Employee Skills Program Description
Employees will be entered into a class devoted to company employees. A
certified teacher will oversee the class, evaluate the long answer (essays
& math problems) questions, monitor progress, communicate with the company
program coordinator and generate reports for company. The teacher will
communicate with the employee if they are not participating as expected and
help the employee to work conscientiously. company will be contacted if the
employee continues to be lax in their work. All the teachers will be supervised
by an experienced school administrator and supported by an office staff. Every
teacher is trained in the use of the online program before they are assigned a
class. The online program functions through three distinct program areas:
- Online Class
- The central meeting place for each class (group of employees) is the
online class. The online class software is licensed from Blackboard, Inc.
(http://www.Blackboard.com) This online meeting place for the class has many
features, including: An Announcements page, Personal and class Calendar page,
Personal and class Task page, Class and teacher information pages, Email to the
members of the class, Assignments page (teacher prepared material to supplement
the programmed instruction), Web resource page, full featured Discussion Forum
for class members to exchange messages. The learning managements system used
for the online class has fully implemented the Access Board's final
accessibility standards for electronic and information technology covered by
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998.
- After the employee completes the Instructional portion of the
Employee Skills Program we envision the creation of descriptions of an employee
interaction with a customer in this area of the program. The employee will then
choose and fill-in the appropriate forms. The completed form will be
automatically graded and the employee would receive immediate feedback on their
effort. With the features of the online class the teacher can maintain
communication with the employees, exchange messages and make additional
instructional material available to the employees. Two links will appear in
each online class. One link will lead the employee to a real-time, interactive
virtual classroom and the other link will lead to the main instructional
program.
- Virtual Classroom
- The real-time, interactive virtual classroom is licensed from
HorizonLive.com Inc. (http://www.HorizonLive.com). The virtual classroom will
be used by the teacher to meet with employees or with the whole class. This
program enables the teacher to talk to the class while they display material or
write on a white board. Everyone in the class hears the teacher at the same
time. All material shown and everything written on the eBoard is immediately
displayed on everyone's computer screen. The instructor can also access web
pages to share with the class. Another feature is the ability to share a
computer screen with everyone in the virtual classroom. This feature enables
the teacher to go through a lesson from the Instructional Program with a
employee. The employee can interact with the lesson as they go through it while
discussing each aspect of the lesson with the teacher. This becomes an
excellent tool to help employees work in the learning system. The features that
are available to the teacher can be assigned by the teacher to any employee, or
even all the employees. This allows the employees to ask or answer questions in
their own voice, write on the eBoard, display their work or show a web page to
the class. The virtual classroom with the audio features and web based
implementation allow persons with disabilities to access and participate in the
interaction with the teacher and/or the class. The virtual classroom enables
the teacher to meet the very specific individual needs of the employee which
might not be met by the Instructional Program. All in all, the virtual
classroom is truly analogous to a physical classroom and creates a very
effective teaching & learning environment.
- Instructional Program
- The Online Class and the Virtual Classroom are support structures for
the online Instructional Program. This anytime, anywhere computer aided
instructional program is licensed from the American Education Corporation
(http://www.amered.com). The software program consists of an
Internet-deliverable instructional management system supported by
standards-based assessment tools and core curriculum for grades 1-12. The
Learning System program contains 4,675 lessons and 106,541 exercises, which add
up to more than 9,000 hours of technology-based instruction.
- It is understood that adult employees will not need or access the
lessons at the elementary level. But, in the event an employee has severe
academic needs, the program will be able to meet the needs. It is often
difficult for an adult employee to communicate their need for training,
especially when the need is severe. This program will find the needs without
exposing the employee to an embarrassment that could act as a barrier to their
participation. The end result of the program is to ensure every employee has
skills consistent with the skills an average high school graduate should
possess. The company can choose specific instructional areas for each employee
or allow the employee access to all instructional areas.
- In all cases, "smart testing" is deployed and assessment tests
configured to branch up and down "skill trees." This branching allows educators
to identify the lowest levels that the employee has not mastered and the
highest levels of mastery in particular curriculum areas. After completing the
assessment test, employees are assigned, automatically, a customized course of
study containing employee-specific activities in each of the curriculum areas.
All courseware curriculum resources can be assigned and customized from the
management system by the teacher. New subjects and/or resources can be added or
existing instructional resources changed at any time to meet the needs of the
employee or the LEA. The software is delivered in a consistent format so
employees learn one interface for all lessons. The software complies with
Section 508 accessibility whenever possible. The teacher will cover any lesson
or academic topic in the virtual classroom not accessible by a person with
disabilities. Employees, and their parents, can access homework assignments and
view their academic progress from their homes, media centers, libraries, or
community centers by simply logging onto the Internet at any time.
The employee begins the program with an assessment in each subject
area. The assessment begins at the employee's current level and 'drills down'
to the level at which the employee is successful. This identifies the areas
that the employee needs instruction. It also eliminates spending time on areas
the employee does not need instruction. The assessment is against high school
achievement standards and can be adjusted on an individual basis to reflect
company preferences. The results of the assessment are used by the program to
prescribe a set of lessons that will meet the specific educational needs of the
individual employee. Employees then work through their course of study, doing
the lessons and taking the assessments at the end of each instructional unit,
until they attain proficiency. There is no set time an employee must remain at
the computer. If they have something else to do, get tired of working on their
lessons or have to return to work, they can log off the system. When the
employee returns to the program they will be able to continue from the same
place they left. In this way the employee can work through the lessons as fast
as their ability will allow or a slow as they need to be successful. This
successful completion of the mastery test in each leaning unit enables the
employee to move on to the next lesson. If more work is needed for mastery then
the employee can go back through the lesson. The employee can also contact
their teacher for assistance or even schedule a live session over the Internet
for additional help.
The Babbage Net School Employee Skills Program has the advantages of a
self-paced program supported by full interaction and monitoring of a certified
teacher. The self-paced Instructional Program allows the employee to progress
can be as fast as their ability will allow or as slow as necessary to achieve
success. The certified teachers provide the support and assistance needed to
assure success by every employee. The robust record keeping of the software
guarantees that required as well as desired information is available to the
employees and to company. All together, the Instructional Program, virtual
class and virtual classroom provides employees a complete, personalized
tutoring program that will meet their exact needs on their schedule.