Helping adults gain the Numeracy and Literacy qualifications they need

A partnership, involving Giunti Labs, East London e-Learning (ELeL) and Oxford eLearning (OeL), is helping adults to gain much needed GCSE equivalent qualifications, initially in numeracy and literacy.

The result of this partnership, given the working title of ‘Easy2Learn’, is a tutor-supported e-learning resource for people from all backgrounds aged 16 and over.

The target group for these learning programmes comprises low skilled British adults as well as immigrants, who might have attained a high level of education in their own country but who still lack basic UK-based qualifications. However, those taking advantage of these learning materials are likely to also include former offenders – that is, those within three months of being released from prison – who will, thereby, be able to gain qualifications which could help them get jobs and so reduce the temptation for them to re-offend.

After carrying out an international benchmarking exercise, ELeL selected Giunti Labs, with its learn eXact LCMS platform, as its technological partner.

A first prototype, to be released in April, will be used initially by between 300 and 500 people to help them gain GCSE equivalent qualifications in numeracy or literacy. In the longer term, this approach will be expanded to include other qualifications where user numbers are expected to grow exponentially as soon as new curricular offerings have been finalised.

According to ELeL, eXact Skills and eXact Portfolio are new modules extending Giunti Labs’ learn eXact LCMS technology along the lines of skills based content personalisation.

These are the first commercial outputs of Giunti Labs’ long-lasting involvement with the leading learning personalisation projects from the EU’s R&D framework. These include EPICC (http://www.epiccproject.info/), Prolix (www.prolixproject.org) and TENCompetence (www.tencompetence.org), which are among the world’s foremost projects for the development of skills, competency and portfolio based human talent development and performance support technologies.

The modules are now fully integrated into the learn eXact LCMS suite and use accepted market standards for learning content profiling, such as taxonomy based content indexing, competencies and skills based content profiling, as well as ePortfolio based recording of achievements.

Leon Rodin, CEO of ELeL commented: "East London e-Learning chose the learn eXact LCMS after careful consideration of the e-learning market because of the interoperability of all of the e-learning tools offered as an all-in-one solution.

"Working with Giunti Labs has helped us as an organisation to understand the tools available to us in order to achieve our goals. Giunti Labs’ innovation and willingness to explore new concepts has accelerated the development of the prototype system we are creating in order to establish an innovative approach to e-learning in the UK further education sector that puts e-learning at the heart of learning delivery rather than just something that sits alongside the main college-type offer."

He added: "With Easy2Learn, we aim to ensure learning using a computer or electronic device is easy: easy to use, understand and learn. We provide learners with online – and, sometimes, offline - access to courses and learning through this platform; tutor support either in person at one of our outreach centres, at the workplace or online anywhere that learners have access to an internet connection, as well as providing online learning tools such as an e-portfolio to support individuals learning and their attainment of qualifications.

"The range of courses and the qualifications we can offer, either directly or through one of our partner providers, cover qualifications in basic skills (Numeracy, Literacy or English Language skills), IT from basic level through to professional, and a range of vocational or work-related qualifications such as NVQs or ILM qualifications.

"Easy2Learn is the personalised learning experience designed to help you achieve the goals you want," he said. "This service is personalised to each learner, creating individual learning plans suited to each learner’s needs."

Jonathan Turner, managing director of OeL, added: "This is a pioneering project in its use of assessments to tailor the individual’s pathway through the learning material. We see a very strong fit between our experience in online content and curricula structuring, ELeL’s vision and learner awareness, and Giunti Labs’ learning content management and skills personalisation platform. Ultimately this will enable the learners to progress much more quickly and efficiently than before by automatically developing a learning pathway which only covers areas where further knowledge is required."

End

Notes for Editors

About Giunti Labs
Giunti is unique in the international publishing industry.

In 1497, Giunti publishers and typographers in Florence, together with others in Venice, began modern book manufacturing. Over the years Giunti has built a ‘historical catalogue’ of huge dimensions, through a gradual process of ‘fusion’ of different publishers, but also through the creation of new brands, including Giunti Labs. Giunti Editore now includes 20 companies in the publishing sector.

Giunti Labs, which has its EMEA headquarters in Italy and offices in Milton Keynes (UK) and in Boston (US), provides a wide range of services, in response to any content, learning and knowledge management need, covering:
• Content production
• Research and development
• Technological solutions for content, learning & knowledge management
• Architectural and technological solutions for mobile & wireless
• Training and consulting

Giunti Labs provides the learn eXact® suite, Europe's leading e-learning and mobile learning content management technology. This suite is interoperable with all major vendor-driven and open source LMS and VLE solutions in the market including Oracle, SumTotal, Saba, WebCT, Blackboard, Sakai, LRN and Moodle.

Moreover, Giunti Labs does not just adhere to the international standards relating to the LMS/LCMS world, it is one of the organisations that helps to determine and drive these standards: co-writing and developing them. Giunti Labs plays a key role in most of the international institutions for the definition of eLearning specifications (IEEE LTSC, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC36, CEN/ISSS WSLT, AICC, IMS, ADL-SCORM and OKI).

About Giunti Labs’ learn eXact® suite
Giunti Labs’ learn eXact is an e-learning and mobile learning content management system (LCMS) that enables users to create, manage and deliver content based on learning objects, XML, standards and international specifications. It delivers learning content to location-based mobile devices, interactive TV and wearable computer devices.

About East London e-Learning (ELeL)

East London e-Learning Ltd is a successful not-for-profit training company based in Stratford, East London at the heart of the London Olympic regeneration area and was established in 2000.

Since then it has developed a comprehensive and diverse portfolio of activity and an expertise in the delivery of e-learning programmes in particular the delivery of basic skills (SfL) programmes.

ELeL has an extensive network of community learning centres across London. The high quality of the provision they offer was confirmed in their most recent Inspection from the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI) which awarded a Grade 2 (good) in leadership and management and praised their success in widening participation in learning among disadvantaged groups.

ELeL has extensive experience of working with small and medium sized enterprises and their employees and, since 2004/05, has delivered basic skills and NVQs to these companies across London.

With an emphasis on basic skills, ELeL is one of the most successful single deliverers of basic skills qualifications in the UK, having helped over 8,000 people achieve a numeracy or literacy qualification in the last three years.

About Oxford eLearning (OeL)

OeL is an independent, results driven, learning consultancy specialising in transforming business knowledge into simple technology based training. OeL works with clients to develop training material into an effective blend of old and new based on sound instructional design experience. We work closely with a network of carefully selected partners to deliver the best e-learning solutions for each client’s individual needs.


Further information from:
Angus Turpin, Giunti Labs, +44 (0) 7733 365063
Minna Leikas, Giunti Labs, +39 3489 399127
Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, +44 (0)1727 860405
Leon Rodin, ELeL, +44 (0) 870 2012 000
Jonathan Turner, OeL Limited, +44 (0)845 2260541