In The Press
Sylvan Learning Uses MadCap Flare to Provide Web-based Help for Employees at 900-plus Tutoring Centers
Leading Provider of In-Person and Online Tutoring Takes Advantage of Flare’s Single-Source Multi-Channel Publishing to Deliver Documentation in Print and on the Web
La Jolla, CA, USA – August 3, 2011 – MadCap Software, Inc., the leader in multi-channel content authoring and a showcase company for Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Visual Studio and Microsoft XPS, today announced that Sylvan Learning is using the MadCap Flare to publish documentation for the employees at its 900-plus education centers. By taking advantage of MadCap Flare’s functionality for single-source multi-channel publishing, Sylvan Learning now can create both print and Web-based training documentation from the same source code, which allows employees to access the information they need in their preferred format.
Sylvan Learning, headquartered in Baltimore, MD, is the leading provider of in-center and live, online tutoring to students of all ages, with instruction levels ranging from grade school to college prep and state exams. With some 30 years of experience, it has helped more than 2 million students to achieve success through Sylvan’s proven process and personalized tutoring methods.
In the past, in-person training for Sylvan’s 900-plus centers in North America has served as the primary vehicle for preparing new center staff. Increasingly, Sylvan is using technology-based training to create richer learning experiences. With this move has come the need to deliver the documentation that supports Sylvan’s training both in print and on the Web.
“For years, the documentation to support our training was published in PDF files, but with more tutors taking advantage of technology to enhance their teaching, we wanted to add an online Help system that would be easier for our support staff and educators to use,” explains Melissa Nelson, Sylvan technical documentation specialist. “We really liked the efficiency of an authoring tool that would let us publish to both print and the Web. And after getting so many great references for Flare from the tech writer community, we decided it was the right software for our needs.”
Despite the industry endorsements for MadCap Flare, initially there was concern that its next-generation XML architecture would make the authoring tool complex to use. However, working with Flare quickly eliminated those fears.
“Flare has all these wonderful features that sound challenging, but when you use them, they’re great,” Ms. Nelson notes. “It’s clear that the processes in Flare were created by tech writers for tech writers, and the features are very intuitive. For me, that ease of use is one of the most exciting things about Flare.”
Ease of use also has come in MadCap Flare’s ability to import Microsoft Word documents, allowing the many knowledge experts within Sylvan to contribute content using the familiar desktop application.
“We have five departments that provide content: operations, technology, customer care, education, and marketing,” Ms. Nelson explains. “Now we just tell them, “Use this heading and font,’ and then when they send us their content, they can see it on our online Help. That has been really valuable.”
Another popular feature in Flare has been its glossary function, Ms. Nelson notes. “We have a lot of educational and technical acronyms in our documentation, so I love the glossary tool. I don’t have to stop while writing to provide a definition for the term. Instead, I just use the glossary link tool, which lets users click on the term to see the glossary description.” She adds, “This is also the type of feature that makes it easier for our users, who typically don’t like to read documentation, to access the information they need.”
Significantly, the use of Flare for online documentation is part of Sylvan’s evolving training strategy at Sylvan Learning, which is moving to include support, and in the future, online content will be linked directly to Sylvan’s training application.
“That’s the exciting thing with Flare,” Ms. Nelson says. “You don’t need two tools, and that means a seamless experience for both our technical communications team and our users.”
“As one of the world’s premier providers of tutoring services, Sylvan Learning has built a reputation for delivering meaningful information in the ways that best empower its students to learn,” said Anthony Olivier, MadCap Software founder and CEO. “We are excited by Sylvan’s success in taking advantage of MadCap Flare’s single-source, multi-channel publishing to extend its print documentation to the Web, and create an intuitive, easy-to-use vehicle for users to access the information they need. We look forward to supporting Sylvan in this next phase as the company links its online Help and training application, leveraging the easy integration made possible by the native XML architecture of Flare.”
About Sylvan Learning
Sylvan Learning is the leading provider of tutoring to students of all ages, grades and skill levels. With 30 years of experience and more than 900 centers located throughout North America, Sylvan's proven process and personalized methods have inspired more than 2 million students to discover the joy of learning. Sylvan's trained and Sylvan-certified personal instructors provide individual instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, study skills and test prep for college entrance and state exams. Sylvan helps kids develop the skills, habits and attitudes needed for lifelong success. Visit www.DrRickBlog.com to share your personal academic experiences and comment on academic trends. For more information, call 1-800-31-SUCCESS or visit www.SylvanLearning.com.
About MadCap Software
MadCap Software is a trusted resource for thousands of companies around the globe for single-source, multi-channel authoring and publishing solutions designed to streamline the process of developing and delivering training content, learning and development programs, technical documentation, online Help, knowledge bases, and more. From authoring, publishing and translation, to cloud-based content management system, to contribution and review in the cloud, you can streamline content delivery and manage the entire content development lifecycle with MadCap Software. MadCap Software’s services include product training, consulting services, translation and localization, and an advanced developer certification program. Headquartered in San Diego, California, with offices in Austin, TX, MadCap Software is home to some of the most experienced software architects and product experts in the content development industry.
