A Review of City & Guilds Kineo EssentialsPlus elearning courses
This is a review conducted by Learning Light Ltd of four City and Guilds Kineo EssentialsPlus elearning courses, using our e-lcet approach to objective evaluation of elearning content.
To download the evaluation reports of the four individual courses please scroll to the bottom of the page.
Overall Summary
This is a new style of elearning and some of the very best we have evaluated scoring very very close to excellent (6) in our 1 to 6 scale marking framework.
We have reviewed four individual courses from the City and Guilds Kineo EssentialsPlus elearning course library. Data Protection, Food Hygiene and Safety (Food safety and You section), Problem Solving (from the Leadership and Management range) and lastly Setting Effective Targets for Learning (from the Effective Trainer Development range of courses).
The learning design in how the materials are presented is a sea change in design which is obviously intended to deliver the learning to multi-sized devices using responsive web design techniques.
This in itself is not new, with developers moving in that direction for some time and this is an exemplary example of learning materials using the responsive web design capabilities of the Adapt Framework, making mobile learning a reality.
What is new and exciting is that the learning is much more aligned to generation Y, which is increasingly moving away from treating learning as a course but more an explorative web based resource based learning experience.
So gone are the click to next page and the overt structure of the elearning.
Instead this learning flows and unfolds with engagement and design precision to deliver really effective and engaging learning to the potentially distracted and busy learner, and in this achievement alone the materials are judged by us to be exceptional.
The learning assets used are of very high quality indeed and the underlying metaphors used indicate a very high degree of attention to detail in constructing this learning.
Audio is used very judiciously so avoiding the all too easy and patronising approach to learning of just voicing the text. For the videos a transcript is produced for download.
The menu is available and progress on each section is illustrated in a simple bar, no breadcrumb trails here.
The overall appearance is of a modern web page, not a dull elearning course. Even the way the learning is introduced and the necessary (but sometimes unfairly derided) learning objectives are addressed is crisp and stylish.
The layout is easy to navigate and interactions are embedded seamlessly into the modules. This gives the learner control, with ease of engagement and a flow to learning.
The Guided Revision is excellent and allows the learner to be guided to the sections where they are requiring more support.
Data Protection
Data protection is 70 minutes long, but chunked into self-contained 10 minute sections with knowledge checks and recaps deployed in the 10 minute sections along with very high quality video and interactions. The last 10 minutes is given over to an assessment.
The feedback against the tests and recaps is strong and very well done indeed.
It is not possible to take the final assessment without having completed all the required interactions in the course. The guided revision built into the course sends learners back to the section where they have not scored satisfactorily.
There is no branching built-in as this is compliance learning, and no pre-test to allow you to bypass what you can evidence you already know, a common complaint around compliance e- learning. However the learning is sufficiently strong and engaging to overcome this criticism.
The guided revision assessment is well designed to ensure a high level of learner retention.
The pace and interaction level is good and case studies are very well designed and the context and relevance of the learning is addressed very well indeed, for what is a dry and generic learning topic.
The video of the case study is about 3 and a half minutes long, and forms a compelling thread towards learner realisation.
This is further enhanced by the testimonies from individuals who have breached (inadvertently or not) the Data Protection Act.
The narrative is excellent, giving a concise and memorable learning experience that can be fitted in to the busy working day in chunks or in as little as 1 hour and 10 minutes or so, depending largely on the learner engagement, previous experience and of course the assessment.
This is not on-demand micro-learning, but the next generation of compliance learning designed to ensure completion. It is all about the learning experience and actually delivering retention, understanding and transferring that knowledge to the work place. The learning with the case study illustrates the cost of not adhering to data protection regulations in a very compelling way.
The benefits to an organisation in using an elearning course such as this cannot be underestimated, yes it will evidence compliance, and yes of course it will save time and money for the organisation with its flexible design and concise and effective delivery, but it will in our view stimulate interest as this learning is real, using real people in realistic situations with a compelling narrative that will demand attention and stimulate action in the organisation.
The learning is contextualised to deliver realisation…..that so could be me… so that could be us…..
We found a good level of recall was delivered by the time of the assessment; this was achieved by paying close attention to the feedback in the embedded tests and recaps in the 10 minute modules.
Our review looked at 60 data quality points for this module in its quality of digital assets used, its layout and presentation, its support and navigation, its use of assessment and feedback and the overall quality of the learning design and delivery based on our considerable experience of elearning evaluation. Our scoring is on a 6 point scale per indicator and this course scored very close to the maximum score.
Food Hygiene
The food hygiene course is another compliance orientated elearning component in the City & Guilds Kineo EssentialsPlus library. The course is split into manageable modules and we evaluated the Food Safety and You course which is made up of 3 ten minute sections and a test, with a 40 minute duration in total.
While the materials are self-contained learning modules, each of 10 minutes duration there is a strong contextual theme running through the course that ensures a coherent learning experience.
Again our evaluation found the materials to be of excellent quality and enjoys much of the high quality design skills of the Data protection course.
The materials are well designed and aligned to the catering industry and follows the learner realisation approach by putting the learner at the centre of the course as the narrative unfolds.
The reinforcement of the correct procedures and the consequences of not following the procedures further builds the impact of the learning and its context.
This is reflected in the pace of the learning which is good and the flowing nature of the interactions supports the engagement very effectively.
The pictures and images used are of very high quality indeed, as are the animations graphics. The full page pictures used as background enhance the contextualisation of the course to the workplace very effectively.
