Learning Management System

WBT Overview
WBT is grounded in almost a decade of academic research in distance learning and distributed technologies. It is a privately held company with venture capital funding from 3i Group, Europe's largest technology investor, and Delta Partners.
The company is headquartered in Waltham, MA with offices in San Francisco and Dublin, Ireland.

WBT is a pioneer in e-Learning infrastructure software and B2B learning networks. It provides Global 2000 organizations and leading content and training providers with competitive advantage through its unique learning objects-based software, TopClass.

TopClass manages all aspects of the e-Learning life cycle: the creation of courses, publishing an online catalogue, course delivery and the provision of feedback through testing, reporting and integration with other enterprise applications.

Global 2000 organizations can significantly improve the effectiveness of employees, suppliers and partners by providing personalized learning experiences on-demand via the Internet or intranets. Content and training providers can dramatically lower the development and maintenance costs of their content by building it based on TopClass's unique learning objects architecture.

By bringing Global 2000 customers and leading content and training providers together into a global e-learning network, WBT will create an exchange that can substantially increase revenue opportunities for content and training partners while lowering costs and increasing choice for Global 2000 customers.

Managing Knowledge with Learning Objects

The interactive, accessible nature of the web offers a broad range of methods for delivering customized information and providing collaborative experiences, but WBT takes training on the web to the next level. WBT is redefining the learning management system industry with its advanced and proven learning object architecture. Learning objects let organizations build thousands of customized courses to meet individual needs from a library of organizational knowledge, and then update those courses with a single action. Learning objects are the foundation of WBT's unique approach to delivering effective training on the web.

WBT TopClass 4

The rapid transfer of information and knowledge is a dynamic process, subjected to constant change. The modular design of the TopClass solution offers large organizations the ability to effectively support the entire range of training needs. Some of the largest TopClass customers have converted most or all of their classroom-based training to the web with significant increases in return on investment. This fundamental shift in training delivery strategy is made possible by the comprehensive TopClass 4 product family.

TopClass 4 runs on an Oracle database and so provides a robust and scalable foundation for delivering, managing, and measuring online learning in any organization. TopClass 4 has a proven record in scalability and can easily handle user communities of 50,000 or more. A complete infrastructure for creating and delivering knowledge, it has comprehensive facilities for organizing information, providing collaboration, and tracking results.

TopClass 4 builds upon well-established relational database technology and provides many advantages in accessing, maintaining and exchanging information.

Open Content - TopClass can support any web-compatible applications to deliver streaming media, animation, and videoconferencing. Through TopClass Publisher and Assistants, Microsoft Office documents or existing web pages can be automatically transformed into learning content for TopClass.
Personalized Courses - Content can be automatically added to fill gaps in knowledge or skills, or removed to let users who already understand the material move more quickly. Content can also be modified directly for individual users.
Training Module Library - Classes can share material from whole courses to individual pages or media content. TopClass Server organizes courses for easy browsing and navigation through the module library. When a module is updated, all courses that use it have instant access to the new material.
Comprehensive Testing - Tests can be individualized, or you can use randomised tests that give each student a different set of questions. TopClass' sophisticated test routing lets instructors give essay or project questions too.
Open Registration and Tracking - Class registration is handled automatically by TopClass, and can be integrated with other enrolment or user management systems. Tracking information can be exported to human resources or ERP applications.
Linked Discussion Groups - Discussion groups can be tied to specific classes or topics, with full moderation and access control.

TopClass 4 Features and Benefits

Creating Online Learning Modules:

Convert existing class presentations and manuals into web-based courses automatically
Update content without redevelopment by changing individual module elements
Use any web-compatible plug-ins or Java to create media-rich content or simulations
Manage and maintain modules using any web browser and web page design tools
Reuse content in any number of courses with centralized updates

Testing and Certification:

Assess the abilities of individuals and groups instantly
Create reusable test questions and assign them randomly to different users
Add to the eight question types included with TopClass to incorporate animations or simulations
Grade multiple-choice and matching questions automatically
Manage routing and submission of essay or project questions to graders on the web
Add or remove course materials automatically based on remedial needs or proven skills
Generate extensive reports on individuals, content viewing patterns, and test effectiveness
Feed test results and class progress into any third-party application package

Deployment:

Access courses easily with any standard web browser
Announce new information to all interested users and provide tags so they can access it rapidly
Search through all course materials for procedures or other specific information
Register and certify users quickly and easily
Maintain secure access to course content

Collaboration Tools:

Provide learners with easy access to experts
Provide access to "hot-lines" for answers to technical questions
Provide an on-going resource for new information through threaded discussion groups
Assign subject experts to groups taking courses
Integrate chat, teleconferencing, or virtual classroom tools into TopClass

:: Back ::