Learning Circuits Express is an information service provided by Learning Circuits, ASTD’s online magazine about e-learning (http://www.learningcircuits.org).
CONTENTS
1. Standards: The Vision and the Hype
2. Study Documents E-Learning Growth in Canada
3. Ten Tips to Optimize Your E-Learning
4. Hey You: Try It!
5. Do You "Speak" E-Learning?
6. The Whole E-Learning Enchilada
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1. STANDARDS: THIS VISION AND THE HYPE
The drive to create industry-wide technology standards for e-learning is gaining momentum and adherents. But some see perils--and posturing--amid the promise.
MORE: http://www.learningcircuits.org
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2. STUDY DOCUMENTS E-LEARNING GROWTH IN CANADA
A study by The Conference Board of Canada released in November characterizes growth of e-learning--and hindrances to faster growth--in that country.
In particular, the study found that cost barriers, a lack of time for companies to pursue e-learning, and a lack of appropriate content undermine more robust growth of electronically mediated training. “We found that much of the learning content available for delivery by e-learning is either not suited to the Canadian market or wrong for specific sector or organizations' needs,” said Debbie Murray, researcher and author of the report, "Keen for the Screen: Canadian Employers Turn to E-Learning for Employee Skill Development."
Still, the report found that 75 percent of Canadian employers use learning technologies of one form or another, which the report defines broadly to include Internet or intranet-based training, CD-ROM-based learning content, teleconferencing technology, and television broadcasts. Based on a survey of 860 employers with a response rate of 13 percent, the report estimates that 58 percent of Canadian employers have used intranets for skill development, and fully 93 percent plan to do so in the future. Some 47 percent of employers have used the Internet for training purposes and 82 percent expect to use the Internet for employee learning in coming years.
Learning technologies comprised 17 percent of all delivery of skill development content in 1999, a figure expected to grow to 24 percent in 2000, the report found.
A vast majority of survey respondents agreed that learning technologies will play a vital role in updating employee skills they say are increasingly out of date, but they cited the technologies’ costs as a significant barrier to greater use. The time available to develop, implement, and use learning technologies was the second most significant barrier to more widespread use. “Ensuring that employees have time to receive skill development, regardless of delivery method, is a critical issue,” the report claims.
The study by the Toronto-based sister organization to The Conference Board is available from the organization’s Website, www.conferenceboard.ca.
MORE NEWS: http://www.learningcircuits.org (select Newsbytes)
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3. TEN TIPS TO OPTIMIZE YOUR E-LEARNING
Digital learning: You love it, you hate it, you praise it, you curse it. Here are 10 tips to smooth out the experience for both learners and instructors.
MORE: http://www.learningcircuits.org (select eLearning 1.0)
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4. HEY YOU: TRY IT!
Want to sample training software, calculators, cool Web services, and other helpful workplace tools? This week's online freebies include:
* Frontline Group's e-learning course on e-learning
* McAfee demos for wireless security center and personal firewall
* HRTools.com sexual harassment IQ test
* Merriam-Webster dictionary button
* and links to lots more!
TRY: http://www.learningcircuits.org (select Try It!)
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5. DO YOU "SPEAK" E-LEARNING?
E-learning’s hot, and everyone has something to say about it. But are we communicating in the same language? We've introduced a primo collection of e-terms and definitions to help you "speak" e-learning. It’s a work in progress, so if you have suggestions for glossary listings, send an email to associate editor Eva Kaplan at ekaplan@astd.org.
CHECK IT OUT: http://www.learningcircuits.org (select E-Learning Glossary)
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6. THE WHOLE E-LEARNING ENCHILADA
From portals to vortals. Startups to one-stops. ASPs to ESPs. The Venn-diagram bullseye of e-learning providers, at least this year, includes companies that claim to offer the whole enchilada of training courses, custom services, and tech tools. Dare I say it: an end-to-end, we're-your-guys, don't-need-anyone-else total solution. And if all press releases that cross my desk are right, that's 95 percent of e-learning players.
MORE: http://www.learningcircuits.org (select @Work)
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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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