You will participate in the session "Open Content and Open Source Solutions". - How important are open source products in the Israeli eLearning market?

Avi Kedem: The market in Israel is quite small. Unlike business, which is done both in Hebrew and English, people definitely prefer learning in Hebrew. Because of these reasons, open source eLearning products for the corporate / business sector are quite rare. On the other hand, open source products in education are more frequent. NGOs (non-governmental organizations) are becoming more aware of the potential of eLearning for educating target groups in their subject matter. By the way, the Hebrew version of Wikipedia already has almost 28,000 entries.

Is there a difference in acceptance between universities and corporate appliance?

Avi Kedem: Naturally universities are much more receptive.

Your contribution is titled "Performance Support Knowledge-base User-friendly Help". Where do you see the main requirements for user-friendly help in the eLearning context?

Avi Kedem: The issue I am presenting is the need and the solution for supporting the "Performer" with a proper knowledge-base. User-Friendly Help (UFHelp) means that the user of a software application can retrieve the exact "molecule" (object / SCO) of information or knowledge that is needed any time and anywhere in the application.

This is due to the fact that UFHelp is context sensitive, task oriented, and specifically tailored to the customized version of the application used. The UFHelp content relates to the usage procedure of the application and the relevant organizational work procedures. The content is presented in several forms - "user manual", "show me", and checklist. UFHelp's more "traditional" aspect of eLearning, is achieved through embedding in it learning objects (SCOs) like "guided tour", "navigation", explanation of workflow elements, and if needed, even links to the organizational LMS and other portals or sites.

What is user-unfriendly nowadays?

Avi Kedem: User-unfriendly (or "user-hostile"…) means that the user gets an "ocean" of information or knowledge rather than the exact "drop" or "molecule" that's actually needed. The presentation of content in a typical user-unfriendly help is very low in usability. Usually it also has very limited options for additional useful content.

Why is it so important to find user-friendly solutions?


Avi Kedem: Complementing enterprise software applications with user-friendly help upgrades their user-friendliness and increases their ROI!