Linguarama uses e-learning to create language courses

Quality e-learning is a marriage of pedagogical expertise, subject matter knowledge, creative design and technological excellence. When Europe's largest business language training organisation, Linguarama, made the leap into e-learning they found themselves in a potentially frustrating position.

Challenged to produce interactive e-learning

With over 30 years experience of specialist training for businesses and professional people, and a history of training in over 30 languages, Linguarama has a bank of teaching resources and expertise that is second to none. However, while they are undoubtedly best placed to devise the content and design for an online language course, they lacked the programming and interactivity skills needed to produce quality interactive e-learning. Outsourcing such a massive project fully would have proved expensive and would certainly have meant losing a measure of control over the instructional design.

Using BILD* to create material

The answer came in the form of Brightwave’s proprietary content development tool, BILD*. As much a methodology as an application, BILD* allowed a combination of Brightwave’s development skills and Linguarama’s subject knowledge to create over 60 hours of learning material with Linguarama’s own designers and experts at the heart of the process.

It was a case of “give us the tools and we will finish the job.” Having been provided with BILD* and appropriate technical support, Linguarama crafted over 200 screens; creating a complete interactive, online English language training programme that guides the learner through meaning, accuracy, practice, listening and speaking exercises and presentations.

Growing courses organically

A further benefit for Linguarama is that their online course can grow organically in-house, with elements changing or being added as appropriate without needing to involve the outside e-learning experts. BILD* has enabled Linguarama to keep total creative and pedagogical control of the programme and its future development.

Thanks to the skills transfer from Brightwave, Linguarama now has a group of people with hands-on experience in developing e-learning.

(*formerly WavePool)