Shift Learning

Shift Learning is a consultancy and market research agency which specialises in the education and medical sector. We are experts in marketing research and technology-related consulting, including usability and accessibility testing.

Over the last 10 years we have worked on a great variety of successful projects, some of which we have presented here as case studies. Many of the projects we work on are confidential, so only a small selection of the projects are mentioned here.

Examples of our research work

The Learning Trust, Hackney - schools research project in multiple languages  
The Learning Trust was able to gain a real insight into the views of parents and pupils regarding changes to education within Hackney. We conducted telephone interviews in 7 languages as part of the research.

NCFE  - research into E-Portfolios
Following this research project NCFE was able to access valuable data on the use of e-portfolio systems in their centres. This information has proved useful in assessing future plans to adopt an e-portfolio system.

The College of Continuing Education, Walsall - Further Education institution research project  
As a result of our research the college was able to establish the needs of Walsall's ethnic minority communities and establish stronger lines of communication.

Wiley-Blackwell - Higher Education textbook development case study 
Wiley-Blackwell has benefited from Shift Learning's experience in textbook development by using us as an outsourced development department for some of Blackwell’s Higher Education textbooks in business, social science and humanities. 
 

Examples of our search engine optimisation work

Strategic Analysis of King’s College London, Department of War Studies Online Masters Degrees Websites
King's College gained advice on their online strategy which allowed it to improve its search engine optimisation, choice of keywords, ad campaigns and website effectiveness.

Search Engine Optimisation Review of the BBC Active Programme Catalogue
After implementing our SEO strategy BBC Active was able to significantly improve both their search engine ranking and the user experience.

Examples of our usability and accessibility work

BMJ - comparison of the usability and effectiveness of different point-of-care electronic systems for BMJ
BMJ was able to compare the usage of different point-of-care systems when used in real clinical scenarios.

Palgrave Macmillan - usability testing of their website
Palgrave Macmillan made significant changes to their book catalogue website as a result of this usability test and was able to prioritise future development work.

Letts and Lonsdale - usability testing of their new website
Letts and Lonsdale gained an insight into the positive and negative aspects of their new website, ensuring several potential barriers to purchase were corrected before the site was launched.

Collins Education - usability testing of an electronic product for schools  
Collins found that working with an external agency for their usability testing provided unbiased feedback, fresh ideas and expert solutions to the usability problems highlighted by Shift Learning.

Routledge - Colloquial Italian - overhaul of the companion site for accessibility   
Routledge was pleased to be able to offer the students of the Colloquial Italian book an interactive quiz website which was easy to navigate and accessible to those suffering from disabilities.

Examples of our website work

At Shift Learning our approach to website development is different to most web companies. We use our experience in the educational publishing arena and our author contacts to create websites from start to finish, including needs analysis and content commissioning. We are happy to create a static search engine optimised site or to build the site within your own content management system. Below is a small sample of some of the websites that we have worked on over the past 10 years.

Q&A Support Website
A subject specific site supporting a series of 15 law books including a newsletter style of navigation and a members' forum.

Blanchard Macroeconomics website
A site which we edited and populated in French using Pearson’s own content management system.

Field Statistics website for Sage
For this website we developed the site specification, commissioned and edited the content and built the pages.

McQuails Mass Communications Theory website for Sage
For this website we have used Sage’s own intellectual property (i.e. chapters from their books and articles from their journals) to give the site real competitive edge.

Begg Economics, 9e for McGraw-Hill
Shift Learning commissioned the content, including an interactive Flash graphing tool, and built this site using McGraw's own content management system.