Curriculum Development
The Computer Classroom develops curriculum for any technical topic which can be targeted for any of the popular learning environments, including instructor-led classroom delivery, instructor-led web delivery, self-paced instruction using either printed manuals or online course materials, and laboratory exercises, quizzes and certification exams as may be required.
Instructional Design
Many clients come to TCCI with a mature instructional design approach which we're happy to implement. Other clients may be new to technical training, or may lack the in-house expertise required to develop a training strategy. In these cases, TCCI can provide a training roadmap based on the educational needs of the target audience and the range and complexity of the topics to be covered. We can also provide course templates, lab setup guides, certification programs, assist with online training technologies and lead train-the-trainer workshops. Whatever your technical training needs, TCCI has the resources to address them effectively.
The Development Process
As with any project, curriculum development starts with business requirements which outline the target audience, course length and delivery method, prerequisites, timeline and a course outline. Once the requirements are firmly established, TCCI provides a price quote or estimate and draft Statement of Work (SOW) for client review and approval. Once agreement is reached, development work begins.
In general, clients provide the TCCI team with access to the subject hardware or software and to internal documentation and subject matter experts. Often, the product is in a 'beta' or pre-release condition and end-user documentation may be in draft form, or may not exist at all. We work with design documents, technical schematics, etc. to build an understanding of the product, communicating with client SMEs as necessary to fill in the gaps. When necessary, TCCI staff can reverse engineer products to verify technical details or document features or functions not previously documented by the client.
When existing documentation or curriculum is being updated, clients provide the base materials from the previous release to work from. If the client has corporate document standards or templates, they must also supply these to TCCI in advance. Typically, clients assign a single point of contact to funnel TCCI's technical inquiries and requests to the appropriate resources and provide interim feedback as development work proceeds. Depending on the agreed timeline and process, TCCI may provide previews at a chapter or topic level, but more often work is delivered in 'beta' or draft form as a complete package.
The client reviews the draft materials, providing written feedback in as much detail as necessary and returns that to TCCI within a timeframe specified in the SOW. Ideally, TCCI may perform a 'beta' presentation of the course to client internal staff or trusted customers to shake out any timing and flow issues, validate prerequisite expectations and identify any factual inaccuracies or content shortcomings. TCCI then updates the materials based on client feedback, and prepares the final production version.