With the US being a couple of steps ahead of the UK in fully embracing the possibilities of communicating electronically, it's perhaps no suprise that two of the best free e-mail newswires TrainingZONE has come across (with the exception of our own LearningWire, of course!) come from 'across the pond'. Here, we look briefly at some of the original content being produced for the sites which publish these e-mail newsletters.

First off, there's USA site about.com, which seems to provide information on just 'about' anything - there are detailed links and content on over 700 topics. Recently added to About's lifelong learning pages are a couple of interesting articles on the role of motivation in adult learning.

Judy Smith, President of internet education site SiteTrainer.com puts forward suggestions for six key patterns in the way that adults learn. There's also a feature bringing to gether a series of articles on overcoming and identifying resistance to learning.

Much of the site has a US outlook (there's lots of material on business schools and the education system in the US in general), but features like these are also relevant to a worldwide readership. There's an interesting article examining the changes in international education around the globe over the last 12 months.

Online Learning News is published by VNU Business Media, another source of good in-depth features and articles on topics related to online learning in particular. One of the most recent newsletters reports on the need to put yourself in the position of the learner before using Likert scales in evaluation forms or 'happy sheets'. Online Learning News tends to concentrate on a single topic within each wire, rather than providing a summary of different articles, adding in comments from contributors to the week's debate from visitors to the website. This particular edition of Online Learning News also looks at outsourcing e-learning and looks to readers for help in identifying a mathematical formula for calculating the length of time needed to complete an online-learning course.

To sign up for any of these e-mail newsletters:

• For TrainingZONE LearningWire, go to LearningWire and click on 'subscribe'
  
• For Online Learning News, go to www.vnulearning.com and click on 'free online newsletters'
  
• For About/Continuing Education Newsletter, go to adulted.about.com and click on 'free newsletter'