Audio is not widely used, but when used, it is very well produced. This allows instead learners to explore and engage with the learning materials.
Learner control is very well thought through, with free navigation allowed and learners can very quickly grasp the context of the course from the clear visual metaphors and gain confidence in the relevance of the materials.
Our review looked at 60 data quality points for this module in its quality of digital assets used, its layout and presentation, its support and navigation its use of assessment and feedback and the overall quality of the learning design and delivery, based on our considerable experience of elearning evaluation. Our scoring is on a 6 point scale per indicator and this course scored very close to the maximum score.
Problem solving
This course is one of the City & Guilds Kineo EssentialsPlus library courses but it is not a compliance led course, but one firmly aimed at improving the businesses performance and to be effective it must engage with the learner effectively.
The Problem solving course lasts about 65 minutes, follows 4 themes over 6 modules, 5 of 10 minutes in length and one of 5 minutes, plus a comprehensive assessment module of 10 minutes.
While all four modules reviewed in the City & Guilds Kineo EssentialsPlus library series follow a similar design look, the learning levels of the materials do vary and this is aimed at a higher level than the compliance courses.
Again the layout takes elearning beyond the click here page turner to become a much more engaging learning experience. By moving the learning from single screens to a modern web site orientated look, and designing for differing screen sizes, the enhancement of learner engagement especially for generation Y and those who recoil at page turning elearning is achieved.
Again the learning materials unfold as the learner moves down the screen, almost diving into the learning.
This design is obviously aimed at allowing the learning to be used effectively on tablets and smaller screen devices including smart phones.
The design approach used avoids the tendency to present in an over prescribed tile base format, but instead the learning components and assets are presented on a background metaphor wall paper and occasionally uses full screen images as background.
The materials are laid out spaciously and consistently to offer an easy to engage experience and encourage greater learner exploration. Progressing without pressing click here for the next screen is simple and intuitive.
At the outset the context of the learning and learning objectives are clearly articulated.
A great deal of information is presented in a short space of time by very effective interactions and video case studies and a superbly speeded up hand drawn dynamic animation session, for which you would pay a tutor of such skills many hundreds of pounds a day.
The concepts being addressed are multi-faceted and quite complex. The learning design is of top quality to express the expertise being imparted succinctly, effectively and in a context that resonates.
The videos used are excellently produced and the still images are all of very high quality and all add to the learning experience.
This module depends on video, pictures, animations and text. Text is well written and presents a considerable amount of detail and information in a relatively short space of time.
Good use of knowledge checks and recaps ensures that high levels of interaction, leads to good learning retention.
The feedback provided in these interactions is very well done.
Learners can track progress by sections in the menu, though there are no defined sections, so this learning flows.
The guided revision is particularly impressive given the nature of the materials presented and will prove invaluable to the learner in grasping some high level concepts.
Contextualisation of the learning to the workplace is very effective indeed and is a real strength to all these materials.
The digital assets used are of very high quality, the videos being very well produced and the images and graphics used are very compelling and reflect the learning very effectively.
Our review looked at 60 data quality points for this module in its quality of digital assets used, its layout and presentation, its support and navigation its use of assessment and feedback and the overall quality of the learning design and delivery, based on our considerable experience of elearning evaluation. Our scoring is on a 6 point scale per indicator and this course scored very close to the maximum score.
Setting Effective Targets for Learning
This course is not compliance led, and, is indeed a very interesting course for the learning and training professional in an organisation.
The course is about 40 minutes long and focuses on target setting as part of the training mix. As such this is again about improving an individual’s performance, and, by default the organisations performance.
The course is made up of 3 ten minute modules plus a very effective guided revision module that follows the assessment.
This course is hugely effective in that it contains a huge amount of information and the learning is structured into a coherent pathway to deal with some quite complex concepts.
The course works well and can be used as a resource as well, to return to models that can be used to improve the way learning targets are set, making it a cross over course and resource in some way.
The learning unfolds quite elegantly for the learner with the learner encouraged to engage with regular interactions, with personalities that can be identified with coming to the fore in this course.
The narrative is excellent giving a pacey but engaging course with challenging tests and recaps as the learner progresses that are well designed to build understanding, and, support a training manager to put the models presented to good use.
The learning is about setting targets and as such is exceptionally well contextualised to the organisation, despite the concise nature of the course itself, it feels real even down to the LMS the organisation uses.
Learner control is crucial in a course that positively invites recap and re-reading and this is very well supported indeed.
The guided revision is very good, and, feedback to the knowledge checks is particularly good in this course. The words used encourage and recognise correct answers and the informed supportive and encouragement for incorrect answers also works well.
The digital assets used are of top quality, and the layout and presentation of the course, addressing a complicated topic set is very good.
Again the materials are not “over audioed” and therefore does not patronise the learner unduly.
Our review looked at 60 data quality points for this module in its quality of digital assets used, its layout and presentation, its support and navigation its use of assessment and feedback and the overall quality of the learning design and delivery, based on our considerable experience of elearning evaluation. Our scoring is on a 6 point scale per indicator and this course scored very close to the maximum score.
Downloads
Here you can download the individual evaluations of the EssentialsPlus courses.
Setting Effective Targets for Learning
For more details of the courses you can visit the City and Guilds Kineo EssentialsPlus site.
We use our unique e-lcet tool to objectively and effectively review elearning courses and content. If you would like to find out more about this service, please contact us.
