We want to develop a cloud based e-learning platform that can be use from anywhere on earth. With Cloud Campus, educational institutions and organizations can train their students, employees, vendors or customers.
The Cloud Campus capstone project for the Wharton Business Foundation Specialization on Coursera.
3. Product or Service–
Transform Learning. Change Lives.
We’re passionate about providing our learners with practical, job-ready
knowledge and skills.
We want to develop a cloud based e-learning platform that can be use from
anywhere on earth. With Cloud Campus, educational institutions and organizations
can train their students, employees, vendors or customers.
Cloud Campus makes education is a right for everyone with low-cost and high-
impact deliverable courses.
Cloud Campus
4. Cloud Campus – How It Works
Cloud Campus is a cloud based education platform that partners with top education institutions and
organizations worldwide, to offer courses online for anyone to take.
• Discover a course and sign up today
Choose from hundreds of courses created by the world's top educational institutions.
Courses are open to anyone, and financial aid is available.
• Learn on your own schedule
Watch short video lectures, take interactive quizzes, complete peer graded assessments,
and connect with fellow learners and instructors.
• Achieve your goals
Finish your course and receive formal recognition for your accomplishment with an
optional Course Certificate.
5. Cloud Campus - Approach
• Effectiveness of Online Learning
Online learning plays a significant role in a lifelong education.
• Mastery learning
On Cloud Campus, we typically give immediate feedback on a concept a learner did not
understand. In many cases, we provide randomized versions of the assignment so a
learner can re-study and re-attempt until they master it.
• Peer assessments
We use peer assessments, where learners can evaluate and provide feedback on each
other’s work. This technique has been shown in many studies to result in accurate
feedback for the learner and a valuable learning experience for the grader.
• Blended learning
Many of our partner institutions are using our online platform to provide their on-
campus students with an improved learning experience. This blended model of learning
has shown in studies to increase student engagement, attendance and performance.
6. External Environment – Economic
The worldwide market for E-Learning
reached $35.6 billion in 2011. The five-
year compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) is estimated at around 7.6% so
revenues should reach some $51.5
billion by 2016.
While the aggregate growth rate is
7.6%, several world regions appear to
have significantly higher growth
rates. According to recent regional
studies, the highest growth rate is in
Asia at 17.3%, followed by Eastern
Europe, Africa, and Latin America at
16.9%, 15.2%, and 14.6%,
respectively.
7. External Environment – Social
Today, there are more than 2 billion potential
learners around the world. More than 70% of
these are, reportedly, unable to afford a college
degree.
The Cost of education has risen 84% since 2000,
37% higher than CPI, which lead to situations
like the US student loan debt accumulation to
over $1 trillion.
E-Learning is the best cost effective alternative in
this situation.
Today, there are more than 700 million individuals of
the world’s population has lack basic literacy skills.
8. External Environment – Legal
E-Learning And Copyright Issues
Copyright ownership of eLearning course materials and courseware involves a
bundle of rights, and questions of ownership and use.
Copyright protection is about defending and not stifling an author's creativity. It is
the art of striking the delicate balance between “protecting and sharing” an
author's creative product.
However, legal rules concerning copyright protection and encouragement differ
from country to country. The best policies and practices of copyright ownership of
eLearning courseware and course materials by faculty members will recognize and
balance the rights of individual creators and contributors, as well as the needs of
institutions as communities of scholars and learners.
9. External Environment – Technological Trends
The Cloud is changing the way we learn today. Within the Cloud solutions universe, Software-as-a-
Service (SaaS) is playing a major role. The SaaS model is also playing a major role in helping to
increase the size of the E-Learning market.
The internet megatrend enables people to exchange and create increasingly more information and is
also an important source of knowledge building and sharing. The internet also opens the doors to
new learning technologies, systems and methods. As the following image illustrates, Asia is driving
this trend.
11. External Environment – Demand Elasticity
Nature and extent of demand (demand elasticity & size of the market)
12. External Environment – Market Size
According to the Bersin Industry study, the LMS market was expected to reach $1.9
billion in 2013. However the growth exceeded expectations, closing the year at
$2.55 billion.
According to Product & Users, the LMS market is expected to experience a growth
of 23.17% between 2017 and 2018.
According to Ambient Insight, the packaged content market will reach $38.3 billion
by 2016.
