"To be useful to our customers, the content must be tailor made to their specific knowledge and skill development requirements, cover in total the needs of the intended application and integrate measuring mechanisms of the learning/training progress and the final outcome".
This consists the cornerstone of AviationEU TS&S philosophy as we strongly believe that each customer has a unique profile determined by their organisational, operational and personnel characteristics which any learning/training process should take into account. Therefore, we work to create generic reusable content which can serve as a "base" to expedite content development. Generic content is included in our content database for use in our respective services.It is related to learning/training needs of different target user groups in different industries and sub-sectors. For example, our media files on fasteners and metals are equally useful for a wide range of aerospace and industrial applications and can support the tasks of procurement specialists, design engineers, MRO mechanics, academics or others, forming part of a Resource Repository.. Our respecive training content on process design & management can be applied on operations of different entities spanning from manufacturing companies to airliners and regularory bodies. This content is then customised to customer requirements through small or larger scale adaptations to cover customer specific needs as determined through our Training Needs Analysis, a methodology helping us to specify the characteristics and requirements which the content must comply with. For each topic, a brief content profile is provided with information on the learning/ training aim, subjects covered, intended use, prerequisites, completion examinations (whenever applicable) etc. Other content delivery issues are also examined, such as how the content reaches the selected recipients (end users), how trainees, instructors and other parties involved in the training process interact with each other and what humman resources and infrastructure are needed to make it happen. Once the content analysis is completed, the desired content is specified and design works can start. When the content is created and ready to use, content delivery issues are further refined in terms of their operational requirements. Content design and development are interrelated stages of the content creation process. Testing during development often requires design modifications to arrive in an "optimum" result.
We can work as content creator (analysing,designing and developing the required content), as content provider for content delivery or both, depending on customer and project needs. In the case of learning.training content, typically in the form of courses structured in different lessons including respective tests/examinations, this is supplied to our customers for use through their own delivery infrastructure. Alternatively, this content is provided to to recipients (customer employees or other content end users) through our own web content delivery platforms. The figure above illustrates our content creation and delivery roles.
Content delivery mechanisms used depend on the content and its intended use. Content Management Systems (CMS) are usually sufficient for Resource Repositories while training materials delivered through Internet require a Learning Management System (LMS) which enables content creation/updating, storage, organisation and delivery, monitoring of trainees' participation and progress, assessment of their performance and interaction of all parties involved in the training process. There are several reasons supporting LMS use, the most important ones being their low cost (many of them are open source with no licensing requirements), quick and easy installation in local or remote servers provided by many Internet Service Providers, ISPs, a range of integrated functionalities (depending on the selected LMS) and the worlwide access to the content through different devices such as PCs, tablets or mobile phones.
Although capabilities/functionalities of different LMS vary depending on the selected system, some of their key features and how they are exploited for content delivery are listed below to assist in their better understanding.
LMS General Uses & Features
Accessibility: Content can be fully accessible and usable for all (trainees, trainers/instructors and other parties involved in the training process) although restrictions are usually set depending on their role or other determined application requirements with the set up of user groups with access rights to specific information.
Course Management: Advanced Course Management for delivered courses, lessons and related examinations is supported. Trainers can customize their course setup and management through pre-set customizations and other customization options at the Administrator level.
Content Repository: Content Repository hosts existing and new created content including reusable reference materials for further reading. It allows uploading of files to a course from a variety of outside file repositories, such as Dropbox, Flickr, Google Drive in addition to traditional computer uploading. Trainers can also search for files from any of their courses hosted on the same training server. Different delivery options can be offered. For example, in the case of pilot theoretical knowledge training, the customer or the content recipient can decide between the basic content and additional content or tools offered as options at additional charge (such as notes on flying lessons, video presentations of simulated flight exercises or our desktop VFR Flight Planner tool) for a demonstration and practice of their knowledge in their preparation for flight training.
Assessments: assessments can be very rich, automated, and customized. They can indicatively include
• Self-Assessment Tests with multiple-choice questions to be used by the trainees for monitoring their performance in different lessons with explanations/ brief theory notes on the correct answers as an option,
• Course Assignments,
• Course Completion Examinations,
User Interaction/Engagement/Gamification: Built-in capabilities enabling communication and co-operation of trainees with trainers and other parties involved in the training process. Examles of such capabilities include chat functionality add-ins for most of the major synchronous learning tools (Blackboard Collaborate & Ultra, Big Blue Button, Zoom, WebEx). Game mechanics and games can also be used, whenever required, to engage and motivate the trainees.
Adaptive Learning: customized resources and learning activities to address the unique needs of each trainee provided that these have been included in the instructional design.
Microlearning: Microlearning lets learners select and use assets most applicable to their current needs on whatever device is most handy, making the training even more relevant to their work.
Cloud Hosting: resources of cloud computing can be used at a lower cost compared with other LMS options.
Analytics: analytics tools allow tracking of compliance, course completions and competencies but also a diagnosis of learning engagement and progress as well as a prediction of the learning progress. Reports and logs are generated at the course level while trainee records are maintained with up to date information on their training progress.