MyKnowledgeMap News

MyKnowledgeMap partner with Video Arts to create exciting new digital training offering

Michael Stuart — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

MyKnowledgeMap are teaming up with Video Arts to offer exciting new training opportunities.

The offering involves incorporating Video Arts’ rich library of training videos into MyKnowledgeMap’s rapid e-learning tool Compendle. This offers benefits both to customers of Compendle and Video Arts. Compendle customers will be able to enrich their e-learning topics with Video Arts training videos at the click of a button. Video Arts customers will have much more flexibility in how they use the videos by utilising Compendle’s user-friendly e-learning authoring functionality.

Rob Arntsen, CEO of MyKnowledgeMap, said:

“We are delighted to be working with Video Arts to offer brand new training opportunities. By offering Compendle with Video Arts’ library of cutting edge training videos, we build on both our respective strengths and can offer rapid e-learning functionality which is truly unique.”

The Video Arts library contains topics covering all areas of business – everything from customer service to managing tasks to attitude and motivation. Each video is provided as a bite-size learning chapter which Compendle customers will be able to use and reuse as much as they want.

This is the first offering of its kind involving Video Arts materials – they have not been integrated previously with any other rapid e-learning tools. Initially, these special Compendle accounts will be offered to FE institutions and delivered as a site licence.

MyKnowledgeMap and Video Arts previously worked together in 2001 when MyKnowledgeMap repurposed Video Arts e-learning for CD-ROM.

MyKnowledgeMap to supply tools for key national resource for Scottish teachers

Michael Stuart — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

Today saw the launch of Scotland’s National Assessment Resource by Keith Brown, Minister for Schools and Skills. MyKnowledgeMap was selected to supply the suite of tools for the system by Learning and Teaching Scotland and the Scottish Qualifications Authority. Mr Brown described the National Assessment Resource as “a vital contribution to the biggest reform of Scotland’s education system in a generation”.

The National Assessment Resource is a system to support teachers by providing a store of assessment resources and a suite of tools for the development of new resources. MyKnowledgeMap will work closely with Intrallect, a leading digital repository provider, who will provide the repository for the system, MyKnowledgeMap and Intrallect have worked together on several major projects including similar national resources for the NHS.

Rob Arntsen, CEO of MyKnowledgeMap, said:

"This will be an exciting joint development between Intrallect and MyKnowledgeMap that builds on our respective strengths. The outcome will be world leading solution that will have wide relevance in a global market".

Charles Duncan, CEO of Intrallect, said:

“We are excited to be able to apply our vast experience in providing education communities with tools to support teachers in creating, reviewing, enhancing and, most of all, sharing digital resources. We recognise the importance of this system as part of a coherent infrastructure for assessment within the Curriculum for Excellence and look forward to having a positive impact on the education of our young people.

In technology terms, the National Assessment Resource will be using the most modern web-based approaches that build flexibility for the future and, through our use of internationally recognised standards, an ability to work with many other technologies as they evolve.”

MyKnowledgeMap discuss using e-portfolios to support work-based degrees at ePortfolio conference 2009

Michael Stuart — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:00:00 GMT

MyKnowledgeMap ran a workshop at ePortfolio conference 2009 aimed at discussing how e-portfolios can support large, multi-partner learning programmes delivered nationally.

The workshop, entitled 'An e-Portfolio to Support Work-Based Degrees: the UK Experience', presented a practical exploration of the technical challenges that MyKnowledgeMap faced in creating an infrastructure to support the cross-institution, employer-focused Foundation Degree in Retail.

It included hands on demonstrations of some of the technologies we used and developed for the course, and took participants through the process of authoring new assessment materials. It also covered how mobile technologies are now supporting the work-based e-portfolio.

The workshop was presented by MyKnowledgeMap's CEO, Rob Arntsen, and Director of Marketing and Communications, Tom Holland.

The Learning Forum London and ePortfolio 2009 event brings together policy-makers, researchers, teachers, trainers, human resource managers and technologists. As a thematic event it allows an in-depth and broad exploration of the issues and results in real outcomes.