According to sources, large and affirmed Companies (such as the Global 5000) are
the primary buyers of E-Learning products and services. They account for more
than 30% of the E-Learning Market clientele.
13. External Environment – Market Size
A synthesis and analysis of all the available data, results in the following
estimated forecasts:
14. External Environment – Market Size
A synthesis and analysis of all the available data, results in the following
estimated forecasts:
17. External Environment – Competition
2012 saw a boom in E-Learning technology investment. Many educational
institutions entered the E-Learning marketplace using MOOC models,
leveraging their knowledge of the traditional classroom and applying this to the
E-Learning environment.
E-Learning is being driven not only by startup dot-com entrepreneurs but also
by big corporations, for-profit spin-off ventures, as well as big and small
universities.
According to Forbes, there are several “disruptive” players in the education
market: Udacity, Khan Academy, Quipper and so on. All these players are
running MOOCs initiatives. Some are completely free, while others charge basic
fees to students.
20. External Environment – Marketing Channels
Marketing Channels
According to IDC, the number of PCs will fall from 28.7% of the device
market in 2013 to 13% in 2017. Tablets will increase from 11.8% in 2013 to
16.5% by 2017, and smartphones will increase from 59.5% to 70.5%.
Interestingly, a Forrester forecast claims that 18% of tablet sales will come from
business buyers rather than these tablets being bought for personal use.
21. Internal Environment – Resources
TOP MANAGEMENT: Within the required company resources to launch the
project/opportunity the approval of Top Management is key, the involvement and approval from
the top executives of the firm which represent and protect the interest of the stakeholders as well
as determine the company’s goals, objectives, strategies and future projections is indispensable for
the opportunity. Their input and expertise is very valuable for the successful development of the
project.
MARKETING: The involvement of the marketing department is an elemental and deciding factor
on the success of the project. A successful marketing strategy can make the difference in terms of
reaching the correct audience, business promotion and sales/subscriptions. With an elastic market
and low customer loyalty, a proper marketing campaign is key for success.
FINANCE: The finance department is an invaluable resource and key element on the successful
development of the project. The department will provide input on available financial resources and
support, formulation of a financial strategy as well as being responsible for conducting regular
financial analysis and research.
R&D: The R&D department can be considered as one of the main pillars of the project, it will be
responsible for developing the complete infrastructure and support platform in which the platform
will operate, responsible of the development of potential new products and procedures as well as
the constant improvement of the existing offerings. The involvement of the R&D department is
key for growth and sustainability.
22. Internal Environment – BRAND
About Us:
Cloud Campus is the world's best cloud based e-learning platform that magically connects students
to their dream job.
Our Brand Positioning
• Target Segment – As stated in the first sentence, Cloud Campus is targeting internet users,
specially mobile users.
• Point of Difference – Cloud Campus takes pride as the best platform to build career.
• Frame of Reference – Cloud Campus competes against other e-learning service providers,
more specifically MOOC providers.
Current pricing strategy
• Free Audit– Cloud Campus attracts users by offering a free version of its courses.
• Verified Pricing – Each Verified course cost will be $25. Hence, cost of Cloud Campus’s
verified course is cheaper than other e-learning course provider and therefore a good sale.
Current Promotions and Distributions Strategies
• Cloud Campus will implement a promotional strategy based on coupons, promotional codes and
deals. Promotional offers are seasonal and on constant rotation.
• Cloud Campus primarily delivers promotions through Social Media, Email and Website/App.
23. Internal Environment – Beneficial & Critical Factors
Beneficial Factors for the proposal within the organization:
• Cloud Campus has subject matter experts capable of designing and implementing this idea. The
SME may find this platform quite easy to create new learning experience for our learners.
Factors within the organization that may hinder the proposal
Capital
• Cloud Campus may not want to incur huge development costs of this platform.
Brand Identity
• Could Campus may not incur huge advertising expenses for Brand promotion.
• Reputed University may not agree to giving their courses too closely with Cloud Campus.
25. Market Analysis & Segmentation
Each of the world’s regions has its idiosyncrasies In terms of the factors that drive this market.
In Asia, Government-funded projects related to literacy development in rural areas are a major
driver to the introduction of E-Learning.
In the Middle East, governmental interventions play a critical role in the dissemination of E-
Learning material as educational methods.
In some African countries, private universities are making the difference when it comes to
investments. These Institutions are willing to provide a broad offering to their students in order to
help them boost their careers.
