The Column - September 2007 - (Page 26)

Q&A The Column www.thecolumn.eu.com September 2007 My name is EARL A comprehensive e-training program called EARL has been launched by Crawford Scientific to boost the practical and theoretical expertise of chromatographers. The Column’s Alasdair Matheson spoke to Tony Taylor, technical director, to find out more. What is EARL and why was it developed? EARL is the Electronic Analytical Reference Library — an on-line resource for analytical chemists to learn about the principles and practices of techniques used in separation sciences. It has been developed over the past eight years by the analytical chemists and training professionals at Crawford Scientific, with significant contributions by colleagues from industry, academia and instrument vendors. The library uses modern web-based multimedia techniques to present a wide range of topics in analytical chemistry, including high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography (GC), liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) and solid-phase extraction (SPE) at present. More content is continuously being added. Over 1500 pages of information is arranged in a searchable database for easy access and can be used for “on-demand” learning or as part of pre-programmed courses of study. It was developed to improve and simplify access to high-quality information on analytical theory, techniques and instrumentation and satisfy a need for web-based, on-demand learning. Importantly, this approach aims to improve the quality and effectiveness of web-based training and learning by using high-quality multimedia, accurate and comprehensive Contact: Tony Taylor E-mail: tony@crawfordscientific.com content coverage and high levels of user interactivity (Figure 1). The original version of EARL sprung from a need to provide long-term support to learners who had attended one of our face-to-face training events. This remains very important, but the site is now also used by clients worldwide for induction training, instant learning in the workplace and continuous professional development (CPD). As clients can have their own in-house training material added to the site, many are now adopting EARL as their main on-line training resource, with direct links from their own intranet sites. You collaborated with Paisley University on this project. What was their input? At Crawford Scientific we have a training team who are highly experienced analytical scientists, as well as an in-house team of multimedia developers and programmers. However, we identified at an early stage that these teams lacked knowledge in the pedagogical aspects of web-based learning. Our concept for EARL is to develop the site to the highest educational standards, so that our users have the best learning experience possible. Paisley University, based in the West of Scotland, has an international reputation for developing and delivering web-based learning, and have for many years delivered very 26 http://www.thecolumn.eu.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Column - September 2007

Contents
News
High-Speed Amino Acid Analysis of Beverages
Has Chromatography Been Helped by the Internet?
Market Trends and Analysis
Detecting Solvent Residues in Packaging Foils Using Headspace GC
ExTech 2007 Report
My Name Is Earl

The Column - September 2007