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Project Success with Project Management

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Success of any project totally depends upon the strategically designed project management policies. Project management plays a key role in the smooth ride of any project. The customer satisfaction is the very important criteria on which all the policies of the company are built. Effective project management helps in keeping the growth rate high in terms of more business and more satisfied customers.

The financial and economic scenario keeps changing in the dynamic world of business. If there is rise then it is also accompanied with tough times. Potent project management helps the company to cultivate new opportunities during the growth period but it also plays a crucial role while the company is facing a slow down.

Project management is not the single person job but it’s a team work. Project management requires a team with a project manager who is responsible for the success or failure of any project. There can be some external factors which can adversely affect any project. But if there is a team of skilled and trained professionals who have evolved themselves through all kinds of ups and downs and have learnt from their prior experiences and have vision to foresee the probable problems then it is hardly possible that the project may turned into a failure. Project management is not a new thing but it has been into practice since long by most of the businesses, but there are always differences in the approach by different people.

We are in the 21st century where we are competing globally with each other. There is a huge need of very effective application of project management. Project management is not a single task but it involves a series of tasks right from beginning till the project becomes successful. Before going into the role of a Project management for any business it is very important to clearly understand what the project is.

Project can be anything which has certain goals to achieve while going through a chain of processes. It can start and finish in a single day or it can take years also to achieve its objectives. There is a life cycle and clearly defined objectives of any project whether it is a small project or a big project. Let’s discuss the role played by the Project Managers for its successful completion.

Discussing the Project:

When any project is offered or selected, it is very important to know in detail about the project. There should be multiple rounds of discussion keeping all the aspects in mind like the need of the project, market orientation, and benefits to the company, budget and time, customer requirements, recruitment of skilled staff and other related issues.

Planning the Project:

The next step after discussing the project is to plan the project. This stage of the life cycle of any project needs the most effort by the project manager. The whole planning about the project has to be done by the project manager. It involves the overall step by step to-do-list from the beginning till the end of the project. Project Manager has to analyze the project and then decide over the cost and time management to complete the project in time and within the budget.

Execution of the Project:

After the successful planning of the project, the next important step is to execute the project. Keeping the budget in mind, the recruitment is done and then the tasks are delegated to start working over the project. The team members are assigned with the different tasks according to their skill sets. There is always a time limit of any task to complete so that the entire project runs smoothly within the desired time. Weekly meetings are conducted by project manager to check the progress and the further assignments. The Project manager also has to be ready to handle changes as change management is also the important part of this stage.

Completion of project:

Finally, with all the factors like time, budget and quality, it’s the time for the final delivery of the project. There is always a document for the list of desired features provided by the client.  But at the time of project delivery, the changes asked by the clients should also be done in the project. If the final project represents the original scope statement along with the change documents then the project is considered to be a success otherwise it is not accepted.

So, it is very clear now, that how much project management is important for the successful outcome. Swift ELearning Services Pvt. Ltd., provides with the free course on project management for the new entrants or the existing professionals to improve their skills as a project manager.

Visit: http://www.elearningserv.com/lms/

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Six Online Training Dos and Don’ts

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Online training has come up as the blessing for those who cannot take regular classes or want to continue their education after a break. Online training is accompanied with many advantages which has made it very popular among learners. In spite of various benefits it is very important for the learners to introspect the need and the type of course they want to do and thus do proper research before taking the course.

Online training can be very exciting for some but it can be frustrating and discouraging for others. Online learning being very flexible and convenient but it keeps the learner away from the benefits of the conventional classroom training. In this article, we will discuss the basic six online training do’s and don’ts which should be considered by any learner before taking the online course.

