Healthlink, Inc. Increases Training Efficiency with Lectora

Profile 

Healthlink, an IBM company, is focused on providing IT consulting services exclusively for healthcare provider organizations. Healthlink has worked with the nation's leading academic medical centers, integrated delivery networks, and public health organizations. 

Healthlink has more than 600 consultants serving clients throughout the nation. The company’s teams of healthcare operational experts have completed more than 2,400 client engagements exclusively for healthcare provider organizations. 

Challenge 

Healthlink trains hundreds of its consultants on its proprietary methodologies and tools each year. Many of the topics are complex and advanced. Prior to adopting an elearning component, Healthlink consultants received training in a traditional classroom setting.

Healthlink recognized that much of the classroom time was spent teaching foundational concepts, leaving less time for advanced topics. In an effort to make the training process more efficient, Healthlink adopted a blended-learning strategy, whereby foundational concepts would be taught using an online Web-Based Training (WBT) format and advanced topics would remain in the traditional classroom format. 

Solution 

In order to accomplish this, Healthlink embarked on an elearning initiative. Prerequisite content was identified and determined to be ideal for WBT deployment.  Healthlink then set out to find an elearning authoring tool. Healthlink’s requirements included finding an easy-to-use authoring tool capable of creating fully interactive, self-paced, media rich courseware.

In addition, the tool had to be SCORM compliant and reasonably priced. Healthlink created a tools matrix against which several leading authoring tools were evaluated. Among the tools evaluated were XStream RapidBuilder®, Trivantis' Lectora®, Global Knowledge On Demand®, Macromedia Captivate®, and Enlight, Inc® software.  

Benefits

"Our matrix helped us to determine that Lectora provided all the features and functionality that we required," said Paul Gonzales, Training Specialist at Healthlink. "We found that Lectora eliminated the need for a programmer and enabled us to create WBT courses quickly and efficiently."

In addition, Lectora integrated seamlessly with SOLO Learning’s SCORM compliant Learning Management System.  The blended learning approach, which Lectora made possible, has been well received by Healthlink’s consultants. The WBT courses greatly complement the instructor-led training.

"We get all of the functionality that we need from Lectora without the added cost and effort of a programmer’s time."

-Paul Gonzales, Training Specialist

In fact, due to the overwhelming success of the courses, Healthlink has adopted Lectora as their authoring tool of choice and will continue to create engaging content with Lectora.  Finally, Gonzales said, "the best thing about Lectora is that it is so easy to use that our instructional designers have become WBT developers themselves.

Due to Lectora’s built-in functionality, ease-of-use and cost savings, we have been able to eliminate the need for a programmer. Because Lectora eliminated this need, we have been able to adopt a rapid development process. We get all of the functionality that we need from Lectora without the added cost and effort of a programmer’s time. Our instructional designers have been able to be as imaginative as they like and Lectora has been able to accommodate their creativity."