IMC: E-learning in the "Webciety"

IMC presents numerous learning technologies at CeBIT 2009 and shows how they can improve our business- and private life

Saarbrücken, 3 March 2009 - A key topic at CeBIT 2009 involves the so-called "webciety", a neologism combining the "World Wide Web" with "society". This new word stands for the key technological development of our age, as the Internet continues to permeate all areas of our lives. IMC, Europe´s leading supplier of learning technologies, shows in hall 6, stand C37/1 how to align e-Learning efficiently with business processes. IMC-portfolio covers workstation-integrated solutions for IT- training, authoring tools for the production of video-lectures” to take away” on the iPhone, serious games for games-based learning and Web 2.0 based learning management systems.

Workstation-integrated learning with LIVECONTEXT
Software systems and the processes they are designed to support are not always self-explanatory. The accompanying help functions and software documentation are often inadequate. If their immediate colleagues are unable to help, users will swamp the helpdesk, be unable to progress their work or waste time trawling through manuals and instructions. This is where LIVECONTEXT, IMC´s new Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS), comes in. It recognises all windows, online forms and data entry fields in the application and delivers support exactly where it is needed: in the application, in the actual work process and at the user’s own workstation. Delivering the right support in the right place reduces the risk of errors, which is why it is so important for software help to be context-sensitive.
LIVECONTEXT is also a learning environment. If software functions are hard to understand, or it is unclear what needs to be entered in a particular field, or the user is uncertain about the next step or process that the software is intended to support, LIVECONTEXT provides the appropriate learning content. This might consist of simple documentation, videos, animation, podcasts, multimedia and interactive learning units (Web-based training), etc. The format of these units is ultimately irrelevant – what matters is that users can access the unit immediately and according to context. This is microlearning at its most effective: short, solution-oriented units that get to the crux of the problem, helping users to learn – on the job and on demand.

More efficient processes for learning management with CLIX 9
The new version of the award winning learning management system CLIX has been available since 15 December 2008. CLIX 9 offers increased productivity by improving the management of training processes. Key aspects include mobile and collaborative learning. Since employees are increasingly out of the office on business, IMC has established a new offline, Windows based tool – CLIX Learnbase. Learning material can easily be downloaded and revised on a local computer. By using the CLIX Learnbase, learners can work through their exercises without being connected to CLIX or the Intranet/Internet. Learning development is saved locally and synchronised with CLIX as soon as the user reconnects. The new CLIX Learnbase is a vital element to make the user’s individual learning processes more flexible.
CLIX 9 also enables learning groups to work collectively on activities by allowing individual members to work on the task before making the results available to the whole group. All members can comment on the different working versions or use other CLIX services such as virtual classrooms, chats or bulletin boards to communicate with each other. On completion of the work, the tutor is able to provide feedback, making CLIX 9 ideal for universities and project based trainees.

Game-based learning with serious games
Serious or educational games represent a valuable complement to traditional teaching media because they create a direct involvement between the learner and the teaching material. The programme of study is contained within stories and represented as an animation. There is a whole variety of different exercises and games, which offer the students stimuli that can both reinforce and take learning further. On behalf of scoyo GmbH, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann AG, the software company based in Saarbrücken is developing so-called serious games, which are intended to complement teaching carried out in schools. The combination of animation and e-learning content has set IMC a series of great, but rewarding challenges. “This project represents for us a strategic expansion into the edutainment sector. Not only are we able to excel in project management, learning technology and didactic design – but also in the art of entertainment on a high level”, says Dr. Wolfgang Kraemer, CEO of IMC. “In our opinion, serious games will very quickly find their way into the business sector, as they lend themselves very easily to almost all areas of corporate life – training, professional development and recruitment.”

One-stop learning solutions
IMC´s extensive portfolio meets a wide range of requirements in the fields of learning technologies. The recording tool LECTURNITY records lectures „on the fly“ as they happen. It integrates not only sound and image from the auditorium (in connection with a camera and microphone), but also PowerPoint slides, handwritten sketches, interactive elements, such as test questions, and digitalises it into a single multimedia learning content.  By means of IMC´s web platform SLIDESTAR you can build up an eLecture-Portal, where you can easily publish your lectures immediately after the recording. To make it even more user-friendly IMC has combined the upload into SLIDESTAR with an automatic full text indexing that allows for targeted searching across the whole eLecture-portal and even within one document.
By means of the authoring tool POWERTRAINER you can easily create, publish and share multimedia eLearning courses, tests or glossaries. Your courses can be used both online and offline, with or without a learning management system (LMS). The technology is based on international standards which guarantee that you are making a sensible investment. POWERTRAINER has just been awarded the “digita 2009” for its outstanding usability, productivity, functionality and price-performance ratio.

Meet IMC at CeBIT
CeBIT is the ideal place to meet our expert team to discuss your learning requirements. Contact us at info(at)im-c.com or come and visit us in hall 6 on stand C37/1.