ASTD's Learning Circuits Express: December 21, 2000

TrainingZone

ASTD’s Learning Circuits Express: December 21, 2000

By TrainingZone

Learning Circuits Express is a free information service provided by Learning Circuits, ASTD’s online magazine about e-learning (http://www.learningcircuits.org). Forward this newsletter to friends, co-workers, and colleagues to share the latest in e-learning news, trends, and community.

CONTENTS
1. Harvard, Stanford Partner on Executive Education E-Learning
2. Thinking Outside the States
3. The Match Game: E-Learning Content and Delivery
4. Getting IT Support for E-Learning
5. What’s on Your Holiday E-Wish List?
6. Take a Two-Minute Survey (Prizes to be Won!)

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1. HARVARD, STANFORD PARTNER ON EXECUTIVE EDUCATION E-LEARNING

Harvard Business School recently announced the launch of a nonprofit subsidiary, HBS Interactive, that will develop custom e-learning content on management education topics for clients. The organization will be separate from the business school's publishing unit, HBSP, which has its own e-learning arm and a library of business-skills multimedia and Web-based courseware.

The new organization "aims to be the world's premier source for custom executive education," the school stated in a release. HBSI, which will develop e-learning content and blended learning approaches that combine e-learning with classroom training, will compete with a crowded field of for-profit companies in the custom development niche.

HBS also announced a partnership with Stanford University to jointly explore development of management education via e-learning. A handful of Stanford Business School professors are already working with e-learning developer Pensare to develop management education e-learning; the partnership with Harvard adds a second corporate e-learning initiative for that institution.

"Over the past several months, as we have explored the advantages of working together, we have become enthusiastic about the opportunity to deliver online an unparalleled management education portfolio to executives and leaders around the world," said HBS dean Kim Clark in announcing the partnership. Stanford Business School dean Robert Joss said the demand for management skills "has never been greater, and the demand for innovative approaches to management education is high" in his own statement on the alliance.

Under their partnership, the two Ivy League schools will draw from course materials and existing online learning programs as the basis for future management education offerings that will be delivered online. The partners, which include both Harvard's newly formed HBSI subsidiary and its publishing division, together with Stanford's business and engineering schools and its learning technologies arm, did not say when such offerings would appear.

The announcements, together with a separate announcement by IBM Mindspan Solutions of its own management education offering, underscore the growing interest in business skills and other soft skills by content developers in the corporate and academic arenas. Consultants predict swift growth for soft-skills content as the IT training market becomes saturated and e-learning platforms are adopted by more Fortune 500 firms.

MORE NEWS: http://www.learningcircuits.org (select Newsbytes)

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2. THINKING OUTSIDE THE STATES

According to instructional designer Samantha Chapnick, Europe is forging ahead in the e-learning arena. And four forces are converging, she says, that may help it challenge a U.S.-dominated market: Europe's technological infrastructure and adoption, its government initiatives, a firmly entrenched value of training, and a history of distance learning.

READ: http://www.learningcircuits.org

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3. THE MATCH GAME: E-LEARNING CONTENT AND DELIVERY

You've decided to take the plunge into e-learning. You've resolved the bandwidth, firewall, and network connection issues; now you need to decide how to deliver the content. Confused? Overwhelmed? Remember the basics!

READ: http://www.learningcircuits.org (select eLearning 1.0)

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4. GETTING IT SUPPORT FOR E-LEARNING

IT makes a vital ally in the push for e-learning. But some trainers are going the extra mile and becoming IT experts in their own right.

READ: http://www.learningcircuits.org

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5. WHAT’S ON YOUR HOLIDAY E-WISH LIST?

Come on, electronics hounds. Tell us what’s on YOUR wish list this year: digital camera, MP3 player, game console, PDA, e-book reader, or DVD player. Cast your vote and see how others weighed in.

VOTE: http://www.learningcircuits.org

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6. TAKE A TWO-MINUTE SURVEY (PRIZES TO BE WON!)

We’re approaching the end of our first year of Learning Circuits, ASTD’s online magazine about e-learning, and we need your feedback to help guide us into 2001. Look for a link to our online reader survey in your emailbox soon. BONUS: We're giving away ASTD E-Learning Road Maps to 10 randomly chosen survey respondents!

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