LEARNING CIRCUITS EXPRESS
August 18, 2000
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.
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In This Issue:
1. Growth Numbers, Revenues, Point to Solid E-Learning Expansion
2. Make Space for Informal Learning
3. Create a Learning Plan to Sustain E-Learning
4. Go Global Without Going Overboard
5. Pew Panel Tackles Knotty Content Ownership Issue
6. August Online Chat: Collaborative Learning
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1. GROWTH NUMBERS, REVENUES, POINT TO SOLID E-LEARNING EXPANSION
Statistics from several quarters that show continued rapid growth in e-learning adoption are putting the pressure on skeptics who say the field is overhyped.
Second-quarter revenues for major public e-learning providers are up substantially from the comparable period in 1999--in some cases involving increases of 100 percent or more. At the same time, a new survey of companies on their use of e-learning for IT training by market researcher GartnerGroup shows an upward trend with no hint of flattening.
"It's pretty resounding and robust growth in this area, especially considering that this is the mature part of the market," says Gartner senior analyst Clark Aldrich of the study, which surveyed more than 100 Global 2000 firms in a broad sweep of industries--part of a pool of clients surveyed regularly by Gartner to gauge market trends. It found that use of e-learning for IT training grew from 10 to 13 percent of total IT training between 1999 and 2000. That translates into a 23 percent growth rate over one year, a figure Aldrich calls "impressive."
Certain industries showed swift adoption of IT-related e-learning while others posted slower growth. Retail firms saw their percentage of e-learning grow from 8 to 23 percent during the past year, and the IT industry as a whole saw its use of e-learning grow from 17 to 22 percent. Only one sector, agriculture, saw its e-learning use hold steady at 5 percent; no sectors saw a decrease.
"It indicates that the e-learning market is still in its early, high-growth stages," says Aldrich. "And it repudiates the critics who say otherwise." The study extends the trend lines to predict that the percentage of IT-related e-learning will account for 18 percent of all IT training by 2001 and as much as 50 percent by 2003.
Meanwhile, several public e-learning firms reported strong second-quarter earnings. Five firms posted revenues well ahead of Wall Street estimates for the quarter, according to investment firm W.R. Hambrecht & Company. Centra Software's revenues of just over $5 million in the quarter were 22 percent higher than expected, and Click2learn.com posted revenues of $10.4 million, 6 percent above estimates. DigitalThink and Learn2.com were also cited for estimate-beating revenues.
"The faster-than-anticipated revenue growth is serving to push these companies toward profitability faster than expected," said Hambrecht analysts Trace Urdan and Cornelia Weggen in their weekly e-learning market report.
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2. MAKE SPACE FOR INFORMAL LEARNING
A new challenge for e-learning is to create collaborative learning spaces in which informal learning can thrive.
MORE: http://www.learningcircuits.com/aug2000
SEE ALSO: Online chat announcement below
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3. CREATE A LEARNING PLAN TO SUSTAIN E-LEARNING
For e-learning to have a chance for long-term success, you need a plan for modifying the learning architecture. Here's how to do it.
MORE: http://www.learningcircuits.com/aug2000
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4. GO GLOBAL WITHOUT GOING OVERBOARD
Sometimes the best solutions are the simple ones. Here are some ideas for creating flexible training designs to address the needs of a highly distributed and technically diverse audience.
MORE: http://www.learningcircuits.com/aug2000(select eLearning 1.0)
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5. PEW PANEL TACKLES KNOTTY CONTENT OWNERSHIP ISSUE
A report by a panel of higher-education officials, corporate representatives, and legal experts explores the increasingly complex issues around intellectual property ownership in the digital age.
MORE: http://www.learningcircuits.com/aug2000(select Newsbytes)
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6. ONLINE CHAT: COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
According to Dori Digenti, there's growing recognition that valuable interactions often take place through informal learning. Join her for an online chat about creating collaborative learning spaces that support informal learning on Wednesday, August 30 from 3 to 4 p.m. (EST).
CHECKPOINT: http://www.learningcircuits.com/aug2000
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