MyKnowledgeMap sponsor Learning Forum ePortfolio conference 2009

Michael Stuart — Tue, 19 May 2009 23:00:00 GMT

MyKnowledgeMap is a platinum sponsor of the Learning Forum ePortfolio conference 2009 covering ‘Innovation, Creativity and Accountability’.

The conference, now in its 7th year, takes place as part of a larger Learning Forum event at City University in London. The event runs from 22nd to 24th June and contains three conferences:

ePortfolio 2009
Key Competencies—Skills for Life 2009
Learning Networks and Communities

Past events have resulted in the creation of national and international networks, contribution to policies, contribution to standardisation bodies, and numerous publications.

MyKnowledgeMap will exhibit a number of e-portfolio systems at the conference, including:

The passport and upskilling platform that records personal learning and development for the National Skills Academy for Nuclear and the National Skills Academy Process Industries.
The e-portfolio and cohort management solution for the Foundation Degree in Retail which has been rolled out on a national scale after a successful pilot by Tesco.
Multi-Port, which is currently being given to all FE colleges on the MoLeNET system. MoLeNET is the UK’s, and probably the world’s, largest and most diverse implementation of mobile learning.

A number of MyKnowledgeMap’s partners will also be exhibiting at the conference.

Gareth Frith, Technology Enhanced Learning Manager, of Leeds University will be running a session regarding the £1m government-funded ALPS project. The project uses mobile assessment technologies to support the skills of healthcare students from five Yorkshire universities out on practice. MyKnowledgeMap built the full mobile deployment infrastructure including cohort management and e-portfolio system.

Learn more about the Learning Forum ePortfolio conference 2009.

MyKnowledgeMap paper published in Journal of Workplace Learning

Michael Stuart — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:00:00 GMT

Dave Waller, MyKnowledgeMap’s Operations Director, and Tom Holland, Communications Director, have had a paper published in the most recent Journal of Workplace Learning.

The paper, entitled 'Managing skills and knowledge using online tools', draws on MyKnowledgeMap's experience working with a range of organisations across the private and public sectors. It explores the structured approach to measuring skills and knowledge and how such an approach can be beneficial for improving performance.

The paper also examines how online tools can help with measuring skills and the wider implications for the UK and European skills development environments. It concludes that, by developing online tools to guide organisations through the process of mapping and measuring skills and targeting skills gaps, organisations will be able to better support their strategic aims.

The Journal of Workplace Learning aims to provide an avenue for the presentation and discussion of research related to the workplace as a site for learning. Its scope encompasses formal, informal and incidental learning in the workplace for individuals, groups and teams, as well as work-based learning, and off-the-job learning for the workplace.

The paper can be viewed online at Emerald Insight.

National Skills Academy Process Industries to launch online members’ area at National Skills Conference

Michael Stuart — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 23:00:00 GMT

The new members’ area of the National Skills Academy Process Industries website will be launched at the National Skills Conference on 30th April.

The conference, which takes place at York Racecourse, aims to address the skills issues facing the UK process industries and will include a range of high profile speakers, keynote speeches, and workshop sessions.

The new members’ area was created by MyKnowledgeMap as part of the ongoing development of the Academy website. It features a range of free benefits for both employers and employees working in process industries:

Access to relevant industry resources
The Good Small Business Guide e-book
Discussion forums
A free Skills Passport

The members’ area also features a section for training providers to add process industry related courses so members can be directed to appropriate training in their area.

MyKnowledgeMap will be exhibiting at the National Skills Conference and helping to show delegates the new features and functionality of the site.

The National Skills Academy Process Industries is an employer-led centre of excellence launched to tackle skills issues throughout the chemical, polymer, pharmaceutical manufacturing sectors.

MyKnowledgeMap discuss how best to use resources at repository conference

Michael Stuart — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

MyKnowledgeMap discussed the creation and reusability of resources in repositories at the ‘Open educational repositories: share, improve, reuse’ conference, held in Edinburgh.