Dos for the online training

  • Do a thorough research about the educational background and assess your need for the online training and your goal you need to achieve after doing the course. Do find out the skills programs and degrees you need to achieve your goals.
  • Do a proper research about all the courses available and find out about their authenticity, their quality, market reputation, placements and much more before the final enrollment.
  • Do prepare yourself to dedicate about 5 to 14 hours a week on a course depending on the need.
  • Do develop a good habit of checking your mails at least once in a day for online training.
  • Do plan your time in order to take out sufficient time for training and keeping the balance between other work at workplace and home.
  • Do plan for your seating arrangement as it should be comfortable and quite place so that you should not get disturbed and distracted while taking an online course.

Don’ts for the online training

  • Don’t treat yourself as anonymous while taking an online course; in fact be more interactive with your instructor and also your classmates as compared to the traditional classroom environment.
  • Don’t feel shy or hesitate in asking anything from your instructor if you have any problem with the course or the technology used.
  • Don’t take the courses lightly as it requires same kind of dedication and involvement as is required in the traditional way. Only the way to deliver the course has changed but the content is more or less similar.
  • Don’t be just a passive learner. Always find out ways to be more and more interactive as it will give you better results.
  • Don’t put yourself in the habit of procrastinate as it will make you overburdened with lots of learning at a time. So set your goals and adhere to the timeline to finish the course in time.

And last but not the least, don’t get discouraged if the online training doesn’t work for you because there are many other ways to learn and you can opt for them.

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Can game based learning boost up your productivity?

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Game based learning is one of the latest training & learning technique adopting by many Corporate and Educational organizations. It is a progressive trend in technology aiding learning. The context of game based learning is to provide the audience interactive, stress free and entertaining learning.

It can be distinguish into two parts :-

a)    Simple Game Based Learning

b)    Interactive Game Based Learning

Well, it is clear that games always try to interact with audience by physically or psychologically. When it comes to the Learning through Games in Corporate, most of the designers plan to engage with psychologically.

-Things to consider while designing the Game based learning course:

  • Visual elements
  • Psychological state of learner
  • Learning style
  • Encouraging behavior in Game
  • Ideal solutions
  • Audio elements
  • Strategies of game play.

How does Game based learning motivate the employees?

Because of its unique character, game based learning can improve productivity if it is highly interactive and engaged with the learners. Games help learners to express themselves and gain the knowledge with built-in process. With the help of game based learning, employee can be motivated in the following areas.

  • Exploring individual Skills

       The game based courses which are designed by keeping an idea of exploring individual skills like decision making, strategy developing and goals setting etc., can be developed with this kind of learning pattern. Sometimes training managers or learning managers cannot get a chance to explore individual skills, in that cases game driven learning does the needful.

  • Attention towards Goal

Learners pay the attention towards the games when they are highly involved engaged and interacted. This amazing quality of games can turn the employee attention towards the organizational goals. This process can be done effectively with simulated game based learning.

  • Team Building

Team building is one of the important factors among the employees irrespective of the industry or segment. Usually it is a kind of difficult job for the top heads in the organization to keep an eye on the team building process. To make this process easier, games which can build the team spirit among the employees should be implement by the training and learning mangers.

  • Develops Brainstorming

As we all know- brainstorming is one of the key techniques for success. The simulated game courses which are like quiz type can be a useful tool for the organization to develop Brainstorming.

Game based learning can boost up the organization’s productivity if the game based courses are highly simulated and interacted with the audience. We at Swift e-learning Services Pvt. Ltd. can develop the courses, which are highly engaged to the learners. If you have any requirement please write us at info@elearningserv.com

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Effective E-learning for IT Professionals

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IT is the fastest growing sector everywhere throughout the globe. To keep them at par with the latest developments, IT professionals have to keep them updated with new technologies and upgrade their skills. Elearning has come up as the solution to continuing education in a convenient way. There are many effective e learning courses and training available which helps the professionals to continue their learning.

Information Technology professionals constitute a major portion of adult learners and with the increase in the size of industry; there is tremendous increase in the number of potential learners every day entering into the industry. After completing the four year of undergraduate course where concepts and theories are made clear, which forms the base of the learner, there is always the need of a specialized course to enhance the skill to cater the job market.

