e-Learning Centre

E-Learning Centres are part of the provision of the Army Education Centres. They provide support and information to both soldiers and their adult dependents, as well as to the wider defence community including civil servants.

There is an E-Learning Centre here at Sandhurst – pop in to see what Jane Vahgatsi, the Learning Centre Manager, can do to help you. Help is also available via the AES page of the Learning & Development Portal

Sandhurst eLC

This page provides you with you information on the Sandhurst e-Learning Centre (eLC) which is a FREE* educational facility for all at Sandhurst Station. Here you’ll find details on the help and guidance available to you and your family, courses that you can enrol on and updates on education.

The Sandhurst eLC is a comfortable learning environment for adults over the age of 18. Service Personnel, Civil Servants, dependants, and Sandhurst Station contractors can all use the facilities for free; whether it be for military mandatory education, personal development, or advice and guidance. The Sandhurst eLC is available to use by the wider Garrison community.

Qualifications and Courses for Serving Personnel

The qualifications provided by the eLC are Functional Skills (FS) English and Maths (for Service Personnel only) and the ICDL (new version of the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL).

NEW - FROM WINTER TERM 2021

A fully flexible workshop to gain the skills needed on Microsoft Word to format your document correctly. The workshop will be tailored to each individual and can contain any, or all, of the following:

1 Setting the font style and size 9 Using simple page numbering

2 Text justification 10 Using headers and footers

3 Using bullet points 11 Using tables

4 Using boldfacing 12 Inserting & removing page breaks

5 Using spelling & grammar check 13 Using section breaks

6 Using tracked changes 14 Using footnotes

7 Setting the page margins 15 Setting a water mark

8 Setting default tabs 16 Page numbers for annexes

This workshop is designed for anyone who wants to get to grips with the tools required to format a document correctly. It may be especially useful for any soldier about to attend an ALDP course who does not use Word regularly.

To book a place please complete an application form and email it to Jane.Vahgatsi767@DGW365.onmicrosoft.com.

Advice and guidance is also available on the following:

Languages
ALPD
The use of both Standard and Enhanced Learning Credits (SLCs & ELCs)
Accreditation and
Army Skills Offer (ASO).

Specific queries relating to an individual’s personal development, particularly in relation to higher education opportunities will be referred to the correct staff within 77AEC Group Aldershot.

Functional Skills

To begin a programme of learning for FS, you must first sit a diagnostic assessment; following this, a recommended learning plan will be issued by the Learning Centre Manager (LCM) with advice on how best to achieve the end qualification. FS can be achieved through several different means depending on the ability of the learner and any skills fade:

1. Formal classroom course in the Learning Centre at RMAS, at the Learning Centre at Pirbright or at 77 AEC Aldershot.

2. Revision workshops are available for those soldiers who are not quite at the standard required to attend a course. These should be arranged with the LCM at RMAS.

3. If required 1:1 support sessions can be arranged with the LCM in preparation for attending a course

4. For those who achieve a very high diagnostic score there is an ‘Exam practice only’ Fast Track option

The route to achieving the qualification will be determined by the LCM at the time that the diagnostic assessment is completed.

Booking your Diagnostic Assessment

To book a diagnostic please email your full name, date of birth and service number to the LCM. Please also state if you would like to complete the assessment in the Learning Centre or at home. The LCM will then contact you to arrange the assessment.

ICDL (formerly known as ECDL)

The ICDL course is a 7 part programme with a test at each stage to ensure continuous, formative learning.

3 modules at Level 1 will take you through basic IT user skills (including IT Security, Internet, and email) and 4 modules at Level 2 will give you a better understanding of Word Processing, Excel, and PowerPoint. The final module ‘Improving Productivity Using IT’ explores the benefits and drawbacks of using IT tools and systems in the workplace and improving the efficiency of your work by utilising new tools within these Microsoft Applications.

Service Personnel can use their SLC to fund 80% of the cost of this course. Please contact the LCM for the current cost of completing this course (it is worth noting that the qualification is much more expensive to complete outside of the Army Education Service). Both levels can be completed independently or can be combined together. The ICDL is a valuable civilian qualification and is recognised in 148 countries around the world. The qualification awarding body is the British Computer Society (BCS) https://www.bcs.org/

Additional IT Learning Opportunities

The LCM can help you to boost your digital skills in numerous ways, such as:

Small group / 1:1 lesson on using Word with a focus on Defence Writing – especially useful for anyone due to attend their ALDP course and who does not use Word regularly.
Bespoke lessons on specific skills – maybe you need to know how to do tracked changes on Word for your work? Or how to use formulae in Excel? Or have you suddenly been asked to prepare a PowerPoint presentation for the first time?
Would you like to learn to use one of the Microsoft products more effectively but do not have the time to commit to the full ECDL course? Other learning opportunities are available

Please remember that the LCM is there to help you, you just have to let her know what it is that you need.

Additional Online Learning Opportunities

Serving personnel and civil servants can make use of the enormous amount of free online courses that are available online. Everything from very short 'taster' session through to courses that take a significant amount of time to complete. They are an excellent personal development tool and a very good thing to show as evidence when end of year reporting comes around. Below are links to a few different sites but really Google is your friend here, just search for what you are interested in. Please note that the links below are just a tiny example of what is available and should not be taken as a recommendation for study. If you need a quiet place to complete your studies then come and work in the Learning Centre, you can use one of my computers or bring your own laptop to work on.

Civil Servants & Dependants

Civil Servants and dependants of Serving Personnel (aged over 18) can enrol on the ECDL course; for more information or to register your interest, please contact the Sandhurtst eLC Manager. The cost for Civil Servants and dependants is the same as for serving personnel and is a much more cost effective option than studying for the qualification outside.