Product: blueU.com website
URL: http://www.blueu.com
The mysteriously-named BlueU is an example of a learning portal. It provides access to a range of online learning resources from various suppliers, whether for individual learners or organisations. There are now very many learning portals, some specialising in personal development, some in education and some in professional skills. BlueU is in the latter category, concentrating, for the time being at least, on the IT and general business sectors.
Although BlueU is UK-based, the current catalogue contains a wide range of courses from two leading US publishers - the much-lauded DigitalThink and SkillSoft. The top ten sellers at the moment are all IT courses, the top three being:
1. HTML fundamentals
2. Introduction to SQL
3. Java 2 fundamentals
The site is attractively laid out and simple to use. Individual learners can browse the catalogue and purchase courses online, whereas organisational buyers can contract for larger numbers of learners. Support is provided by email.
Learning portals are not so difficult to set up, so BlueU will have to cope with a lot of competition. To do this, they will in time have to offer an even wider range of courses and their own value-added services. However, this is a well-presented and professional site and should attract a great deal of interest, particularly in the UK.
Reviewer:
Clive Shepherd, Fastrak Consulting Ltd, clives@fastrak-consulting.co.uk