Apart from new entrants, the professionals who are already into the industry also need to enhance their skill from time to time. The eLearning has proven to be very effective and has various advantages over the traditional way of learning.

Elearning has various different methods to deliver learning. It can be Online or Offline. There is no need for the learner to attend the class at a particular time in physical as elearning provides the flexibility to take the classes as per the convenience and at individual pace. It is often considered that classroom training is more effective than the elearning but according to the sources it’s not truth. Reports say that elearning has found to be 11% more effective than the classroom training and there is a valid reason behind it. During classroom training the trainer is equipped with his/her knowledge and some graphics and pictures to show to the learner. But when we talk about elearning, it is not simply the classroom lectures imported on PowerPoint slides with audio but it encourages active participation by the learner through different methods.

For example: Webinars, simulation, interactivity inside the course and even the use of games to speed up the process of learning.

Sources also say that elearning and classroom training if done for the two different groups of learners then same outcome can be achieved in 70% of time with elearning. So, it shows that not only it is convenient but it requires less time to devote to learn the same concept as it has been taught in the class.

There is one myth associated with the elearning that it is for newer generation and not for older generation. But according to the research it was found out that it is not true. Elearning is equally effective with older generation as well as with the newer generation. So, for any IT professional, whatever is the age, one can take the course at any stage without compromising on time and convenience.

IT professionals earlier found it very difficult to upgrade themselves as it required taking leave from job and attending the class and it was very expensive also. But with the introduction of Elearning, training courses, the scenario has taken a leap and now more and more professionals are looking forward to do different courses to upgrade themselves in terms of skills and current requirement and proving them to be more promising in the job market.

This virtual system of learning has crossed all the limitations and boundaries and made it possible to be available for anyone, at anyplace and anytime. To cater the need of IT professionals, we are proud to say that Swift Elearning Services Pvt. Ltd., is doing a great job. It develops E learning training materials with the use of latest technologies and authoring tools to keep the standard always ahead with the best possible interactive and engaging content.

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Interactive Simulation Courses | Authoring Tools

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Elearning has risen up as one of the very effective learning platform. It is not totally a new thing to the world of learning but there is definitely a tremendous change. When Elearning was started, it was only in the “page turning” format where learning was passive. There was no participation of the learner in terms of interactivity. Learner was just expected to watch the still characters or images on the screen in the form of slides. But now scenario has totally changed.

Introduction of Interactive Simulation Courses has revolutionized the process. Learning is no more a long boring session but it has become more enjoyable and interactive with the use of latest Authoring tools. Interactive simulation allows the learner to participate in the process of learning than just being a passive learner.

Let us first understand the process of human understanding of learning through different processes. According to the theory of Bloom’s Taxonomy there are basically three stages of learning:

  • Knowledge level
  • Comprehension level
  • Application level

At the knowledge level, the learner is just looking for certain information or a concept and to know about it. He/she can know about it either reading it or hearing it or by looking at it or with the combination of all three.

At the Comprehension level, the learner has the clear concept and he/she does not just know about the concept but has the understanding of similarities or to differentiate among the different concepts. For example learner not only knows about the concept of fruits and vegetables but also understands the difference between them and can identify Apple and Oranges among Cabbage and Onion.

At the third level, that is the application level, the learner not only has the clear understanding of the concept but is also aware about the application of concepts in the real life. So, here he/she experiences the real life application of concept. That is fruit and vegetables will not only be identified but will also be eaten up in different ways.

According to the above discussed theory, it is clear that if the learner is engaged at all the three levels during the learning process, the knowledge retention will be longer. The concept of interactive learning came into process with the need to make the clearer understanding and with better retention. The simulation process involves the learner in the learning process in such a way that the learning is not done but it is experienced and realized in the real world.

