The TrainingZone LearningWire - Issue 46

TrainingZone

The TrainingZone LearningWire – Issue 46

By TrainingZone

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The TrainingZONE LearningWIRE - Issue 46
26 April 1999
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk
The Learning Community
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Copyright (C) 1999 Sift plc. All rights reserved.
This material is distributed free to trainers, learners, managers
and coaches. It may be reproduced in any medium for non-commercial purposes as long as attribution is give,

From the Editor
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Last week's special issue on experiential learning sites was very well received. Several people replied with additional sites and comments. One error though: the reference to the four learning styles should have been credited to the work of Peter Honey and Alan Mumford, not to David Kolb. Thanks for all the feedback. If you missed the feature articles and links, you can catch up on
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3709&d=1

We are planning several further thematic Special Issues for later in the year. Some of our guest editors are also preparing Special Issues; would you like to contribute one too? Meanwhile, this issue continues with our usual update on News, Internet Monitor and PressZone postings.

Next week's issue will focus on training and development in Scotland. Do you have any suggestions for sites we should feature?

Tim Pickles,
Editor, LearningWIRE and TrainingZONE
mailto:tpickles@trainingzone.co.uk

ADVERTISEMENT
/------------------------------------------------------------

Part-Time MA in Management Learning at Lancaster University
-----------------------------------------------------------

We are now recruiting for the part-time MA in Management
Learning (MAML) at Lancaster University, scheduled to begin
in September 1999. MAML has been running for 18 years, and
is the leading programme for management educators, developers and consultants in Europe. It is an advanced programme combining
academic, professional and personal development opportunities
within a self-managed learning community, and takes place
over a 24-month period. There are no examinations on MAML;
assessment being carried out through a combination of seminar
papers, project and dissertation.

http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/ManLearn

or contact Tracey-Louise Smith mailto:t.l.smith@lancaster.ac.uk.
Tel: 01524 594 021.

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LearningWire currently reaches 1,380 organisations every week.
Put your message before this focused audience of people engaged
in training, learning and development.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/help/advertise.html

Thought for the Week
==================== (thanks to Graham Guest for this one)

"Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught."

- Oscar Wilde.

Internet Monitor
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Glasgow Learning Alliance
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In an earlier issue, we focused on the creation of Learning Communities. Glasgow is just one of the cities seeking to become a "learning promotion environment" for all its citizens. The Alliance is a partnership between all the main public agencies and it now has an active website run by the Glasgow Education and Business Partnership.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3712&d=1

IPD launches Training and Development Network
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The Institute of Personnel and Development has this month launched a new online Training and Development Network - but restricted access to IPD members only. The service provides bulletin board facilities, a digest of current Institute research, copies of policy statements and a selection of books and articles. Undoubtedly the most useful facility will be the bulletin boards but it seems counter-productive to us to make this facility member-only. Another grumble is that the 'Please email me when this site is updated' facility has never worked - at least for me - on the IPD website.
http://www.ipd.co/uk/tdnetwork

Web Training Company reduces IT training costs
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The Web Training Company provides a library of more than 200 Web-based IT training courses. You can now order online at the specially reduced annual subscription price of 90 GBP
http://www.web-training.co.uk

Self-development ideas
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The Personal Space Training and Development website provides a range of self-development ideas and activities for users to access and use.
http://www.personalspace.co.uk

Report on the Lifelong Learning National Conference
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A full report on this conference held last year on 5/6 November in London can be obtained online. More than 200 delegates attended the event which included ten speeches and seven workshops. Most of the material is published on the site.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3630&d=1

Self-study language training packs
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MicroWorld produce a very extensive series of audio tapes and packs to assist staff in learning new languages. These resources are used extensively by businesses seeking to build foreign business. The catalogue of products is available from
http://www.microworld.ndirect.co.uk

Support for Better Business
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The Better Business website is a mine of information for small businesses, entrepreneurs and freelancers. Much of the information is highly relevant to individuals and small organisations running training and consultancy operations. Check out the site for newsletters, feature articles and good advice.
http://www.better-business.co.uk

