Guernsey/London, July 2002 - The first Learning Management
System ("LMS") to be installed in the Channel Islands has been launched at the Itex
data centre in Guernsey.
Guernsey (pop. 65,000) is the second largest of the Channel Islands, part of Great
Britain but near to the Normandy coast. Recognising the importance of e-Learning
in the community, and in particular the needs of the Guernsey College of Further
Education, the local Board of Industry encouraged local IT company Itex and IntraLearn
Europe to put together a package that would enable higher education and local training
providers to deliver low cost e-learning. Kevin Green, Director of e-business at
the Board explained, "It is essential for Guernsey to create and maintain a high
quality workforce. In the modern business world a lifelong learning strategy is
required and the College of Further Education have a pivotal role to play. e-Learning
not only enhances the College's capability but also demonstrates that the Island
really is a "wired" community. We wanted to have a system in place that would also
allow the Island's private sector training providers to develop and sell cost effective
e-learning. With this web-hosted LMS they can now sell their training not just within
the Islands, but to a worldwide student population."
The college is already using the system for staff familiarisation and training and
principal Trevor Wakefield believes tutors will use the system in a variety of ways.
"These include complementing existing coursework for local students, giving improved
access to course material for students in Alderney and Sark or creating new courses
to be accessed from students in other offshore centres," he said.
The IntraLearn LMS enables training providers to offer the full range of their services
to anyone who has access to the Internet. Students can enroll for courses, study,
take part in chat rooms and threaded discussions, revise, maintain e-mail contact
with their tutors and each other, and take examinations from any PC connected to
the Internet through a standard browser. As well as serving the college, local companies
can use the course creation wizard and Microsoft Office to build courses quickly
without the need for programming skills. The LMS is compliant with the main international
standards for e-Learning software so "off-the-shelf" courses from leading content
providers such as Skillsoft and Element K can be launched and tracked.
IntraLearn Software Corporation was founded in 1994 with headquarters in Northboro,
MA. IntraLearn is the leading supplier of configurable e-Learning applications for
mid-sized enterprises. IntraLearn is distributed worldwide through authorized IntraLearn
resellers and learning service providers to more than 530 major organizations serving
2.5 million learners, including CitiBank Asia, Financial Campus, International Franchise
Association, Mathsoft, Thompson Financial, and the University of Massachusetts.
IntraLearn is represented in Western Europe by IntraLearn (Europe) Ltd with customers
in over 10 countries including Heineken, Clifford Chance, Alexander Forbes, City
of Rome Council, Chartered Institute of Accountants, and The Open University of
Portugal.
IntraLearn is a trademark of IntraLearn Software Corporation. Other brands and products
are trademarks of their respective owners.