To increase the standard of the Interactive simulation courses, there are many Authoring tools available in the market and many more are being developed every day. Articulate Storyline, Captivate or Camtasia are few of them. These are very popular among the developers and are also reliable to give best possible results. These authoring tools provide the highest grade of simulation interactivity with the use of images, graphics, audio effects and the customized characters.

Need of simulations in the E Learning: After all the discussion the question may arise that does simulation is really required? So here are some reasons which may answer the question.

  • Simulations provide experience to the learner rather than just being the passive audience.
  • It engages the learner at the emotional level and now it is well known and acceptable fact that emotional engagement helps in better retention.
  • Simulations help the learner to actually participate and experience the consequences as part of learning.
  • Simulation converts the passive content to engaging and interactive learning source.
  • Simulation also helps in gamification of the content so that the learner can participate in the form of game and learn.
  • Simulation also helps to prepare learners for the critical condition and create a situation where they have to take decisions.

So, we have seen so many advantages of interactive simulation courses. Swift Elearning Services Pvt. Ltd., provides plenty of courses with the best of the available and possible engaging and interactive features. We have the team of Instructional Designers with the expertise of developing interactive simulation courses using Authoring tools like Captivate, Articulate storyline, Camtasia, Lectora etc.

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6 key Skills of a Project Manager

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The success or failure of any project entirely depends upon the way it has been managed by the Project Manager. A Project Manager can shine the project or ruin the project. It is the set of skills of a Project Manager on which the project depends. The most important 6 key skills of a project manager which can change the game are as follows:

Budgeting: The next very important skill is to budget your project. In spite of your organization having whole set of skilled accounts people whose duty is to monitor the budget of your project, it is very important for a Project Manager to keep the record of everything in terms of the budget of the project. It helps to know the expenses and cost at every level and controls the budget within the limit and also helps in the future projects.

Analysis: Has it ever happened with you that at the time of delivery or in the mid of project, client happens to say that he required something else and you are working in a different direction altogether? I hope your answer should be ‘NO’ but it is not always no. There are times when such things happen and spoil your overall effort. But if we go back and think why this has happened then we will immediately get the answer that we have not understood the client’s requirement or we have not done the proper research. Analysis can be described as the process of understanding and specifying the objectives, discovering about the overall need and importance of project, listing the requirements, preparation for critical situations which cause unnecessary delay and its recovery system and finally the time of completion of project and its delivery. Proper analysis can definitely lead the project to achieve success.

Communication: Communication is a key to success whether it is a professional communication or a personal communication. If you are good in communicating your views or opinion to your team in an effective manner then you have already cleared your first important phase towards the success of any project. Communicating effectively with the team members’ help in various ways to balance the group dynamics. There are many advantages of good communication for a project manager working with a team.

Following are the important characteristics of a good communicator:

  • The project manager should be very clear about what to say and whom to say. It will help to avoid any misconception or confusion between team members and the project manager.
  • Project manager should be very confident about his words as the whole team depends upon him.
  • Being approachable is very important for a project manager as there can be different views and idea of the team members which will not be able to flow in the team and to the manager effectively if he is conservative towards taking others ideas.
  • He should have the skill of coming to conclusion and agreement with his effective communication skill.

Team Work: As a project manager it is very important to bind the team as a whole in order to make them work together to achieve the desired goals. Any project is accomplished with the combined effort of all the participating members in the team. Team work has many advantages which help a project to sail through and make it a successful journey and this journey requires a leader that is the project manager to keep the team members motivated to complete their tasks.

Calmness:  It is very old sayings that how much difficult the situation is, don’t lose your patience and calm. It is very easy to say than done but believe me it works a lot. It is the very important skill for a Project Manager to be calm during the stressful period and encourage the other team members to overcome the hard time and come out as the winner.

Time Management: Whatever you do and how effectively it is done but if not delivered in time then it loses its importance and purpose. Time management is very important for a Project Manager. It is the whole sole responsibility of the Project Manager to keep the track of all the work done by the team so that it can be delivered in the required time frame. There are few important practices which can help a Project Manager to utilize his time effectively to get the best output.

