Questions
Frequently asked
What is a learning portal and does a small training provider need one?
A learning portal is one place where tutors and learners find everything for a course: the register, session resources, recordings and follow-ups. A small provider does not need a full learning management system to get the benefits. Many run perfectly well on Google Classroom, which is free, or on a shared Google Drive with a clear folder per session. A portal like the demo is worth it when you run several cohorts, need attendance for reporting, or keep writing the same catch-up emails. Start with the simplest thing your learners will actually use.
How can AI write catch-up notes for learners who missed a session?
Give Claude the session's slides, worksheet and recording transcript, and ask it for a short catch-up note: the three key points, where to look in the recording and one small task before next week. Zoom and Google Meet can both produce transcripts, which makes this quick. In the demo Claude spots who was marked absent and drafts one note per learner for the tutor to check and send. Always read the note before it goes out, because a summary can miss the point a tutor stressed most.
What is the best free way to take registers and share course resources?
Google Classroom and a Google Sheet cover most small providers for free. Take the register in a sheet with one row per learner and one column per session, share resources in a Drive folder per week, and link to the recording from the same place. Microsoft Teams offers a similar set-up if you already use Microsoft 365. The main cost is discipline: naming files the same way every week and updating the register at the start of each session. A custom portal just makes that consistency harder to skip.
Which platforms does a learning portal like this work with?
The demo uses Zoom for sessions, Google Drive for resources, Google Sheets for registers and Gmail for follow-ups. The same idea works with Microsoft Teams, OneDrive and Outlook, or Google Meet. If you sell courses, platforms like Thinkific, Teachable and Kajabi already include learner logins and course pages, while Moodle is a free open-source option many training providers use. A custom portal makes sense when none of these fits the way you actually run sessions, such as mixed in-person and online cohorts with a register.
How much does it cost to set up a course portal?
It can start at nothing. Google Classroom, Drive and Sheets are free, and Moodle is free to use but needs hosting and some setup. Course platforms like Thinkific, Teachable and Kajabi charge a monthly subscription that depends on the plan. Adding Claude to draft catch-up notes usually means Claude Pro at around £20 a month. A custom portal like the demo depends on the number of courses, logins and reports you need. Most small providers should test the free version for one cohort before building anything.
Is learner data safe in a custom portal?
It needs to be treated carefully. Learner names, attendance, contact details and any support needs are personal data under UK GDPR, and support or health notes are special category data. Each learner should see only their own sessions and notes, tutors should see only their cohorts, and attendance exports for reporting should include only what the report requires. Tell learners what you collect and why, use tools with proper data processing agreements, and be careful about pasting learner details into any AI tool without checking its data settings first.
Can it track attendance for reports?
Yes. Attendance is stored per learner and per session, so it can be exported as a spreadsheet for any report you need to produce, including completion or certificate thresholds such as a minimum attendance percentage. The demo shows a learner how close they are to the level needed for their certificate. Before you build, check exactly which fields your reports require and in what format, then design the register around that, so month-end reporting is an export rather than an afternoon of copying.
