IT Essentials for Business

Introduction

Our story of how IT Essentials for Business first came into being begins with the IT Academy, an integral part of the University of York, who deliver Information Technology based courses to the local business community. They believed that the courses they were delivering could have much wider appeal and decided to convert their 2 day course into an e-learning course.

Disq was chosen as a development partner because of their proven expertise in the design of advanced technology CD-ROMs.

Our Challenge

The development team soon discovered that realising the objectives was a tall order;

• How could we turn what was very technical information into something which could not only be put across in an engaging way but also be accessible to a non-technical user?
• How could we help non-technical users to learn how to network their business computers?
• How could we make the course practical and informative?
• How on earth were we going to handle the hands-on elements of the course like physically wiring 2 computers together?

Our Solution

The first thing was to dissect the course into tiny pieces. There was no way a business owner was going to be able to spare 2 days to go through the course all in one go and be expected to absorb the information. Drawing on their experiences in creating innovative learning material for the DfES (Department for Education and Skills).

Disq knew that the key was to turn the subject matter into easy to swallow chunks of learning. This involved a considerable amount of thought and time from the IT Academy and, looking at the course in its current state, required a complete rewrite.

Unique 'virtual office' makes networking simple.

Practically simple

It was clear from the course content that the hands-on work, easily done in a classroom, would be difficult to produce in a virtual environment. In an intense, free flowing creative discussion, it was decided that Disq would need to create a “virtual office” which would reflect a typical business office environment.

From here they could:

• “virtually” wire the computers together,
• “virtually” assign IP numbers achieve all of the complex technical proceedures required by the course’s learning outcomes.

Customise the office and enjoy the practical tests

Feng Shui - the virtual way

One of the realisations from the creative discussion was that it would be possible to give the user something more, that little bit of detail which can make a good product great. By including a panel in which users could add items such as coffee cups and posters to the walls the user could make the “virtual” office their own. Storyboarding the project became very entertaining and the Disq team maintain they have never worked on a more rewarding project.

Clear instructions and spoken commentary expertly guide you

The Outcome

The outcome of the project is a simple to use, engaging virtual office in which you can:

• Create a network for your business step – by – step
• Listen as well as see what to do - the course is delivered with high levels of animation and commentary
• Personalise your virtual environment with interesting colours and objects
• Learn further information about networks in a clear and easy-to-use interface which really works.

More information:

If you would like to download a demo click the button below.

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If you have a training challenge, Disq can help you. Call us on 0845 345 2712, or email info@disq.co.uk.