All the above mentioned skills behave as the backbone of the Project Manager and if he adheres to all these skills and able to maintain the basic standard, there is almost no chance that the objectives will not meet.

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Online learning courses for Tablets and Smartphones

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E-learning is the latest revolution in the education industry. The world of e-learning is exploding day by day and it has reached to all the segments of the society whether it is teacher or a student or any professional working in a company. The education trend has taken a drastic turn and it has shifted from teacher centric learning to child centric learning. E-learning mainly focuses on the needs of the end user and the courses are designed according to them. Earlier we had no options other than using PCs for e-learning purpose but it had certain limitations like it wasn’t very handy and portable. It wasn’t possible to carry them to all the places because of their size and weight and other tit bits.

In the recent years, the trend has totally changed. With the introduction of the devices like tablets, i-pad, i-phone and smart phones, the choices of the customers has totally changed. Now more and more people ask for mobile devices which are not only multitasking but very portable and easy to use. Many companies are providing their employees with iOS devices which help in better efficiency as they can be used with more flexibility and in numerous ways like for giving presentation or for video conferencing, etc. So, if your flight has been delayed and you are getting late for the presentation, then you can make use of these devices.

Everywhere, all around the globe the process of imparting education is taking a new turn. Whether it is the US or the UK or Australia or India or any other country, the main focus is on giving the best possible learning experience to the children through e-learning. Children can make use of these devices for in-classroom and out-of-classroom learning experience. E-learning has changed the entire concept of education and learning. As the time is passing by, these devices are becoming more and more popular among everyone and this is going to be the future of education. With the increase in the online courses and their acceptance among the learners, the next very important thing is to provide the best possible course with the engaging and interactive features and for that we have Swift E-Learning Services Pvt. Ltd.

SES provides its clients the wonderful experience of e-learning by making the content compatible with iOS devices by using the best authoring tools like Articulate Storyline, Captivate 6 and HTML5. These tools easily convert the content into iOS compatible without compromising on the quality of sound, video, animation etc. We cater the needs of all our clients by developing courseware which reaches to all the segments of learners through tablet, iPad, iPhone and smart phones.

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Flash Courseware Conversion to HTML5

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“Mobile devices are the need of time” – It is just not a saying but these mobile devices like iPhone, iPad, Tablets, Smart Phones rule the market with the capture of 600 millions devices and their users worldwide. This data clearly shows that how much we depend upon these devices and thus we need more and more mobile compatible platform to avail maximum services from this virtual world of mobile devices.

In the recent past, Flash was one of the best and trusted technologies for developing the engaging and interactive course material for e-learning. But with the increased popularity and use of mobile devices, Flash has slowly been replaced by HTML5 – the new revolution in the world of mobile e-learning. This problem of incompatibility was fairly solved by HTML5.

HTML5 has revolutionized the process of reaching to the millions of mobile device users and serve them with the latest e-learning courseware. It is very important to convert the Flash courses to HTML5 if it has to be delivered to the users who are using iOS devices.

We have already discussed the major disadvantage but there are some more which are as follows:

  • Flash uses more power on Mac Computers and users have to face problem with drained batteries.
  • It also causes overheating and problem with touch screen.
  • It works best only with computers and poor performance with mobile devices.

HTML5 is not only compatible but it is more approachable and easy to use by the developers. Now you don’t have to remember all the long codes as was the case with XHTML to develop any course. The courseware can be developed very easily without losing any its video and audio quality.

We at Swift E-learning are moving with the need of time and provide our clients and learners the latest and best quality interactive and engaging e-learning courseware and cater to all their learning needs. Our developers and instructional designers work hard and are dedicated to satisfy our clients and provide them with enriching experience.

