Final Bid on Company eLearning Program

LIT Final Bid Proposal

MEET THE EXPERTS

Business Coordinator: Breana Johnson will facilitate the meeting Director of Operations: Shaina Johnston will discuss the analysis of the training problem presented in the RFP. Software Engineer: Jesse Elam will discuss the technological solution to the training problem. Curriculum Specialist: Jennie Leisge will cover the absorb and do activities employees will participate in as part of an interactive learning experience.  Instructional Designer: Ben Nesbit will talk about the connect activities and assessment portion of the content.   

ANALYSIS OF TRAINING PROBLEM

• Timeline: Training needs to be conducted during the regular workday

• Learnerso 60-100 mid to senior level managerso Age range from 33-55o English speakerso Familiar with computer use

• Costo Flying managers from 8 different locations became

expensive.o Onsite training is not applicable because of the various

locations. • Various Locations

o HCC has 8 different locations around the United States.

 ANALYSIS

After comparing that data with many different CMS, we at LIT, LLC have come to the conclusion that Joomla will be the most cost effective solution for a number of reasons:• It is convenient, safe and flexible enough to deliver

applications for cooperative environments. • It is completely extensible and allows for customization in

many different aspects to fit the current and future needs of your company.

• It is cost effective and boasts a free open source solution.

WHAT IS A CMS?

Technology SolutionA content management system is software that keeps track of every piece of content on your Web site, much like your local public library keeps track of books and stores them. Content can be simple text, photos, music, video, documents, or just about anything you can think of. A major advantage of using a CMS is that it requires almost no technical skill or knowledge to manage. Since the CMS manages all your content, you don't have to.

WHAT IS JOOMLA?

Joomla is an award-winning content management system (CMS), which enables you to build Web sites, powerful online applications and eLearning material. Many aspects, including its ease-of-use and extensibility, have made Joomla the most popular Web site software available. Best of all, Joomla is an open source solution that is freely available to everyone.

WHO USES JOOMLA?

Here are just a few examples of Web sites that use Joomla • MTV Networks Quizilla (Social networking) -

http://www.quizilla.comI• IHOP (Restaurant chain)- http://www.ihop.com• Harvard University (Educational) - - http://gsas.harvard.edu• Citibank (Intranet Training) - Not publicly accessible

HOW WILL THIS PRODUCT BE HOSTED ON YOUR SERVER?

We are planning to use JumpBox with a VM Server (Virtual Box). JumpBox takes the pain out of server software deployments and will package Joomla and other server relaint functions into a single virtual appliance that deploys locally on your company’s intranet. (No other installations or configurations required). Among other enhanced features, JumpBox provides:• An intuitive user interface to quickly guide users through

deployment.• A web-based control panel for simplified management of

system functions.• A backup system that enables data security and portability.• There are over 1000 deployements of Joomla currently using

Jumpbox.

HOW WILL LIT INTEGRATE JOOMLA FOR HCC?

We will be using Joomla as a wrapper running from a virtual server. This wrapper allow LIT to place eLearning content inside your Joomla site seamlessly. It will wrap a standard Joomla template navigation around material so it appears in the same way a normal website would.

WHAT IS SCORM?

SCORM introduces a complex idea called sequencing, which is a set of rules that specifies the order in which a learner may experience content objects. In simple terms, they constrain a learner to a fixed set of paths through the training material, permit the learner to "bookmark" their progress when taking breaks, and assure the acceptability of test scores achieved by the learner. Since Joomla easily integrates SCROM material, we will develop all of your training material using UDUTU, a SCORM complaint eLearning authoring tool, and upload them into Joomla’s wrappers.

LIT believes the best approach to training for HCC is an online program that incorporates several different activities to teach and reinforce the objectives of HCC: appropriate use of company assets and employee personal conduct.  Defining the guiding principles, giving examples of each principle in action within the topic, and engaging employees in scenarios will allow the learners to interact with the content, providing for understanding of and critical thinking about the values and ethics they are expected to uphold.

INSTRUCTIONAL CONTENT AND DESIGN

Delivery of the content is broken down into 4 parts: • absorb activities• do activities• connect activities• testing/assessment

METHOD OF CONTENT DELIVERY

ABSORB ACTIVITIES

Absorb activities are intended to teach.

• text slides introducing the content of each training course (appropriate use of company funds and employee personal conduct)

• each topic introduced individually with do and connect activities immediately following to allow for learner understanding

• written anecdotes showing principles in action

The following slides show an example of a scenario from myUdutu. 

Video, photos, or a combination of the two, along with voice-overs engage the learner.

The scenarios become interactive when the learner is asked to make choices about the scenario.

Learners are asked to make value judgments about the characters' actions.  While they are asked to make these choices, learners are reminded of the principles defining the ethical choice.

CONNECT ACTIVITIES

One type of connect activity we specialize in implementing is the cite-example activity.  In the case of the factory scenario that was just viewed, the concept of negligence was part of the new learning.  A cite-example activity would require employees to watch that scenario again or a new scenario and pick a part in the scenario that demonstrates the concept of negligence. (HCC example: Learners would watch a scenario about an employee using company time to complete personal business and then list the behaviors that go against HCC’s ethical principles.) 

