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An e-course is from Klick Data historical perspective a video tutorial with a teacher explaining a computer software program. It had a very consistent format. Like a Jeopardy show. It was 2 hours long in playtime. It was divided into 6 main chapters with 18 min of playtime in each chapter that had 6 subchapters with 3 min playtime. It was screen captures mixed with teacher coining in with chroma-key and explaining. Each e-course had a 3 min introduction of the whole course. And a wrap of each chapter and the whole course. Between the chapters, there were 3 multiple choice questions (MCQ) accompanied by some music.
The consistency of the format made the customers aware of the extent of what they were buying. The course time was approximately about 3 times longer than the playtime since each user in order to learn had to practice in the software by following the steps described in the video by pause and train in front of the screen.
Since the format was originally set on VHS (1992-1997), the interactive format had only a timeline. Back and forward. It was with its simplicity very simple, yet very strong. Simply put: You did not need to go a course to take the course. The complexity of VHS was limited to the ability to push a piece of plastic into a VHS-recorder and press play and pause. Back in the 1990ies, many people met personal computers for the first time and had to learn software since they did not learn this in school and they needed the skills in order to do the work they worked with at the Office. These people all know how to handle a VHS recorder (even though they could not program the time to be correct.)
An example of a video tutorial is "Introduction till Internet", a video tutorial that sold 435000 units in Sweden during 1994-1997. It's by far the most sold VHS in the educational sector ever in Sweden. Today it's possible to see it on YouTube. It is even stored at the Internet Museum as a landmark of the development of the Internet in Sweden at https://arkiv.internetmuseum.se/videokassett-introduktion-till-internet-datorutbildning-pa-video/
CD-ROM course
When the video course moved from the dying format VHS into CD- ROM, the video course changed the name to e-course (from video tutorial) but Klick Data kept its concept, length and extended the computer software range with soft skills such as presentation, sales technics, and leadership. It was still 2 hours of video material playtime with a teacher explaining things the user needed to learn at work. The computer screen captures were changed to Powerpoint screenshots.
When CD-ROM was introduced in 1996, the complexity was kept as small as possible with an autostart of the course when CD_ROM was inserted into the Computer. The timeline with back and forward was added with the drag and drop-bar which today everybody is familiar with when scrolling in a video online. From 1996- 2005, the Internet at large for the common man was to slow for video transmissions. YouTube was introduced in 2005. Klick Data introduced the internet solution at the end of 2003 and put their e-courses into a learning platform system (LMS) called Klickportalen K3 or simply K3. Still, the support of how to handle CD-ROM was something we provided.
The Search function of a subject was introduced in the CD-ROM but was even more useful in the K3 system since the search was available not only in the e-course but within the Library of Klick Data e-courses. If a function in Excel was in the Advanced Course and not in Basic, the Search tool gave the user instant access to this part of the course and he or she could learn this part of the software very easily.
Over 500 e-course productions have been made by Klick Data in this format. Hence the e-course is a standard and well-established term in Sweden were the Klick Data has been working as their prime market. Outside Sweden, the concept of e-course was not the same accepted word. eCourse, video tutorial, the online course was used but it meant and still mean (in the year 2020) different things from different distributors within the EdTech industry.
Over the course of time, YouTube exploded and basically everything you need to learn today is at your fingertips in a few seconds. The development of a Learning Management System like the KLMS has therefore adjusted to this fact.
The business model for Klick Data is no longer to be E-Course Producer, creating e-courses, even though we provide this competence in the high-end spectrum of productions to our customers. Today, Klick Data helps companies to validate the knowledge they need to have within the organization in order for these companies to be more profitable. From the Internet vast source of great content to the internal production of course material that is not public. The ROI fo companies lie within to use the internally produced materials and present them to the staff in order for them to learn and develop the business. Klick Data helps companies transform their business with the LMS as a tool in order to get more effective serving customers.
As well as transform educational organizations such as Universities and Collages to make the best use of online training for students and provide the tools for the teachers and principals to monitor progress and reach educational goals.