Learning Circuits Express is an information service provided by Learning Circuits, ASTD’s online magazine about e-learning (http://www.learningcircuits.org). Feel free to forward this newsletter to friends, co-workers, and colleagues to share the latest in e-learning news, trends, and community. Scroll to the end of this message for FREE subscription information.
CONTENTS
1. IDC Documents Growth of Integrated Technology Offerings
2. The Case for Level 3
3. Are You Ready for E-Learning?
4. New Product Reviews
5. What Do YOU Call Digital Learning?
6. New E-Learning Knowledge Plus Program
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1. IDC DOCUMENTS GROWTH OF INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY OFFERINGS
Market researcher IDC says training professionals are coming to expect the integrated e-learning capabilities that more vendors are seeking to offer through acquisitions and partnerships. And, vendors are increasingly being asked to help clients develop an organization-wide e-learning strategy.
Those trends are documented in a new IDC report that examines the evolution of training firms in the e-learning era. The report is based on surveys of buyers and providers of e-learning products and services and broader technology trends being tracked by IDC, such as growth of externally hosted application service provider (ASP) offerings.
"Training vendors are being asked to determine an enterprise-wide strategy and design a training program across all functions within the organization to align with that strategy," said report co-author Michael Brennan in a release announcing the findings. With growing frequency, those vendors then host e-learning platforms for customers, and the preference is for systems that contain multiple capabilities, said Brennan and co-author Cushing Anderson. The number of firms offering "end-to-end" e-learning services that include consultative needs assessment and such e-learning delivery options as synchronous and self-paced delivery and learning management functions is growing as more firms acquire or partner their way to integrated e-learning suites.
Pioneers in the end-to-end category, including IBM Mindspan Solutions and Arthur Andersen's Virtual Learning Network, will see more competition as the trend continues, the report predicts. Demand for end-to-end offerings will grow as a result of increased competition among e-learning providers and by a convergence of purchasing patterns between the more mature realm of IT e-learning and the fast-growing business-skills e-learning arena.
The report predicts continued growth of so-called "live e-learning" using synchronous technologies as part of the blended solution more organizations are pursuing. Customer-focused e-learning will also become an important growth market for training providers, it says.
MORE NEWS: http://www.learningcircuits.org (select Newsbytes)
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2. THE CASE FOR LEVEL 3
How do you determine the most relevant and effective measures and evaluation methods for e-learning? According to new research by Brandon Hall and Jacques LeCavalier, focusing on Level 3--job performance-based measures--may be the most promising strategy.
MORE: http://www.learningcircuits.org
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3. ARE YOU READY FOR E-LEARNING?
An e-learning needs assessment is designed to answer these questions: Can we do this? If we can do this, how the heck are we going to? What are the outcomes and how do we measure them? Here's a model that can help with one part of the assessment process--determining your organization's e-learning readiness.
MORE: http://www.learningcircuits.org
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4. NEW PRODUCT REVIEWS
ASTD members-only content! There are scads of e-learning tools on the market, so Learning Circuits is offering condensed versions of objective product reviews from Training Media Review, a publication that evaluates and recommends media-based training products. This month's picks include two online sales-training products from SkillSoft and KnowHowZone.
MORE: http://www.learningcircuits.org (select Product Reviews)
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5. WHAT DO YOU CALL DIGITAL LEARNING?
That's this week's quick online poll question; weigh in with your answer (and see how others are voting):
* distance learning
* e-learning
* online learning
* e-training
* Web-based training.
VOTE: http://www.learningcircuits.org
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6. NEW E-LEARNING KNOWLEDGE PLUS PROGRAM
Expand your knowledge and expertise in the rapidly growing field of e-learning through ASTD's E-Learning Knowledge Plus program. On top of classic membership benefits, you'll receive Training Media Review Online and Newsletter and the ASTD Distance Learning Yearbook. For more information, call ASTD Customer Care, 1.800.628.2783 (international 703.683.8100).
JOIN: http://www.learningcircuits.org
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