Case Studies: SmarterU Project Profiles

BNI Canada

"This company pleasantly surprised me.  The SmarterU team have been very professional and helpful.  I am pleased with the product they produced for us."

Don Morgan, MA
National Director of BNI Canada, Executive Director for Chicago & Northern Illinois
BNI Canada

Client Background:

BNI is a professional marketing organization specializing in word-of-mouth referrals. The BNI strategy is based on a business networking strategy that generates business referrals within many diverse networks. BNI relies on structured business groups wherein each member carries the other’s business cards. When a “prospect” is met, the business card and testimonial information is shared and a referral is most often created. 

There are more than 285 chapters across Canada - located in most major communities. 

What They Needed:

BNI Canada wanted to augment their exisitng in person training program with an elearning component for seveal curriculum streams.  "We selected some key items that either don't get enough attention or might be glossed over during live training for new members," says Don Morgan, the National Director of BNI Canada.  

BNI wanted to create short elearning clips to help remind and reinforce regular training and corresponding mentoring that is performed within the individual chapters by chapter mentors, as well as having courses for leadership training, director and ambassador training and recruitment, as well as a how-to guide for starting new chapters.  

The SmarterU Solution:

SmarterU worked with Don and his team to create courses, and provided video recording and post production services.  "When we were ready to do the video work, the SmarterU team were very helpful to us amateurs at the studio; they made us feel as comfortable and capable as possible." Don recalls.  "Once the raw filming and information was available to the team for final production, they were quick at their end of the task and produced a good final product."  SmarterU was also able to convert existing 5 year old elearning material from another platform into courses for the SmarterU system.

The Result:

"The Smarter U team have been very professional and helpful in our movement into this important area. I can easily and happily verify the SmarterU team’s level of professionalism and understanding of the e learning technology, pedagogical concepts, and overall team personality. They are nice but also professional. I am pleased with the product they produced for us. I endorse the Smarter U team."

ICTAM - Work IT Program

"The product at the end of the day turnout so brilliantly.  Everyone made sure we got what we were looking for."

Suzanne Winterflood
Work IT Program Coordinator
ICTAM 

Client Background: 

ICTAM represents Manitoba's Information and Communication Technology industry, with its membership coming from a wide variety of industries such as technology vendors, consumers, government, education and other industry sector councils.

Since its creation in late 2004, ICTAM has built initiatives to promote the Manitoba ECT sector in a global scale, by creating promotional marketing opportunities, hosting networking events and building training programs for Manitoba's ICT professionals, such as the Work IT program for Internationally Educated Professionals preparing to enter the ICT sector in Manitoba.

What They Needed:

The Work IT program was originally developed as a paper based course for Internationally Educated Professionals to complete on their own time as part of their integratin into the Manitoba workplace environment.  The intent was always to have the course available online, but "That was not to be," says Suzanne Winterflood, Co-ordinator of the Work IT program.

The SmarterU Solution:

SmarterU worked with ICTAM to repurpose the existing Work IT program material for use on the web.  Moving beyond paper quizzes, SmarterU integrated games, audio samples and recorded vdieo from interview with Internationally Educated Professionals for inclusion in the course.

The Result:

The course grew far beyond ICTAM's expectations.  "It's fantastic compared to anything we thought we were going to be able to do," says Suzanne.  "The real life experience definitely brought the course to life."

"We've had such great reactions from the original paper course, I think that when it goes to being on screen ... it will be even better,"  Suzanne says. "As an administrator, being able to check in with any of our students - it's completely marvellous.  we couldn't check in efficiently with the paper course.  On SmarterU - students really have to work through it, and we can make sure we are giving them the support they need"

Women's Enterprise Centre

"If there was something needed, it was invented.  This is really the ideal tech company you want at your back"

Sandra Altner
Chief Executive Officer 
Women's Enterprise Centre

Client Background:

The Women's Enterprise Centre of Manitoba was established to address the challenges facing both novice and seasoned entrepreneurs.

WEC Manitoba helps women start, expand, and develop businesses as entreprenerus through informational aid, training and skills development, and in acquiring financing.  Since 1994, WEC has helped thousands of women start, build and develop their businesses.

What They Needed:

The Business Plan Development series was designed as a step-by-step process to help women develp their business plans and create a solid foundation on which to operate their businesss.  Having been offered as a series of classes, WEC decided to offer the course online to make the program available to a wider audience.  

The online course would allow busy women to benefit from the course, no matter how busy their schedule.  "We knew our program was sterling,"  says Sandra Altner, CEO of WEC.  "We needed very knowledgable people to help create the online environment for the program, as we had some very speciific needs."

The SmarterU Solution:

"SmarterU was able to meet our needs in building our online courses, which was a process of discovery for us.  It's certainly, from our perspective, better than anything that's online right now in terms of business plan training, far more comprehensive and indepth," Sandra says.  "We're definitely going to be puttin gmore courses online, and will be able to help our sister organizations develop their content for similar courses."

The Result:

"This will be enormously valuable program for a lot of people.  We've seen the business plans that have been developed by those who have completed the course, and they're really quite good.  That's exactly what we were looking for.  We can see the results of quality onlne learning thanks to the SmarterU team."