Klett und Balmer Verlag has been publishing textbooks and supplementary learning materials for decades. These supplementary materials were provided on CDs until 2015. As a way of improving the company’s ability to react to change, increasing efficiency and remaining on the cutting edge of technology, the publisher decided to replace the CDs with online training courses and to implement an authoring tool for this purpose. A learning management system (LMS) was used to distribute the learning materials.
About Klett & Balmer
Klett und Balmer Verlag is the leading private teaching-material publishing company in Switzerland. Users of the company’s learning materials extend from children in kindergarten to adults, with a focus on primary and secondary education.
The situation
The textbooks published by Klett und Balmer are complemented by digital learning material that was provided on CDs up until a few years ago. These CDs were then used in schools for several years. Revisions to the teaching material required new production and the replacement of all CDs being used. Klett und Balmer decided to reduce this effort and find a more environmentally friendly solution. It also wanted to facilitate a dialogue between teachers and their pupils.
The solution
The publishing company introduced the authoring tool developed by youknow to enable teaching and learning material to be created autonomously. youknow also developed a LMS that meets Klett und Balmer’s needs related to the distribution of teaching and learning materials.
Target group
Communities, schools, pupils, teachers
Software solutions
Authoring tool, LMS, App
“While searching for a LMS and an authoring tool, we were determined to find a flexible product that could be customized to meet our exact needs. At youknow, we found not only the product, but also a company that is well known for its expertise and its process-driven way of thinking. We also really like its customer focus, on-time delivery and fair prices.”
Felix Hufnagel, the Head of Digital Learning Media, Klett und Balmer AG
The authoring tool can be used to develop the widest range of media: videos, Excel or Word documents, digital books or pictures. Klett und Balmer has already produced 70 learning modules with the tool. The customer-specific and responsive templates for desktops, tablets and mobile devices enable the teaching and learning materials to be optimally displayed on all end devices.
Course overview in the LMS
Entering the user key in the LMS
Learning module for pupils
The LMS facilitates the easy management of courses, learning modules, digital books and other media. User keys that pupils find in such places as their textbooks enable particular courses to be activated. The learners can digitally share their successes with their teachers, a function that increases motivation.
The teaching and learning media can also be used offline with a free app. The pupils’ progress can be synchronized with the LMS as soon as the user is reconnected to the Internet.
Several ten thousands of people are currently using the Klett und Balmer LMS each day.
Feedback and goal achievement
The introduction of the authoring tool and the LMS now enables teaching and learning material to be quickly and easily updated and to be rapidly shared with pupils and teachers in its revised form. Klett und Balmer has been able to reduce the work required to create certain content many times over. The termination of CD production has significantly reduced the publishing company’s costs and put an end to this environmentally unfriendly solution. Instead, user keys only have to be printed in teaching and learning media or on a separate license certificate.
The introduction of the LMS and digital learning modules has improved many things for pupils and teachers as well. They no longer need a device that can play a CD. Instead, they can access all learning content online and offline on all end devices – ranging from school PCs and private laptops to tablets and smartphones. The switch also facilitates the teacher-pupil dialogue. Teachers can review their pupils’ input after it is released and provide targeted assistance as a result.
What’s next?
The introduction of the authoring tool and LMS is only the first step: As part of the partnership with Klett und Balmer, youknow is continuously enhancing the software and gradually adding more functions to it. Plans include the inclusion of external products like external teaching and learning media. A link to meinklett.ch will also be created, and the learning platform will be integrated into meinklett.ch.
Would you like to learn more about our e-learning software?
„We will be happy to present our LMS and our authoring tool to you and advise you on your requirements. Afterwards, you can get to know our systems with a free test access."
Ken Weid, Key Account Manager