Another activity we plan to implement is to have managers propose ways to handle situations with subordinates (ie. our video scenario as presented earlier showed a hypothetical manager running to the scene of the accident. A connect activity would mean we ask the actual manager to explain how he/she may have handled this situation differently.) Once again, in developing cite-examples for HCC, we plan to set up scenarios where hypothetical employees demonstrate a lack of one or all of HCC’s ethical principles in reacting to situations regarding appropriate use of company assets and/or employee personal conduct. 

CONNECT ACTIVITIES

CONNECT ACTIVITIES

Yet another cite-example activity is one that provides employees ample reflective opportunities to connect examples of using the ethical concepts learned in training, to their daily routines at work and in their personal lives (for example a manager may reflect on a time that he/she demonstrated accountability at work. Perhaps his/her subordinate made a mistake but he/she took ownership of the fact that the employee had not yet been trained properly and made sure that the employee was not fired).

CONNECT ACTIVITIES

Summary Activities are the third type of connect activity we feel will help train the HCC staff. Essentially summary activities require learners to recap what they have learned.

• Blogging an academic summary is one way of utilizing this type of training.

• Another possible solution is to have learners record a 30-second sound bite of what they've learned and then posting it to the company’s Udutu site that will be put in place.

TESTING/ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES

Testing and Assessment  Obviously assessing learner knowledge can be done in more than one way. • One such way is to video-record learners in a hypothetical (or real)

scenario with a customer. Then provide managers with a checklist with which to evaluate subordinates as they complete each of the desired learning outcomes. 

• Other examples include giving oral exams and/or giving open-ended questions that must be answered through chat, once again set up through Udutu.

• A third way to assess learners’ understanding is by holding team/department discussions, run by superiors. This type of evaluation is held face-to-face, and it is extremely beneficial to learners as it allows them to learn from one another and reinforces knowledge through interactivity.        

TRAINING TIMELINE

Proposed Training Timeline:

• Each of the two courses would consist of 4 modules of training.

• Each module would consist of “absorb,” “connect,” and “do” activities, taking approximately 30 minutes for the learner to complete.

• Learners would also be expected to attend a discussion run by an HCC employee to increase understanding and assess learning.

• Total training time each learner would be expected to contribute: 4 hours of seat time plus 1-2 hours of discussion at HCC site.

COST ANALYSIS

TIMELINE (GANTT CHART)

PAYMENT PLAN

8/31 Project Prototype Completion $3,456.00

9/9 First Joomla Review $960.00

9/9 First Udutu Review and Voice Actors $3,840.00

9/22 Final Udutu Sign off and Approval of Content $8,800.00

9/28 Udutu Content Upload and Configuration $2,800.00

10/1 Final Joomla Sign off and Approval of Content $17,760.00

10/8 Final Course Evaluation, Rollout and Training $12,144.00

Total Cost for Project $49,760

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

Return on Investment (ROI)

•We can effectively save you nearly 40% of your current training costs in 2009. •While the cost of administrative overhead, lodging, meals, transportation, rented facility use, and contracted instructor continue to grow each year when using a traditional training method, these costs are simply eliminated with an eLearning solution.

The cost for using our training system is all up front. By offering a one-time fee that is paid for at the front end, we can offer you considerable savings on the cost of your ethics training program, both up front and in the long term. In 2009 alone, you will save over $30,000 by choosing us to design and implement your new ethics training program. That’s a savings of nearly 40% of your current cost. Moreover, since we provide you with an ethics training solution that is permanent, it saves you money on the back end as well by eliminating your overhead costs. Ultimately you enjoy the benefit of a fixed cost while you get a training solution that is flexible enough that you can consistently update it as your company grows.

Savings at the front and the back end

ROI

Savings by training from within

•In 2008, HCC spent $4,500 to pay for instructors that work outside of the company.

•By working with your existing IT and instructional team and training them to manage the training program, you'll save thousands of dollars each year.

•Instead of hiring out, your team will be trained to leverage free resources available online while at the same time maximizing the knowledge and leadership of the people who know your company the best: your employees.

ROI

ROI

Savings from using eLearning vs. traditional training

•Typical start-up costs of a traditional learning management system (LMS): between $100,000 to $200,000 for a large company and usually between $30,000 and $50,000 for a smaller company

•LMS requires a recurring investment year after year for site licenses.

•Joomla: initial cost of between $45,000 and $60,000.

•Joomla: ongoing cost of $0.

Return on Investment: Behavioral Outcomes

LIT understands that while a decrease in cost of the company's training is essential, part of the return on the expenditure of training must include measurable, qualitative improvements both behavioral and attitudinal in nature as is the case in ethics training.

Our training strategy implements this in its course layout and design:

• 360 degree evaluation of trained employees

• increase in customer retention and enrollment

• decrease in lost customers.

ROI

We feel strongly that as an instructional training team, we must keep our training services pliable so as to fit the needs of HCC now and in the future. To this end, we offer on-going support during the first year of use with a one-time re-evaluation period at the end of the first year to ensure that the training objectives and needs of the company are met.

Thank you once again for your time and consideration.