Skillsoft awarded Star Status
SkillSoft, a leading provider of elearning and performance support solutions, has announced its ‘Star Status’ accreditation from UK-based workplace engagement specialists, Best Companies. Best Companies – co-creator of the annual ‘Sunday Times Best Companies to work for in the UK’ survey – established Best Companies Accreditation eight years ago with the aim of identifying excellence […]
Software Satisfaction Awards 2009 open for entries
Entering its fourth year, the race is now on for Sift Media’s prestigious Software Satisfaction Awards 2009. Based on the UK’s biggest single market research survey, the Software Satisfaction Awards are based on ratings from business software users of the products they use in the following areas: ease of use; functionality; reliability; and value for […]
Web 2.0 puts elearners in the driving seat
What does Web 2.0 mean for the elearning industry? How can we make the best use of this technology in meeting individual and organisational learning and development needs? Chris Mayers explores how Web 2.0 technologies can enhance both the experience and management of learning. The other day I took delivery of my new business cards, […]
HMRC warns of danger from scam emails
Fraudsters are targeting taxpayers with thousands of scam emails in the run up to the 31 January Self Assessment tax deadline HM Revenue & Customs has warned. The scams tell the recipient they are due a tax refund and ask for bank or credit card details so that the fictitious tax refund can be paid […]
Top reads 2008: Real Evaluation Transforms Organisations. By Paul Kearns
Real evaluation is a state of mind and has absolutely nothing to do with happy sheets, questionnaires or surveys. Arguments about whether ROI is the Holy Grail and declarations of a preference for one particular evaluation model over another completely miss the point. Paul Kearns discusses the benefits of real evaluations. The point is no […]
Help us find the training professional’s favourite gadget
Executive peripherals guru Nigel Harris is back again this year with his festive countdown of the best gadgets of 2008. Once you’ve read his choices below, we want to hear your suggestions. Nigel updates his Christmas Gadget Countdown as Christmas approaches, but as an interactive site, we want to hear your nominations and votes for […]
Best read features of 2008
It’s that time of year when we reflect on the highs and lows on TrainingZone.co.uk in 2008. Here’s the list of what grabbed your attention most on site in the last 12 months. Most of the features in our top reads have been written by our own staff – experienced feature writers Louise Druce, Verity […]
Tony Buzan to open Learning Technologies
The Learning Technologies 2009 Conference will open with a keynote address by Tony Buzan, the creator of Mind Mapping, on why in difficult economic times businesses should be increasing not decreasing L&D budgets, explaining how investments in intellectual capital are amongst the most important businesses will ever make.“In a marketplace where competition is fierce and […]
Virus Alert: Internet Explorer 7 vulnerable to drive-by downloads
Security researchers are warning that serveral thousand websites are taking advantage of a ‘zero-day’ vulnerability spotted in Internet Explorer, John Stokdyk, our technology editor reports.According to IDG’s Robert McMillan, the flaw in how Internet Explorer handles XML (Extensible Markup Language) was initially discussed on a Chinese language website more than a week ago. By the […]
2008: That was the year that was…
2008 is a year few of us will forget in a hurry. But as the credit crunch rolls into recession, it has been interesting to hear so many voices stress the importance of investing in skills. So how has L&D fared over the past 12, turbulent, months? Rebecca Midgley asked some key industry figures about […]
From minor to major: Sheffield the ‘elearning capital of Europe’
At first glance it is perhaps an unlikely contender, yet Sheffield is shouting its merits loudly and is fast becoming the elearning capital of Europe. Annie Hayes talks to the experts behind Sheffield’s transformation as an ehub. The digital campus The creative and digital industries in Sheffield: The stats Employs over 20,000 people 32% employment […]
Ten steps to creating the perfect blend
Francis Marshall shares some tips on how to create successful blended learning programmes. Blended learning programmes can play a key role in driving down the cost of training, speeding up learning and making training more accessible to a wider audience – all important in the current economic climate. Here are my tips for developing successful […]
Elearning: What is it good for?
Taking your first steps with elearning? Rob Hubbard gives some advice on where it works well – and when you should consider other training methods. My two-year-old son loves ‘Bob The Builder’: the cartoon handyman who can turn his hand to anything. He has a positive ‘can-do’ attitude and attacks each job with great gusto. […]
A week in training: Education and Skills in the spotlight
It’s all about education and skills this week following the landmark Education and Skills Act 2008, Sir Alan Sugar signs up to back the push for apprenticeships, Universities Secretary John Denham’s University Challenge looks set for success and a new report suggests women may make better leaders than men. Almost a decade after last addressing […]
Learning technologies in the spotlight
The Association for Learning Technology’s annual conference, ALT-C 2008, brought together over 700 delegates and more than 100 speakers from all over the world. Catherine Dhanjal reports on some highlights from the conference. Here are some highlights from the ALT conference: a report on two presentations from the business sector, and a fascinating seminar on […]
Second Life: Flamboyant fantasies or the future of learning?
Picture this: Mermaids tweaking the finer points of a business plan with jet-propelled business people wearing turbo-charged loafers. Welcome to the phenomenon that is Second Life. Avatar playing in virtual worlds is taking off apace, but can this really be learning or is it just time-wasting gaming? Annie Hayes reports. What is it?Second Life is […]
Free, flexible software for elearning
With elearning on a stellar rise, more and more organisations are looking to introduce or improve their online learning management systems. Ray Lawrence considers the software options. A wide variety of software packages is available to allow companies to manage their elearning systems. These include proprietary solutions, systems developed in-house, and open source software. Of […]
A week in training: The £65m skills booster
This week: there’s a £65m pot for boosting skills in science, manufacturing and engineering, managers show support for extending flexible working to all, learndirect launches an interactive game to boost literacy and numeracy, and staff show a lack of trust in their senior managers. £65m skills boost for science, manufacturing and engineeringSemta, the sector skills […]
The rise and rise of elearning
Why has elearning seen such phenomenal growth over the past two decades? After starting out clunky and chunky, it has successfully adapted to meet today’s business needs, says Chris Parr. Traditionally, elearning was notorious for simply putting manuals online. In its infancy, elearning was characterised by a rather unintelligent ‘just in case’ usage, centred on […]
Effective elearning: Ten top tips
Dr Jo Cheesman provides essential pointers for getting the most out of elearning. 1. Focus on performanceEffective elearning should improve both the individual and the organisation’s performance. It’s important to identify individual learning objectives in line with organisational goals and learning strategy, and to design elearning that meets both needs.2. Put measurements in placeIt’s surprising […]