If you thought using your mobile phone for anything other than phone calls and the occasional text were just for the youth of today then think again. Epic’s Julie Read explains how these devices are becoming increasingly important in the training sphere.
Epic is a market-leading and award-winning provider of innovative, effective learning solutions to public sector and corporate clients, including the Ministry of Defence for whom we are an approved e-learning framework supplier. For two decades we have helped organisations improve individual and collective performance with integrated learning solutions that consider people, processes and technology.
We are at the forefront of thinking and publish free influential newsletters and white papers on subjects such as Blended Learning, Simulations and e-learning, and m-learning. You can find these and more on our website. www.epic.co.uk.
Consequently, Epic is widely perceived as a consistent leader and innovator, producing groundbreaking work in blended learning, e-learning and web design.
m-learning
m-learning (mobile learning) is learning on the move. Mobile devices - mobile phone, PDA, MP3 player or Blackberry - are portable, personal and increasingly powerful. They free learners from the tyranny of time and location. Around 80% of learning takes place outside of training courses. In an increasingly busy world, the ability to learn and reflect on the move is a welcome respite from the pressured workplace.
Senior staff in particular struggle to take time for formal training. They are usually intrinsically motivated, self-starters who read and learn in transitory places such as railway stations and airports.
Then there are the young people who have taken to mobile technology with a vengeance. In the UK, 90% secondary school children have a mobile.
Epic is already helping clients, including banks and MOD, exploit the capabilities of m-learning. Visit us at ITEC stand 740 to try a range of PDA learning activities, including animated learning nuggets for just in time learning, coffee break games for reinforcement, a diagnostic test builder and even Epic’s SIMsoft branching video simulations for skills practice.
Soft skills simulations
Visit ITEC or I/ITSEC and you could be forgiven for thinking that many exhibitors see learners as mere computer peripherals. In the new world, military personnel must take on multi-faceted roles in the networked battlespace, in peacekeeping, policing and humanitarian missions. People skills matter more than equipment. The imperative now is to equip people, not staff equipment.
To support this, Epic has developed SIMsoft, a genre of e-learning simulations on soft skills that use a combination of video, branching decisions and games techniques to produce powerful scenario-based learning. Given a case, you have to deal with the parties and their problems, making a series of decisions and receiving face-on video responses. If you fail catastrophically, you must start again. This encourages correct decision-making and reinforces through repetition. We have used this approach for military policing, conflict resolution and managing staff, but it applies equally to cultural awareness and language training.
Realising value for money
We provide a full range of services to define, develop and deliver blended learning solutions. Epic’s learning consultants work with clients, including DWP, Inland Revenue and DfES, to formulate blended learning strategies and solutions. We will ensure that you derive value for money from your investment through effective implementation support for learning programmes. Epic offers advice, services and technology solutions for supporting learners online, including marketing, e-tutoring, consultancy, delegate management, content editorial, first and second line technical support, and content and technical maintenance.
For more information, visit us at ITEC,
by the Learning Zone, or contact marketing@epic.co.uk
Tel: 01273 728686
Fax: 01273 821567
