scores, number of times the quiz has been attempted, etc. This can be very useful if the course is about compliance with legislation as it provides you with evidence to present to the legislative authority in the event of a problem.

Is e-learning expensive?
Not necessarily. Our prices start from £1500 for high-quality off-the-shelf courses for an unlimited number of staff. Our ISS Intelligent Shell System starts from £5000 and allows you to create and maintain your own professional standard e-learning materials without technical skills – ideal for training departments wishing to repurpose existing paper-based materials. Plus additional low-cost options for the ISS allow you to create interactive quizzes and to store and collate scores, making it easy to produce management reports demonstrating the effectiveness of the system.

How effective is e-learning?
Potentially highly effective, but only if users are motivated to work through the course. If the course isn’t mandatory AND it’s dull then it probably won’t be very effective! That’s why we are constantly looking for ways to make the user experience more interesting while keeping within a realistic budget.

Do I have to come back to you for minor changes?
If you are using the ISS Intelligent Shell System, no - you can edit text and images yourself, and even create whole new sections of your site. The only exceptions to this are new features requiring custom programming; such as Flash animations.

Can I link the ISS to my existing HR system?
This can be done but we recommend that clients steer clear of doing it because of the complexity involved - and the value of the ISS lies in the fact that it is is so easy to set up and use.

What is the SCORM standard?
SCORM is a technical standard for e-learning courses which defines how courses should be ‘packaged up’ and described technically so that they can run in any SCORM-conformant Learning Management System. The standard derives from an approach to e-learning development which came out of the US Department of Defense, the largest user of e-learning in the world. If you have a SCORM-conformant LMS, or are thinking about purchasing one, we can develop SCORM-conformant courses to run in it. Our TRIADS assessment system will also ‘talk’ to SCORM LMSs.

The ISS Intelligent Shell System is not SCORM-conformant as it takes a different approach to e-learning, providing an easy means for trainers, administrative staff, and others without technical skills to create and maintain their own materials. It is a quick and cost effective approach to delivering e-learning without the complexity of a SCORM LMS.

Why would I buy from a University?
I4L is a commercial division of the University of Derby and as such has both the solid foundations and academic credibility you would expect – but also a flexibility you might not expect from a University. So we’re very used to working to tight budgets and deadlines and can get started on projects as soon as you’re ready to kick off.

Our IT infrastructure isn't fantastic - will your products run on them?
You may not be able to have streaming video or the most sophisticated online assessments but our ISS Intelligent Shell System will work on low-spec machines over a dial-up connection. There is nothing to install on users’s machines – no specific browser or plug-in requirements. And don’t forget – contrary to popular misconceptions – e-learning can still be delivered on CD-ROM! Tell us what you have and we’ll tell you exactly what’s possible.

Do we need to host your products on our servers?
We can provide you with an ISS installation for your own Windows server but generally speaking we recommend our hosted option as it is no more expensive and makes technical support easier for both you and us.

What is online assessment?
Online assessment may just consist of a webpage with straightforward scored multiple choice or true/false questions; it may also be more sophisticated, with drag-and-drop question types. Online assessment can be divided into two broad categories: formative and summative. Formative assessment refers to tests from which you get feedback, so that you know where you went wrong enabling you to get it right next time. These are tests that you undertake during a course. Summative assessment refers to tests from which you don’t usually get detailed feedback and which you undertake at the end of a course. Summative assessment may often take the form of an invigilated exam.

How long does it take to create an e-learning course?
This really is a 'how long is a piece of string' type of question. At one end of the spectrum, if you use the ISS Intelligent Shell System to repurpose existing printed training materials and you know exactly what you want to do, you could go live within three or four weeks. At the other extreme, if you are commissioning a large-scale, richly interactive, Flash-based course with lots of original video, it could take between 6 months and a year. The bottlenecks usually occur at the content authoring stage rather than during the technical development so it's very important to ensure your Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) have enough time to devote to writing the scripts.

Can you provide accreditation for e-learning courses?
As part of the University of Derby, I4L is able to offer accreditation at all levels from NVQ to Postgraguate Certificate. We can create and accredit bespoke e-learning courses to match your exact needs. We are also the largest member institution in the UfI learndirect Learning Through Work scheme which offers work-based HE programmes through a Virtual Learning Environment.

Can we re-use our existing training materials?
Yes, absolutely. This can greatly speed up the process of creating an online training course. Most trainers try to make their sessions as 'interactive' as possible anyway and these activities often lend themselves well to being adapted for e-learning. Our instructional designers can work with you to get the best possible results.

We'd like to use video in our e-learning course; is this possible?
Yes, the ISS Intelligent Shell System accommodates any sort of media. If you have existing video clips in a suitable format (eg Windows Media or Flash) you can upload them directly yourself. If your material is in a different format (eg MiniDV / VHS / DVD) we will encode the clips and upload them for you. Or you may need new video material, in which case we can shoot and edit this to a professional standard for you.

What is a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) or Learning Management System (LMS)?
In schools, colleges and Universities, a Virtual Learning Environment, or VLE, is the term used for a system which you log into to access online materials associated with the modules you're studying. There are also features which help you to communicate with your fellow students and tutors - announcements, discussion forums, chat rooms etc. Universities are now integrating their VLEs with other IT systems such as student records, enrolment, assignment submission etc to create so-called 'Managed Learning Environments', or MLEs. The term Learning Management System is more commonly used in the corporate sector to describe the same sort of system.

If you have further questions don't hesitate to e-mail them to info@i4learn.co.uk .