Impetus for success with Surrey County Council

Surrey County Council (SCC) buys Impetus IT skills e-learning programmes and a ‘CheckPoint learning administration system supplied by Bridge-Learning Ltd.

The Impetus courses, which cover MS Office applications such as Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook in 97 and 2000 versions as well as Lotus Notes 5, are administered through CheckPoint. CheckPoint allows administrators and managers to set up and control the delivery of training to users as well as supply data on the results achieved.

Bridge-Learning’s managing director, Andy Stevenson, said: “Throughout the learning experience, CheckPoint tracks users’ work and stores data such as usage dates and times, along with test results. It then produces progress reports catering for a wide variety of information needs – and can even produce certificates based on user results."

“When SCC’s IT & training department needed to select materials that it could deliver via its intranet to train staff in how to use Microsoft Office applications, it turned to Bridge-Learning,” he continued. “As an independent distributor of technology-based training materials, our approach was to provide SCC with a range of options and help them choose the one that was right for them. We drew up a chart which compared product features and prices, then we ran an evaluation session at which SCC staff were able to try each product and compare them.”

Eventually, SCC chose the MS Office range from Impetus plus Lotus Notes 5 and bought a licence, initially for 200 users for a one-year pilot trial. This included the Impetus ‘Checkpoint’ administration system.

John Adcock, SCC’s IT training manager commented: “Bridge-Learning’s unique understanding of the e-learning industry enabled us to make significant progress with our e-learning projects. There was none of the aggressive, unrealistic sales hype we had experienced from other e-learning vendors, and this enabled us to make a measured and balanced choice from the many options Bridge-Learning put forward."

“Moreover, the system has been easy to install – even with upgrades. We also liked the product because it included Notes 5 learning material. As far as CheckPoint goes, it is comprehensive without being complicated to use and learn. It provides the right amount of information for organisations starting to evaluate the use of e-learning. Early feedback indicates that the majority of learners piloting the project like what they see – and expect it to complement rather than replace tutor-led training,” he said.

June 26th, 2002