Our presentation, entitled ‘Integrating Creation Tools’ was made by Tom Holland, MyKnowledgeMap’s Marketing and Communications Director, and Jonny Burton, Compendle Product Manager.

The presentation covered using tools specifically designed to take advantage of a repository-focused workflow and the potential “re-usability” of existing resources.

The conference was organised by Intrallect and attended by educational organisations such as JISC, the National Digital Library Repository, and Kennisnet, the Dutch equivalent of Becta.

Jonny Burton said: "This year’s conference gave us a good opportunity to present our National Library for Health solution and sparked some interesting debate over the two days."

MyKnowledgeMap have worked with Intrallect to transform the National Library for Health (NLH) into a powerful and flexible solution, powered by Intrallect’s repository system IntraLibrary.

By integrating Compendle with the underlying IntraLibrary system, the NLH it is now able to offer people a quick and easy way to seek health-related knowledge and find the information they need.

MyKnowledgeMap announce company restructure

Michael Stuart — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

MyKnowledgeMap is restructuring as part of a new business strategy to reposition ourselves as a more powerful learning technology company. The new strategy will see MyKnowledgeMap focusing on:

Ensuring essential support to partners and clients is provided
Seeking out and nurturing new business opportunities
Optimising our day-to-day operations

Dave Waller, MyKnowledgeMap’s Director of Operations, said: “Given the scale of some of the national projects we're working on, we believe it is more important than ever to ensure our products are developed in line with our partners’ and clients’ strategic requirements. The new company restructure will give us an opportunity to focus our attention where it’s needed most.”

The company has been divided into three teams: Technical Services, Operations, and Marketing and Communications.

Technical Services, led by Becky Mallett, will be responsible for managing the development of MyKnowledgeMap’s products and services.

The Operations team, led by Dave Waller, will be responsible for overall management of all MyKnowledgeMap products, design, and project support.

Marketing and Communications, led by Tom Holland, will be responsible for MyKnowledgeMap’s product marketing strategy and developing partner relationships.

New National Skills Academy for Process Industries website launched

Michael Stuart — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The new National Skills Academy for Process Industries (NSAPI) website, designed by MyKnowledgeMap, has been launched. MyKnowledgeMap completely redesigned the site to create a more intuitive and user-friendly experience.

The new NSAPI site is based on our bespoke academy infrastructure and tailored specifically to the needs of the process industries. The new structure includes a new conference website, RSS feeds, animated PDF brochures, and the ability for NSAPI staff to update content quickly and easily.

MyKnowledgeMap have become the first port of call for people who need to provide learning and skills support to entire sectors. Our previous work includes designing the Food and Drink Academy website.

NSAPI is an employer-led centre of excellence launched to address skills and training needs throughout the chemical, polymer, pharmaceutical manufacturing sectors.

The National Skills Academy network is a unique structure of employer-led centres of excellence for skills training. It provides an avenue for hands-on involvement by employers in the design and delivery of learning, so that training is tailored to the specific needs, and the prosperity, of their sector.

Website: http://process.nsacademy.co.uk/

MyKnowledgeMap discuss 'how to break free of the LMS' at Learning Technologies conference 2009

Michael Stuart — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This years Learning Technologies conference saw Tom Holland, MyKnowledgeMap's Director of Communications, conducting a popular seminar entitled ‘Really Managing e-Learning: Breaking Free of the LMS’. During the seminar, Dr Holland discussed how to get more flexibility than is currently offered from the “monolithic” learning management system (LMS) platform.

He said: “People increasingly expect to access the same content via mobiles, laptops, print-on-demand, or on takeaway storage media. Learners need to be able to break out of your LMS’s walled garden and learn on the move.”

He moved on to discuss how multi-platform learning could be cost-effective and introduced MyKnowledgeMap’s mobile assessment product Multi-Port Mobile as an example. The award-winning Multi-Port Mobile offers a complete infrastructure for managing online and offline assessments using mobile devices.

The Learning Technologies conference took place between 28th and 29th January 2009 at the Olympia 2 Conference Centre in London. Now in its tenth year, the conference attracts many of the world's leading learning speakers, thinkers, visionaries and practitioners and over 350 conference delegates.

