Client Introduction
Legal Aid is an independent statutory body that provides legal services to disadvantaged people.
Project Overview
Many hours were spent gathering the final requirements for the project, resulting in thorough strategy specifications which would be closely followed throughout the development. This ensured that the interface and databases integrated nicely with internal protocols.
The key aims of the learning management system included :
- Create an Intuitive LMS
The scope of users for the LMS was extensive and included both internal and external members. Switch focused heavily on the intuitiveness of the application, by implementing user based personalisation system we could deliver a different experience for new members vs. seasoned members.
- Establish a Seamless Learning Experience
One of the real challenges of any online learning initiative is to maintain focus for students. Reading huge amounts of text onscreen is a struggle at the best of times, let alone while you're trying to learn. Switch established a walk-through learning pattern which allows the content to be nicely broken up into easy to digest segments. Key actions are stored within the LMS, enabling a student to come back to where they left off, any time they want.
- Comprehensive Accessibility
Throughout the development we promoted the importance of accessibility, not just the standard W3C validation elements but the importance of making the LMS consistent with the next generation of accessibility guidelines. The LMS is accessible to a level of Priority 3, including personalised features enabling each member to choose their preferences from colour / contrast, link highlighters and the size of textual elements.
- Manage the LMS Content In-House
Utilising the comprehensive SwitchBack CMS, Legal Aid can easily maintain all elements of the LMS, complete with SCORM compliance to enable portability of content.
Final Comments
Legal Aid will commence deployment in 2009. For the initial beta testing team, it has been met with a great deal of enthusiasm and the feedback has been nothing short of fantastic. It has been brilliant to watch the content within the application grow and usage blossom.
