Intoweb

What Intoweb is

Intoweb is a South African business software company based in Kyalami, Midrand, that sells HR, financial, intranet and learning systems as online modules. Its learning product is EduLearn, which the company calls a Learner Management System and describes as "an eLearning (online) software application for learner training, administration and documentation of training content." EduLearn comes in two versions on one platform: a corporate version for training employees and a college version for running a training institution, college or university. That gives it two readers in this directory, an HR or training team at a company and the administrators of a school or college.

The homepage says the software is "Fully built in South Africa for Africa, with clients all over Africa, from governments to NPOs to private organisations." Its counters show 1500 clients, 55 modules and 15 countries, and it lists a Best Digitisation South Africa award in the Business Excellence Awards 2020.

The corporate version

In corporate mode, EduLearn is used "to upskill staff to reach competencies in their area of work, for induction or management courses and for staff ongoing contineous learning such as Continuous Professional Development (CPD) courses." The homepage explains how it works: employees are imported and linked to an eLearning program or an induction, and they can request courses and browse a library of eLearning material. Staff can be attached to short ad hoc courses, to full programs or to classroom training.

The corporate side ties into Intoweb's HR modules. A skills management module, EduSkill, sits on top of the learner management system and handles employee development plans, and the HR suite covers competency assessment, appraisals, induction software and skills development alongside leave, records and attendance. The homepage's LMS summary lists eLearning, assessment, skills, feedback, marks, class management, learning costing, applications and bursaries, plus PDP, CPD, WSP and ATR.

The link to HR also runs the other way. Through the HR self-service platform, the homepage says, employees can update their details, apply for leave, complete appraisal forms, see their skills development plan, access online learning and induction courses, and read policies and procedures and digitally sign that they accept them. The HR modules can assess employee competencies, find skill gaps and build personal development plans that feed into the learner management modules.

The college version

For colleges and universities, EduLearn is a student administration system as much as a learning platform. The homepage says the college version "manages all students demographic and online registration process." The feature list covers student personal details, photos, student numbers and student cards, bulk email, and enrollment into courses or programs with start and end dates, academic and calendar years, suspension, exemption and discontinuation, terms and graduation.

Each module carries course information, a lecturer, an assessor and a moderator, credits and a pass mark. Evaluation types are percentage, pass/fail, meets requirements or DNMR, NYC/C/HC (not yet competent, competent, highly competent) and custom, and assessment criteria can be set by item, module, criteria and requirements. The feature list also names SAQA compliance, a module NQF level and mapping of unit standards to assessment criteria. Modules link into programs, with module certificates and program certificates, branch mapping and study years.

Classroom administration is covered too: class management with bulk class marks, lecturer and assessor rights per module, comments on each assessment component, a daily attendance register and photo clock in and clock out. The LMS overview groups this under analytics, with "Various student reports, programme and course reports" and multiple competency options. Reports include academic transcripts, program reports, term reports and a proof of evidence report, and staff can keep student notes, meeting notes, merits and demerits and a log of student issues. An optional eCommerce feature allows courses to be bought online.

Course delivery

Courses are built from components. The LMS page lists eLearning, online assessment, offline marks for assessments and practicals, assignments, documents and videos, blended learning types and "Interactive video webinars for synchronous learning". Components carry test marks, weighting and deadlines, and some further component types become available only with the EduCentre student portal. The overview promises the ability to add an unlimited number of courses and states the system is "SCORM integratable". The LMS supports multiple branches of a training institution with unlimited numbers of students, and the company describes it as user friendly for assessors, trainers and teachers.

The Edu modules

EduLearn is one of several education modules that Intoweb sells as parts of what it calls the Edu Intranet: EduLearn for learner management, EduAssess for assessment (the LMS page also points to EduQuiz, online assessment software), EduTrain for eLearning content delivery, EduFin for college finances, EduClass for classroom booking, EduCentre as a student portal and EduSkill for employee development plans, plus a contacts module and attendance software. The homepage adds that Intoweb can combine these modules into a customized learner management system "from courses to finances to registrations". Because the LMS "can be fully integrated into the other Intoweb Modules", a college can run fees and bookings next to marks, and a company can link training to HR records, leave and attendance.

Support, pricing and the wider suite

The homepage lists high availability, high security, redundancy, confidentiality and reliability as platform qualities and says support and training for the Intoweb software are provided. Pricing is handled by the sales team: the LMS section links to a pricing page, the homepage asks buyers to contact the company for pricing or a demo, and separate sales lines are given for HR and intranet and for LMS and financial software. Beyond learning, Intoweb sells intranet software with document and knowledge management, forums, helpdesk and workflows, and a financial suite with procurement, budgeting, invoicing and payroll, which matters for buyers who want one vendor across these functions.

Who it suits

EduLearn suits South African and other African training institutions, colleges and companies that need to record competencies against qualification frameworks, issue certificates and transcripts, and manage enrollment, attendance and marks in one system. Corporate HR teams that already use or plan to use Intoweb's HR modules gain the most, since training, skills plans and employee records live together. Organizations looking mainly for a polished content authoring tool will find the product weighted toward administration and records rather than course building.