MyKnowledgeMap developing e-portfolio for European informal learning initiative

Michael Stuart — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

MyKnowledgeMap is teaming up with the Retail Academy and EIfEL (European Institute for E-Learning) to provide the e-portfolio system for a European initiative seeking to promote the recognition, validation and accreditation of informal learning in the workplace.

Most learning in the workplace occurs informally through working with other employees, clients, customers, suppliers and reacting positively to their feedback. Much of this learning goes unrecognised by the employer and also by the individuals themselves.

The European Initiative for the Promotion of Informal Learning (EIPIL-PAN) seeks to help employers recognise the value of informal learning in the workplace and develop a framework within which it can be accredited. MyKnowledgeMap and the Retail Academy are partnering with EIfEL to provide the e-portfolio to support the implementation of a single framework which accredits informal learning in the retail and IT sectors.

The first phase of the EIPIL-PAN project was completed in 2007 where a simple framework was developed and trialled with a number of companies across France, Germany, Latvia, Spain, Sweden and the UK as part of a Leonardo da Vinci project. The companies involved, all of which were from the tourism and hospitality sectors, identified the significant impact informal learning had on their business performance as well as other benefits.

This current phase of the project is to adapt and transfer the original model, framework and instruments to new sectors such as retail and IT. This will extend both the concepts and implementation of the validation and accreditation methodologies developed under the first phase and will incorporate managerial competencies as well as those of other workers.

The project is funded under the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme from October 2008 to September 2010.

The European Initiative for the Promotion of Informal Learning (EIPIL) is a not-for-profit European professional association for e-learning practitioners. The initiative has produced a complete set of standards of competence covering all e-learning activities, working with more than 50 practitioners in Europe.

EIfEL is an independent, not-for-profit European professional association whose mission is to support organisations, communities and individuals in building a knowledge economy. It also seeks to create a learning society through innovative and reflective practice, continuing professional development and the use of knowledge, information and learning technologies.

To learn more, please visit the EIPIL-PAN website.

New MyKnowledgeMap website launched

Michael Stuart — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The MyKnowledgeMap website has undergone a major facelift. The site has been completely redesigned and now offers a much better representation of the broad spectrum of our work in a more dynamic and appealing way.

The site is now structured in a way which makes it easier to navigate and which better directs clients, both current and prospective, to the information they need. The site has also been redesigned to make it more aesthetically pleasing, both in colour and in layout.

We believe the new site will open up even more opportunities for MyKnowledgeMap and give people the chance to see the quality and quantity of our work.

Rapid e-learning functionality now available in Compendle

Michael Stuart — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

MyKnowledgeMap’s flagship product Compendle now includes rapid course authoring functionality. The new component is called Compendle Author and has been designed to allow tutors, trainers, and anyone with an interest in e-learning to create professional-standard e-learning content quickly and easily.

Author uses simple drag-and-drop functionality and an intuitive, user-friendly interface. All it takes to get started is choosing a layout and a number of slides. Text, audio, video and image components can be incorporated instantly to create engaging, interactive and personalised e-learning content.

Any content created in Author can be edited easily at a later date by returning to the editing suite to make alterations and amendments. A preview function allows users to look at the e-learning from the perspective of their learners.

With a Compendle account, users can package their e-learning with custom-made assessments and additional learning resources. Please visit the Compendle website for more information.

Compendle website launched

Michael Stuart — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

MyKnowledgeMap has recently relaunched the Compendle website with a brand new design and focus. The site includes much more information on how Compendle can be used in educational and corporate environments and how easily it can be integrated into VLEs like Moodle and Blackboard.

The Compendle interface has also been updated to make it even more intuitive and easy-to-use. It is now easier than ever to gather, manage, organise and publish course materials. Now, teachers, trainers, and managers everywhere can create their own courses without requiring an IT expert to help them.

Compendle now also comes bundled with Question Builder. Question Builder is a user friendly tool which provides a quick and easy way to create assessments, quizzes and surveys. For organisations wanting to peer review the courses they are developing, we’ve created a new module called Review Panel. Review Panel offers a collaborative online forum where you can assess and review work and projects with other people quickly and easily.