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Mobile Learning for Training

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As the days are passing, mobile has synced into our lifestyle and is digging deeper. Number of mobile devices users is increasing every day. Reports say that by 2012, more than 80% US population will be on mobile. Mobile devices have reached to every sector right from professionals, to educators, to students, to kids and many more. Mobile apps are catering individual of all the age groups. Because of the increasing popularity of these mobile devices, training courses are also offered through mobile devices. Professionals now prefer mobile courses for training over the traditional training. This is the era of mobile workforce.

What is Mobile Learning?

With the introduction of mobile devices like iOS devices i.e. iphone, ipad, smart phones, tablets etc., information is at the fingertips. Mobile learning is basically the process of learning through mobile applications where courses are given online through Internet and are designed to be given on mobile platform without any actual instructor. These courses are designed keeping in mind the learners need by the Instructional Designer.

Mobile training- very popular among entrepreneur and professionals

There are various reasons which encourage professionals to go mobile.

  • First advantage is that you don’t have to go anywhere for training. It can be done at workplace, at home and even during travelling. This not only saves time but it controls the training cost and is very comfortable also.
  • Second advantage is that one doesn’t have to swallow in the whole training at one time as happens in the traditional training but he/she has the advantage of learning at his/her own pace and convenience. It gives the option of selective learning.
  • The next very important advantage is that the individual is always connected and can be updated at anytime during the learning process through mobile learning. Mobile learning courses can be updated or upgraded at any instance without going to actual location of the learner.

These benefits make the online learning the first choice among learners. There are many companies who cater the needs of the demand of this mobile world. One of them is Swift Elearning Services Pvt. Ltd., which is one of the pioneer companies in its field with long list of very satisfied clients all over the world. It has the team of very dedicated developers and instructional designers who always find new and innovative ways to provide something new to its learner by using the latest authoring tools like Articulate storyline, HTML5, etc.

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Online Learning Courses for Employee Training

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There is a buzz everywhere in the corporate world about this new trend. More and more people want to take advantage of online training. But many questions arise like;

- What is online training?

- Is it really helpful?

- How is it different from the traditional ways of training?

And many more similar questions.

In the today’s competitive world, everyone wants to be different and ahead of others. And for this, one needs to have certain qualities and skills which can differentiate him/her from others. Each and every professional has to be updated with the new things happening around. Entrepreneurs want their staff on the cutting edge with all the possible training and learning to get the maximum output.

Earlier all this was done by the one-to-one manual training. But this process was very time consuming and expensive as company had to bear the cost of training either by sending the employees to the trainer or conducting the seminars or training in the company itself.

But with the emerging option of online training of the employees, this whole process has become very easy, simple and reasonable also.

Online training is basically a training process through online training courses which are designed based on the guidelines given by the employer in order to provide training to the employees. Online courses provide the flexibility of taking the training at any time throughout the day 24×7 with the option of learning at its own pace. Different learning tools are used like videos, webinar, apps and games to make the training very interactive and engaging. 

Why online training?

There are many reasons to opt for online training rather than the traditional training processes.

  • Specific: As the case with traditional face to face training, one does not have to attend the whole seminar if the requirement is very specific. Through online training, time is saved as there is an option to take the training in the specific field required.
  • Go mobile: With the increasing use of mobile devices like i-pad, i-phone, IOS devices, one can take the course at home, or at office and even when he/she is travelling just by carrying the smartphone.
  •  Time saving: In the today’s busy world, one does not have time to listen or read the full long story. So, these e-learning courses are designed in small modules, quizzes, podcasts or small videos which are easy to learn and retain and saves time also.

To provide the learners with more and more options for e-learning on mobile platform, there is a need to develop these courses on mobile compatible platform for these iOS devices. To cater the needs of our aspirant e-learners, Swift E-learning Services Pvt. Ltd., provides the best e-learning courses with all the latest authoring tools like Articulate Storyline, HTML5, Captivate etc., with the dedicated team of best of the instructional designers and developers  who understand the needs of their e-learners.