The U.S. and Western Europe markets are the most mature, with the biggest instances of E-
Learning adoption ranging from K-12 solutions to business-related training.
27. Market Targeting
The service we are looking to offer to the global market is destined to target a mass market of
college juniors and seniors with aims to have the largest number of students regardless of age, sex,
background, preferences, religion or beliefs.
The most preferred audience are individuals in college or graduates, belonging to the lower or
middle class and above, located in a urban environment with availability to reliable internet access.
28. Brand Positioning
Cloud Campus makes education is a right for everyone with low-cost and high-impact deliverable
courses. Our courses focuses on several key benefits that we’re of offering to our learners, such as:
• Quality: We offer a high quality course contents made with quality audio-video format and study
notes from our subject matter expert. .
• Pricing: Currently we’re offering two types of pricing options for our learners such as Free Audit
and Verified Track.
• Availability: it can be bough through two distribution channels such as websites and mobile
apps.
29. Communication Objectives
Raise Brand Awareness:
Brand awareness will be raised through a series of channels and strategies directed to the target
audience which include Social media involvement, sponsoring industry related events and causes,
implementation of referral incentives and mass advertising.
Gain New Learners:
Learners acquisition will be achieved by an effective marketing campaign driven to offer potential
customers incentives and benefits.
Learners Retention/Satisfaction
• The first step is analyzing the competition and adjusting the service according to the gaps within
the market.
• The second step is listening to industry hiring expert and establishing an effective courses for our
learners.
• The third step is analyzing data use and making strategic changes according to found behaviors
and trends.
31. Operations Plans –
Describe your plan for cost, quality, variety and responsiveness of the new line
How It Works
Cloud Campus is a cloud based education platform that partners with education institutions and
organizations worldwide, to offer courses online for anyone to take.
1. Discover a course and sign up today: Choose from hundreds of courses created by the
world's top educational institutions. Courses are open to anyone, and financial aid is available.
2. Learn on your own schedule: Watch short video lectures, take interactive quizzes, complete
peer graded assessments, and connect with fellow learners and instructors.
3. Achieve your goals: Finish your course and receive formal recognition for your
accomplishment with an optional Course Certificate.
Distribution Channels
The primary distribution channel for our e-learning service is Online Video on Demand Streaming
to media devices such as Smart Phones, Tablets, Smart Televisions and PC.
32. Operations Plans –
Describe your plan for cost, quality, variety and responsiveness of the new line
The four dimensions of operational performance are shown below
Cost
• Labor – Development costs of software engineers, subject matter expert, marketing, and finance
departments involved with creating the course.
• Fees imposed by Cloud Campus’s partner.
Quality
• Performance quality is based on how user friendly the application is to users and how well the
end-product met the expectation of the learner.
• Process quality is measured through learner feedback of the new course to ensure the product’s
function met the expectation of the learner.
Variety
• The number of Specializations, requiring a combination of standalone course, is limitless.
Time
• The number of mints for learners to spent in Cloud Campus.
• The number of days it takes learners to finish a course once its enrolled.
36. Timetable of Activities
Implementing the e-learning feature in Cloud Campus will occur in six project phases, passing five
major milestones as shown below.
37. Evaluation
Success Evaluation
• Success will be evaluated using big data and personalized analytics to study relevant quantitative
and qualitative collected data and compare it to the predictions made by the company’s algorithm.
Evaluation Criteria
The criteria used to evaluate success will be the following:
• Relevance: Recommended content and the user’s interest on selecting the recommended content.
• Effectiveness: User’s satisfaction with the system’s output and interaction outcome.
• Accuracy: The system’s precision on predicting how much each user will rate content based on
their preference and history.
Collected Data
Data collection will be focused on the following:
• Search Behavior
• Ratings
• Comments
• Activity
Data Collection Method
• Data will be collected through the project’s web interface/app and analyzed by our algorithm at
the company’s Data Center, collection will be done constantly every time each user logs on.
38. References
• E-Learning Market Trends & Forecast 2014 - 2016 Report A report by Docebo
• University of the future by Ernst & Young
• Leveraging MOOCs for Credit-Granting Institutions: Results from a Community College Pilot
Study by Damian J Bebell and Rebecca Petersen
• Developing and Implementing Effective Instructional Stratagems in STEM by Dr. Khosrow
Ghadiri