Thursday, September 18, 2008

No Time Nobody (AKA Help is on it's way)

OK, it's been a little while since the last blog post and I have to admit much of the reason has been that I have been playing. That's right playing. Well that is after all what we do with all these fun tools us e-learning types use and talk about all the time.....

We get wind of a new or cool tool that we think might help us to get the content up, or spread the word, or whatever the need is at the time. We download it, play with it, break it, fix it then share it. We try before we buy. We test and trial. We run out of time. We go to bed late. We tweet while we work. We make a mould and we break it the next day. We share and consult and teach and try to convert. We preach the good and we read what others preach too.

So now what is my latest toy? Articulate no less. That's right, I paid (well at least my company did) for an e-learning tool. For those of you who don't know me personally I'll let you in on a little secret, I am a tightwad. I don't like paying for anything. Period. But when there is a real need and I can see that the benefits far outweigh the costs, I will dig deep into my moth ridden wallet AKA budget, and shell out for a worthy product.



The Articulate Suite

And in this case the benefit surely does far outweigh the costs. The learning objects we are building with the Articulate suite at BJ's are impressive, shiny, user friendly and (for those who care) SCORM compliant. They slot into our moodle with little effort and are so easy to build. They are tactile, flash(y) and small in file size.


Screen shot of a learning object we created for Jan's Leadership Management Course

To get the full rundown you really need to go to the Articulate blogs Word of Mouth and The Rapid E-learning Blog. Apart from being unbelievably handy (even if you don't own their products) they are easy to read and driven by reader demand.

And here's the segue.....

So why "No Time Nobody"? Well the result of these great objects we are building using Articulate (apart from the learning benefits for our students) is that we have taken The BJ's E-learning Project to the next level. It's not the product we are selling but Articulate is the icing we needed on our consulting cake. We are now offering consulting services to RTO's and Businesses in South Australia (or beyond if you know someone with the need ;-) rhys@bjaustralia.com.au if you do).

So how can we help? That is up to the need you have. Here are some scenarios-
  • E-learning project on the horizon and you need some advice.....
  • You need someone to project manage and/or write a grant application for e-learning......
  • You have a moodle you started but you are lacking any content....
  • Your business needs a better way to conduct their induction processes......
  • No L&D department in your SME and you want to outsource.....
  • You are coming up to that busy time of year and you just need some moodle savvy help to get you through......
  • the list goes on......
The bottom line is, Bj's are flexible, friendly (a)ffordable, and because I'm tight with my budget I'll aslo be tight with yours. We'll be open and amenable to budget restrictions and mid project deviations.

If you do know someone who could benefit from these services and you make a qualified recommendation I'll get a nice bottle of BJ's Red out to you ;-)