Cranfield University, with a global reputation for innovation in sectors such as aerospace, automotive, defense, energy, environment, healthcare, management, manufacturing and security, has the mission to transform knowledge into ingenious solutions in science, technology and management.
Cranfield University has worked closely with the Ministry of Defense (Mod) and the United Kingdom’s Defense Academy for some years, providing traditional education for Army Officers. However, with an ever changing world landscape, and the need to station personnel around the globe, the MoD required a more flexible and integrated approach to the education of its officers.
As a result, Cranfield University completed an assessment of solutions from a number of different companies – each of which had to comply with rigorous criteria and security requirements. The solution needed be able to cope with multiple metadata strategies, and comply with the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM). The design of the courses needed to take the audience into consideration by providing a variety of delivery mechanisms, for example via the web, CD-Rom or DVD. Furthermore, the solution had to be capable of duplicating and managing module based content, as well as maintaining the digital repositories and the management of content. These requirements, lastly, all had to be resolved in a in a cost effective environment.
Cranfield’s objective to develop and implement a fully managed service, which would supported the Defense Academy’s blended learning environment via Cranfield’s eLearning solution, lead them to select HarvestRoad Hive.
In cooperation with Cranfield University, eXact learning solutions developed a flexible model capable of addressing different eLearning strategies. This was achieved through a gradual evolution and recognition of unsatisfied needs from existing technology, transitioning from a learning management system to a learning content management system. The HarvestRoad Hive solution is designed to establish a bridge between islands of content within or across organizations, such as in the case of the Defense Academy, and manage that content for delivery.
Furthermore, since HarvestRoad Hive is independent, Cranfield University is not locked into a proprietary Learning Management System (LMS). The digital repository functionality makes HarvestRoad Hive ideal for the management of the MoD’s content. As Ms. Harrison, the Deputy Director of Information Services at Cranfield University noted, “HarvestRoad Hive is the glue in the middle that makes it all happen. Recently we downloaded over 4,000 images, which are now stored and easily managed by the system.” HarvestRoad Hives offers access to content with flexibility and multiple delivery options. Although the need was initially for Army Officers’ education, it became apparent that the system could provide much more than a linear set of courses by assisting officers that required refresher courses, or those that wished to update their knowledge of the current military doctrine.
The flexibility in workflow procedures offered by HarvestRoad Hive ensures the quality processes for content maintenance. “The capability of HarvestRoad Hive in this area was the key to a successful implementation,” said Ms Harrison, “as were the types of delivery mechanisms and the blended approach to eLearning.” Cranfield needed to have a number of different delivery mechanisms available, for example, in the case of officers that would commence a course in the UK and then complete the course via broadband or satellite once posted overseas. Ms. Harrison stated, “The feedback has been excellent with barely a handful of technical issues.” As Cranfield has gone through the implementation process they have also decided to employ a Help Desk and technical support facility, so that many of the officers in remote areas can access 24/7 assistance.
eXact learning solutions’ holistic approach, offering a fully managed LMS solution built on the HarvestRoad Hive federated digital repository addressed Cranfield University’s critical eLearning problems in meeting its obligations to the Defense Academy. Able to interact with existing University systems, HarvestRoad Hive - a future proof solution - went beyond the base requirements of incorporating the attributes of a content management system.
Cranfield is currently working on additional eLearning delivery courses for electronic defense writing and is in discussions with various groups to look at the development of courses covering a variety of areas and disciplines. Ms. Harrison commented, “By taking a holistic approach and delivering a fully managed solution, we can see tremendous benefits. For example, through the reuse and repurposing of content across sectors and programs, we have achieved the efficient use of course material and general documentation.” She continued, “We are currently scoping out several other courses that will use this approach of repurposing course material to suit their environment. The ability for large, dispersed organizations to provide up to date content to their staff in a variety of forms, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, is very exciting. We can really show tremendous return on investment when we take this approach."