Website: http://www.compendle.com/

MyKnowledgeMap achieves ISO 9001:2000

Michael Stuart — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

MyKnowledgeMap is delighted to announce achieving ISO 9001:2000. This was one of MKM’s key objectives for 2008 so we make this announcement with great pride. Rob Arntsen, CEO of MyKnowledgeMap, said “Achieving ISO 9001:2000 is a very important milestone for MKM.”

Quality has always been one of MyKnowledgeMap’s main points of focus. We believe that quality of design makes a fundamental difference to our products and services. However, we have also always maintained that the processes behind the design are also of the utmost importance and we see this achievement as recognition for our efforts in this regard.

ISO 9001 is the internationally recognised standard for an organisation's internal Quality Management. 'Quality' refers to the features of a product or service which are required by the customer. International standards promote international trade by providing one consistent set of requirements recognised around the world.

MKM joins the Chartered Management Institute to launch latest research

Michael Stuart — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:00:00 GMT

Rob Arntsen, MyKnowledgeMap’s CEO, joined the Chartered Management Institute last week at the launch of their new research report. The research delves into the latest trends in management and leadership training, and Rob was there to present his observations on recent developments.

The report is titled ‘Learning at Work – e-learning evolution or revolution? Latest trends and blends in management and leadership’, and it was officially launched at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole. Approximately eighty managers were present to hear how online learning is developing, and what leading organisations are doing to offer integrated blended learning to their employees.

MyKnowledgeMap is the Institute’s e-learning development partner, and the only organisation to offer complete e-learning packages approved by the Chartered Management Institute. MKM is an e-learning provider and business developer across a range of sectors, and they have a rather unique insight into the ways e-learning and blended learning are being used by organisations in the workplace. As such, MKM has an excellent perspective on the areas covered in the research.

The Institute’s report indicates an increased use of blended learning by organisations. For example, according to the report, in the past twelve months there has been a surprising surge in the use of some forms of new media. This has particularly been the case among directors, who are making increasing use of videos, discussion forums and social networking sites.

After a welcome from Ruth Spellman, the Institute’s Chief Executive, and an overview of the key findings from Prof William Scott-Jackson, Rob gave his own insights into the research, including advice for training managers on how to build an effective blended learning solution.

MyKnowledgeMap attends international networking event in Vienna

Michael Stuart — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:00:00 GMT

MyKnowledgeMap has recently returned from exhibiting at an international networking event in Vienna sponsored by UK Trade Investment (UTI) and the British Commonwealth Office.

MKM joined around 30 other British companies at the event, which took place at the British Ambassador’s residence. The event was organised to showcase British companies interested in forming partnerships and business relationships with organisations throughout Central and Eastern Europe.

The delegates were made up of HR managers and training procurement executives from throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Visitors to the MKM stand included delegates from Austria, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and the Czech Republic.

Simon Smith, Ambassador to the Republic of Austria gave a speech at the event emphasising the mutual benefits to be gained from international partnerships.

MKM received a lot of interest in the idea of localising tools and e-learning. We have already capitalised on this by translating some of our e-learning into Polish. We aim to continue cultivating business partnerships with companies across Central Europe and are looking forward to meeting the demands of an expanding market.

MKM is no stranger to forming international ties. Earlier this year we co-founded the European Institute for Technology in Education (EITE) in Nowy Sącz, southern Poland. We also have a subsidiary company based in Poland.

Report from ALT-C 2008

Michael Stuart — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:00:00 GMT

Rob Arntsen, MyKnowledgeMap’s CEO, provoked a lively debate at this year’s ALT-C about the relevance of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) within modern educational institutions. The debate was a result of Rob’s keynote address entitled ‘Reflections and questions on the changing role of technology in education’.

Rob said he was “delighted to have struck a nerve” amongst the attendees and identified that that the “first instance of VLEs has not been sophisticated enough”. His address focused on the emerging role of e-repositories versus VLEs and the importance of getting educators at all levels involved in technology.

