Milpark hosts interactive demonstration of its online learning platform

18 Dec 2015

Milpark Education, a recognised private and higher education institution, recently hosted a launch to showcase the online short courses offered by its School of Investment & Banking and School of Financial Planning & Insurance. The event, held at the Balalaika Hotel in Sandton, catered to the needs of working professionals and discussed the role and significance of online learning as part of their planned career development. Attendees were introduced to Milpark's modern and user-friendly Learner Management System and were guided through an interactive demonstration of its capabilities by the academic manager of Online Learning, Edel Goldbach.

Milpark hosts interactive demonstration of its online learning platform

Milpark's offerings, which were predominantly contact and distance learning-based, now include a cutting-edge online format to meet the need and demands of modern, time-sensitive lifestyles.

"We've created our own online virtual environment with support from Apollo Global. This allows us to conduct quality assurance in the most direct and immediate fashion. Our online lecturers are not only experts in their field; they also undergo an extensive training process to ensure that they have the skills needed to lead forum discussions in an interactive and effective manner. Our students appreciate this and comment on the high level of support and interaction they receive throughout the duration of their online studies" says Goldbach.

At Milpark, quality teaching and education is a core value of the business. Lecturers are active participants in the discussions; interacting, monitoring the discussions regularly, coaching and encouraging students. Milpark believes that effectively structured courses and moderated discussion forums are essential for effective learning to take place.

"We don't dilute the discussion forums with too many students as quality control is of utmost importance. We allow a maximum of 25 students per online course to ensure that the facilitator can engage with each of our students without compromising the quality of the interaction" says Goldbach.

Many online courses operate through a form of one-way communication. Milpark prides itself on implementing effective two-way communication: the quality of individual feedback to students, the quality of the assessments, and the quality of the overall interaction are all important focus areas which continue to be developed. The online discussion forums are public, enabling students to easily share their views and offer commentary. Lecturers are trained and encouraged to engage with the students, and to promote a positive, collaborative environment to further encourage high levels of interaction. Private messaging is also enabled; lecturers utilise this to offer one-on-one support and motivation and to provide individual students with in-depth feedback.

Milpark is serious about effective assessment and ensures that online courses follow an integrated and practical assessment approach which includes evaluation of the student's participation, online tests and written assignments - all of which contribute to a final mark.

"Overall course structure is another key focus area at Milpark - it has been a priority to get the basic foundation done correctly. Formal and quality assessments, again, are given a tremendous amount of consideration and attention."

According to the academic team, customisation is another critical component of Milpark's online offering: courses are customised to meet the needs of corporate groups. The customised product has been embraced by corporates who seek nationwide courses and training but who struggle to get their staff together in one place. The online learning environment allows employees who operate in different geographic locations to collaborate, network, and share their collective knowledge. Employees are not limited or obligated to log on at any specific time, making this format flexible and easily accessible, and ideal for the working student.

Feedback offered by Milpark's online students include:

"The course was enjoyable, relevant and I enjoyed the online format. The lecturer was amazing throughout this short course! Always encouraging and very knowledgeable. I thoroughly enjoyed the course and this is largely thanks to the manner in which she facilitated the discussions and the constant feedback that she provided. The tax refresher course was very well constructed and run - I've got a lot out of it." says a student who successfully completed the online Income Tax Refresher short course.

Another student who successfully completed the online short course, Essential Banking Principles, offered the following feedback: "Thank you for a great and challenging six weeks. I have a newfound respect for adult education. Thank you for the words of encouragement; it kept me in the game. It truly was a pleasure being guided by you for the past six weeks."

Online Courses offered by Milpark's School of Investment & Banking

Online courses offered by Milpark's School of Financial Planning & Insurance

For more information about Milpark's Online courses, visit http://online.milpark.ac.za/online

Milpark Education was established in 1997, becoming one of the first private providers of higher management education in South Africa. Milpark services the higher education needs of various corporate entities as well as public students, through the qualification offerings of four schools: the School of Professional Accounting (incorporating CA Connect), the Business School; the School of Commerce; and the School of Financial Services. It currently offers 23 accredited programmes in higher education.