Supporting S/NVQ candidates
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FastTrack Associates provide an extensive range of tested support materials to assist people building portfolios of evidence for various S/NVQ awards. Details from
http://www.fasttrack-assoc.com

Order your office supplies online
---------------------------------
Viking Direct, the office supply company now has an online
ordering facility on its website. They promise overnight delivery
anywhere in the UK and same day delivery in London, Leicester and
Manchester. Their online catalogue is still very US-sounding with
supplies such as "eraser pens" and "janitorial" equipment but
perhaps they will translate these in due course.
http://www.viking-direct.co.uk/

Want an anagram?
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Go to http://www.genius2000.com/

Celebrity desktops
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Time Inc's new Picture Collection provids online photolibrary from the major American magazines. Registration is a pain but well worth it.
http://www.thepicturecollection.com/

Problems lead to new version of IE 5.0
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Only three weeks after its release Microsoft has quietly updated
Internet Explorer 5 because there were problems with its
integration with Office 2000. The IE 5.0 update is meant to
remedy relatively minor Office 2000 integration issues, such as
the fact that the French language version has an English spell-
checker. However it does not address two security problems
discovered recently, a DHTML cut-and-paste problem and a separate
yet similar clipboard security loophole. This latter problem is
serious. In effect it means that if you browse around the Web
using IE5, any web server you come across in your travels can
steal anything which is in your clipboard cache without your
knowledge or consent.
https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3654&d=1&

Microsoft announces UK release date for Office 2000
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Microsoft has officially announced that the English language
version of its new Office 2000 suite will go on sale in the UK on
8 June 1999. The new version of Office has its emphasis on
connectivity with the Internet but corporate users appear to be
wary of jumping in on the initial release of Office 2000 given
Microsoft's recent history of prematurely releasing new software,
only to have to rush out early "updates" - for which read bug
fixes.
http://www.microsoft.com/office/Preview/

Internet Governance Reform
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The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN),
the new organisation that is due to take over running the Internet
when Network Solutions Inc's current contract with the US
government expires this Summer (late June), has posted a
discussion paper on its web site suggesting ways in which the
current domain names system can be reformed to avoid trademark
infringement, "cyber squatting" and other forms of domain name
piracy.
http://www.icann.org

1999 tax returns now available on line
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There is now no excuse for recalcitrant freelancers who claim not to
have received their tax returns, since they are now available on
the Inland Revenue site. The Self-Assessment pages contain black
and white printable versions of every 1998/99 Tax Return, and also
the SA150 Tax Return Guide and all the many Helpsheets.
http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/sa/newstyle/content_98_99.htm

Members Questions
=================
The TrainingZone Discussion Area has started to buzz in recent weeks. You may have noticed that we initiated a new Conference around the issue of Learning Organisations with the support of ECLO: this is attracting plenty of postings and exchanges.

Several other people have sent me questions direct:

If you had been asked to speak at a conference for 45 minutes to a group of 90 people from SMEs on Workplace Learning, what would you want to make sure they heard?
mailto:101501.110@compuserve.com

Do you know any resources for jobsearch skills or guidance support?
I am in the process of developing a new model with Nottingham Trent University to put on the internet which would (hopefully)
help people to use Internet resources effectively & help people to work out whether they have thought about & gone through all the elements of jobsearch they need or whether they need help with any particular element.
mailto:flickh@flash.u-net.com

I am currently writing a book on team working called Smart Things to Know about Teamworking for Capstone Publishing and am looking for some good 'stories' of the most progressive/oddest/strangest teamworking practices.
mailto:ACaracciolo@compuserve.com

News Stories
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'Television can make learning fun'
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Most trainers have used TV clips and videos to demonstate a point or enliven a presentation. In a recent speech to the Educational Television Association, David Blunkett cited several examples of the creative use of television to enhance learning. Amongst the programmes he referred to were Blue Peter, cable Documentary Channels, and Open University broadcasting.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3702&d=1

