LCQ10: Civil servants' e-learning platform
Following is a question by the Hon Paul Chan Mo-po and a written reply by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Miss Denise Yue, in the Legislative Council today(June 9):
Question:
In reply to my question on the estimates of expenditure of this year, the Government indicated that the expenditure for all e-learning programmes (including Internet-related training) in 2009-2010 was about $3 million. It has been learnt that the sum was mainly spent on the Cyber Learning Centre Plus, a web-based self-learning portal for civil servants. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the resources allocated by the Government for providing e-learning programmes for civil servants in the past five years, as well as a tabulation, of the name, content, number of persons enrolled, number of persons who completed the programme, number of persons who were awarded the certificate of attendance and number of view rates in respect of each of the programmes organised;
(b) which ranks and grades of civil servants are required to enrol in e-learning programmes, and the number of civil servants involved; whether any user target has been set for e-learning programmes, so as to ensure that a certain number of civil servants will receive training; and
(c) apart from the aforesaid programmes, what other programmes on Internet technology application are provided by the Government for civil servants, the resources involved and how it assesses the cost effectiveness of such resources?
Reply:
President,
For part (a) of the Question, the Civil Service Bureau has allocated an average of about $3 million annually in the past five years to the Civil Service Training and Development Institute to purchase and develop e-learning resources, and to manage and update the e-learning platform "Cyber Learning Centre Plus" (CLC Plus) for the purpose of promoting continuous learning among civil servants. The wide variety of learning resources cover web courses, articles, video clips, library collection information, learning tips, e-books and publications, guidelines and best practices as well as course reference materials.
On the CLC Plus platform, the above learning resources are divided into 14 categories, amounting to some 1,900 items and covering various subjects. A brief description of the content of each category is set out below:
Learning Resource Category | Content |
---|---|
English Corner | Articles on English writing skills, grammar, pronunciation, and web courses and reference materials. |
Chinese Language Corner | Resources on Chinese writing skills and Putonghua, which include web courses, reference tools, templates of official writing. |
National Studies | Latest updates on Mainland development, with articles and information on the political system, economic development, legal system and civil service system. |
Basic Law | Information about the Basic Law, promotional activities and self-assessment. Major topics in the Basic Law are captured in the Basic Law Modular Web Course. |
Legal Corner | An overview of various provisions of laws, ordinances and conventions relating to work, e.g.United Nations Convention and Disability Discrimination Ordinance. |
IT Zone | Tips, guidelines and references on software usage and application, and web courses on information technology security and Internet application. |
Induction Resources | Articles and video clips on guidelines on code of conduct, introduction to government structure and practices, as well as references and links to the Basic Law, information technology, green management and occupational safety. |
Management | Articles, web courses and video clips to enable civil servants to address communication and management issues in daily work. Other topics include project management, resource management and knowledge management. |
Human Resource Management | Articles on principles, guidelines and best practices and information on human resource management. |
Quality Service | Learning resources to facilitate the promotion of quality service and a people-based service culture in the civil service. Topics include customer service, work improvement, human resource management and development, the Civil Service Outstanding Service Award Scheme, performance pledges, public engagement. |
Leaders' Corner | Articles and video clips on interviews and seminars on various topics for directorate officers, e.g. leadership skills, public policy, change management and communication skills. |
Work-life Balance | Information on work-life balance, such as improving the quality of life, enhancing work efficiency, relieving stress, as well as activities to keep one's body and mind in good shape. |
Books and Media | Information on books and journals available in the Learning Resource Centre of the Civil Service Training and Development Institute, book summaries, links to magazines and news channels. |
Departmental Resources | Learning resources supplied by other departments (e.g. Civil Aviation Department, Customs and Excise Department, Labour and Welfare Bureau) for viewing by officers in the department concerned and/or general users of CLC Plus. |
The majority of the learning resources on the CLC Plus platform are job-related reference materials (e.g. guidelines, best practices, articles, learning tips) aimed at facilitating civil servants' continuous work improvement. Web courses account for a relatively small proportion among the various types of resources. The web courses are normally divided into different modules. Users would select the most relevant modules that suit their needs. As the objective of e-learning is to provide timely and practical knowledge or skills, we measure the e-learning utilisation by the number of hits rather than course completion. The hits of learning resources in the past five years are tabulated below:
Year | Hits of learning resources |
2005 | 534,600 |
2006 | 949,679 |
2007 | 950,000 |
2008 | 987,500 |
2009 | 1,100,000 |
For part (b) of the question, all civil servants can access the learning resources on the CLC Plus platform for continuous learning anytime anywhere. A civil servant is not required to enrol in any e-learning programme. As mentioned in paragraph 3 above, the CLC Plus platform mainly offers information and quick tips for the users' timely reference according to their specific needs. As such, no mandatory user targets are set for e-learning.
For part (c) of the question, the Civil Service Training and Development Institute of the Civil Service Bureau provides courses on Internet technology application through contractors of the PC-related Training Services Contract to cater for various training needs. Courses include "Introduction to the Internet", "Workshop of Effective Use on Internet", "Enjoying Free Internet Services for Communication and Storage" and "Introduction to Internet Security", etc. Some 5,800 civil servants attended around 350 courses on Internet technology application organised in 2009, costing about $1 million, which meant that the average cost of each participant was about $170.
To ensure the effective use of resources, we have defined the quality requirements of the courses in the contract. A course will only be considered up to standard when 80% of the trainees rate its overall effectiveness as "Outstanding" or "Very Effective" (i.e. the top two rankings on a five-point scale). All trainees are invited to evaluate the courses on their scope and coverage, suitability and job applicability. In 2009, about 90% of the trainees attending courses on Internet technology application rated their overall effectiveness as "Outstanding" or "Very Effective".
Wednesday, June 9, 2010