This was followed up by Communications Director Tom Holland demonstrating the ALPS system. The ALPS system is a personal learning space system designed by MyKnowledgeMap, which allows students of five Yorkshire Universities to complete assessments using mobile devices.

The ALPS system is powered by Multi-Port Mobile, one of the products we had on display this year. Our display, which also included Compendle, received a lot of interest at ALT-C and we are looking forward to working with some of the people we spoke to in future.

Of the range of talks at ALT-C we attended this year, MyKnowledgeMap was particularly impressed by the opening keynote by Hans Rosling, Professor of International Health from the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm. He delivered an inspiring demonstration of the work his company Gapminder.org has done to present world health data using animation. He discussed the importance of good design in creating engaging, educational and entertaining learning.

MyKnowledgeMap partner with Intrallect

Michael Stuart — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:00:00 GMT

MyKnowledgeMap are pleased to announce our partnership with leading digital repository provider Intrallect to deliver solutions that make learning resources easier to manage, repurpose, share and distribute across organisations.

Both our companies have significant experience of working with clients in a range of sectors including higher education, schools, local authorities, professional bodies. Prospective clients have found that the unique combination of our products and services provides a compelling proposition.

Rob Arntsen, CEO at MyKnowledgeMap, explained:

It was apparent in the very early stages of working with Intrallect that we shared the same vision for the way that learning materials can be quickly and easily produced, used and reused by our customers. Both companies have an independent approach to developing products which is very much based on open standards and interoperability with other e-learning tools. This ethos has provided us a simple route to integrating the product sets into a single solution.

The collaboration between the companies centres on a number of key products including:

Compendle – An innovative, easy-to-use system from MyKnowledgeMap that allows non-technical people to organise digital resources of all kinds into teaching-focused courses, and then to publish them as SCORM packages.
intraLibrary – Intrallect’s SCORM-compliant digital repository solution that allows organisations to manage and distribute digital learning resources either directly or through a range of tools including web portals, learning platforms, blogs, wikis, news readers and content authoring/management tools like Compendle.
Review Panel – A system by MyKnowledgeMap designed to facilitate online review of digital resources in any format.
QuestionBuilder - a web-based application from MyKnowledgeMap that facilitates the authoring of IMS QTI conformant quizzes, tests and assessments.

Charles Duncan, CEO of Intrallect, said:

We are increasingly finding that by bringing complementary products together we are able to provide even more value for customers. For example, being able to organise resources in Compendle and publish to intraLibrary in a single click takes the normal time and effort out of managing resources and allows you to focus more on developing the resources themselves. The early feedback is excellent and we expect to announce some interesting projects in the very near future.

YFM Group invests in MyKnowledgeMap

Michael Stuart — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:00:00 GMT

MyKnowledgeMap has received a £250,000 investment from YFM Group managed Yorkshire & Humber Equity Fund (YHEF). We plan to utilise the investment for ambitious expansion plans. There are growth opportunities in both the public and private sectors where there is strong market demand for remote learning solutions.

Rob Arntsen, CEO of MyKnowledgeMap, said:

We are one of the UK's most rapidly expanding learning technology providers with a reputation for innovative solutions and strong continuing support services. The support from YFM has opened doors and we can now leverage our proprietary software and continue to support the rollout of the National Skills Academies programme.

The investment came after our management team had received assistance from a YFM Business Development managed scheme, High Growth Coaching. The introduction of MyKnowledgeMap to the YFM investment team was made internally.

Ian Waterfield, Investment Manager at YFM said:

With a strong existing client base and clear demand within the government’s upskilling agenda, this is a great opportunity for MyKnowledgeMap and YFM. Rob has built a team who have already demonstrated commitment to the growth and development of both the company and its employees, and I look forward to working with Rob as the business evolves.

Yorkshire & Humber Equity Fund has now finished investing in new companies, but is still open to invest in the current portfolio. One of three Regional Venture Capital Funds managed by YFM Group, in the last 12 months YFM has invested in deals worth over £19 million in 37 companies in the region.