Learning Organisations conference, Glasgow
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The programme for the European Consortium on the Learning Organisation (ECLO) conference has been published online. The event is being held at the Moat House, Glasgow on 19-21 May. If you intend to go, do look us up: TrainingZone will be represented on 20 May.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3711&d=1

Good news and bad news for AOL
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AOL has announced that its worldwide membership now exceeds 17
million. At peak times more than 1.1 million users are looking at
the site simultaneously, which is double the prime time audiences
of the main US cable television channels and is 65% up on the
figure for last year. The bad news for AOL (not headlined by the
company) is that a small number of former AOL volunteer
"community leaders" have complained to the US Department of
Labour about their treatment. They call themselves "Observers"
and have launched a website, Observers.net, to publicise their
grievances. They claim that they have been overlooked and that
they should have been paid for their services.
http://www.observers.net/

More trouble for AOL
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Freeserve has issued a writ for defamation against AOL. The
company alleges that customer service reps from CompuServe (which
is owned by AOL) have been telling customers that free internet
access from Freeserve was only temporary. Dixons complained to
CompuServe at the end of last year that people phoning to cancel
their subscriptions in order to move to Freeserve, were being
advised by CompuServe staff not to do so. They were told that
Freeserve would soon start charging subscription fees.
https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3705&d=1

BT to offer internet voice calls
--------------------------------
BT is reported to be launching an internet-telephony facility -
but only between customers of its 11.75 pounds per month BT
Internet service. The facility will enable subscribers to make
voice calls to other subscribers while they are online. Given the
popularity of free internet services this seems little more than
a token gesture by BT to differentiate its service from the
competition. Users will also find that the quality of 'voice-over
IP' calls is still quite poor. However, "Computing" this week
includes reports from the US where large corporations are
planning to use the internet for all phone calls within the next
year. This is clearly an area to watch, especially with companies
such as VirginNet applying for a UK telecoms licence.
http://www.btinternet.com/
http://www.computingnet.co.uk/

New email access software
-------------------------
We've see a range of hardware capable of accessing e-mail
services, but now there's a software offering that claims to be
device independent. You can get at your mail from a variety
devices, including from a mobile phone, and more importantly, it
offers a full search facility that treats your e-mail archives as
a database. Lexicos from a new British start up, Peramon
Technology was recently unveiled. And the team have a track
record - they're ex Alta Vista folks who lost their jobs in the
post-Compaq takeover.
http://www.peramon.com/

From the PressZone
==================
Would you like your press releases to reach our extensive and informed audience? We can provide you with a facility to post your own unlimited press releases direct to the website at any time.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/help/advertise.html

Pioneereering cheap and innovative Internet Access for old computers
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Kimpton Primary School has become the first school in the UK to incorporate an “Internet Appliance”, the latest Internet innovation for Schools. In a collaborative effort with Andover based Internet computer company Icentrix Ltd, Kimpton school became the proving ground for the new low-cost and environmentally friendly Internet Access solution.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3756&d=1

McGraw-Hill release 61 online learning modules
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Major publishers McGraw-Hill have announced the release of the first 61 online training modules of businesses
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3757&d=1

Solstra delivesr management learning to the desktop
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In partnership with Harvard Business School Publishing, Solstra has launched a programme to deliver just-in-time management learning direct to your desktop.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3701&d=1

About Sift
==========
Sift plc is a leading developer of online communities. Based in Bristol, Sift has also developed AccountingWEB for the accounting sector, BusinessZONE (for the SME market), and TravelMole for the travel industry. At the 1997 Online Information Exhibition at Olympia, AccountingWEB was voted European Information Product of the
Year (and also runner up as Internet Product of 1997).
http://www.sift.co.uk

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Editor: Tim Pickles mailto:tpickles@trainingzone.co.uk
Sift plc., The Mill House, Redcliff Backs, Bristol BS1 6LY
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