Open Polytechnic launches online platform for learning and training

The Open Polytechnic has launched an online learning platform in order to open up new education and training opportunities.

The Open Polytechnic is New Zealand's largest distance learning provider. The new digital platform, iQualify, was developed in-house.

The iQualify platform aims built to deliver media rich online courses and teaching across multiple devices including computer, tablet and smartphones, and was designed to provide affordable access to high quality online learning for other education providers and organisations.

Learners will be able to login to iQualify from their computer, tablet or smartphone and will allows them to create searchable study notes next to their course materials. The platform supports media-rich content such as video and interactive quizzes.

"Open Polytechnic has always been a leader in the delivery of online and distance learning in New Zealand", says Dr Caroline Seelig,

Open Polytechnic chief executive. "We've taken our almost 70 years of expertise in learning design to create iQualify, which will lead the next phase of our organisation's digital transformation.

Open Polytechnic council chair Murray Bain adds, "E-Learning using iQualify has tremendous potential to enhance the quality and accessibility of education on a very cost-effective basis both for the Open Polytechnic and more broadly across New Zealand's wider education and training sector."

More than 800 of Open Polytechnic students have already been taught through iQualify, and Open Polytechnic will progressively move all of its programmes onto the platform over coming months.

Along with connecting with other education providers, Open Polytechnic is marketing iQualify to employers, industry and professional organisations for online training.

Designed as a white label online platform, partners will be able to use their own branding on iQualify.

"That means organisations can deliver online education under their own brand name in a cost effective way without having on-going technology development, risk or maintenance costs", says Seelig.

Open Polytechnic chief technology officer, Shanan Holm, who led the technical development of iQualify, says it's been designed to deliver a motivating and engaging experience for students who are studying in their own time and place.

"It's also driven by powerful analytics, so we can see how students are engaging in the learning materials and track their progress, and make improvements based on how we're seeing students use the platform.