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The TrainingZONE LearningWIRE - Issue 42
29 March 1999
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk
The Learning Community
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Copyright (C) 1999 Sift plc. All rights reserved.
This material is distributed free to trainers, learners, managers and
coaches. It may be reproduced in any medium for non-commercial purposes as
long as attribution is given.
From the Editor
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There has been a huge increase in users and subscribers over the past
couple of weeks. If this is the first or second time you've received
LearningWire, please take this as a special welcome. We hope you will find
the service informative, time-saving, and rewarding. It may be helpful if
I offer a slightly longer editorial this week explaining our core focus.
TrainingZone is a 'virtual community'. A virtual community is an
electronic meeting place for people who share common professional interests
- in our case, learning, training, mentoring, staff and organisational
development. As the hosts of this community, we provide you with an
expanding range of services and opportunities:
* Regularly updated and focused INFORMATION delivered to you direct.
This includes training related news and information
(https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/news), and the option of selecting
relevant world news of your choice to be streamed to you
(https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/alerts.html). We also provide a
company database of all UK companies so that you can research
current or prospective clients and contacts
(https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/icc).
* The opportunity of COMMUNICATING with other people engaged in
similar work or on related projects to you in the Discussion Area
(http://emily.sift.co.uk:8000/~9): explore issues, post questions,
offer and receive coaching, seek contacts.
* An expanding LIBRARY of resources and briefing papers to use
(https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/toolkit) where you are welcome to
PUBLISH your own materials. You can also publish your own
stories and press releases
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/news
* Opportunities to PROMOTE your work to a focused audience through a
variety of advertising outlets
(https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/help/advertise.html), through the
PressZone and by adding your information to any of the Directories
we are about to launch.
* The ability to SEARCH for the right contact, facility or resource
and obtain matched, relevant results
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/search.html.
* Coming shortly will be TRANSACTION opportunities for selling
and buying products and resources through the site.
* And every week, you are kept IN TOUCH through the LearningWire
edited digest (https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/learningwire).
There are several other virtual communities being developed. Here are a
selection:
https://www.accountingweb.co.uk(for accountants)
http://www.amazon.com(for book readers)
http://www.seniornet.com(for senior citizens)
http://www.travelmole(for the travel industry)
To read more about the development of virtual communities, check
http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/netgain
If you like what you see, please tell colleagues. Distribute LearningWire
as freely as you like and encourage others to subscribe. We assure you,
it's completely free.
As always, thanks to all those who've sent me feedback - and a particular
thanks to those who've offered their services as Topic Experts and Guest
Editors. Please keep sending me details of interesting sites and postings
from around the Internet.
Tim Pickles,
Editor, LearningWIRE and TrainingZONE
mailto:tpickles@trainingzone.co.uk
ADVERTISEMENT:
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LearningWire currently reaches 1,150 organisations every week. Put your
message before this focused audience of people engaged in training,
learning and development
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/help/advertise.html
From this week's Internet Monitor
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Association for Outdoor Education
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This recently renamed organisation has launched a helpful website. It
still needs some more development as bits of it don't work properly, but if
you use the 'outdoors' as part of your development methods, it's worth
watching. The site presently runs a feature on spirital values and outdoor
education
http://www.outdoor-learning.org
The qualities of effective training and development professionals
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This opinion piece article by Richard Denny appeared in the last issue of
'People Management' magazine. By the time you read this, the article will
have been placed in the archive and can be easily searched for.
http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk
Collaborate 98 - A virtual conference about virtual teams
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This is another excellent example of virtual conferencing, run by ASTD. It
attracted 450 delegates, and although the conference has now closed, the
reports are fascinating.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3364&d=1
We'll bring you news of further virtual conference as we see them.
Why do people in disadvantaged areas have low skill levels?
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The answers may seem obvious, but this is a major area of concern for the
'social inclusion' agenda. DfEE sponsored Policy Action Teams are
examining the issue around the country. There is an opportunity to put
forward your views and experiences through the Lifelong Learning website.
I could encourage the many people with strong views on this subject to do
just that. Feedback to our Discussion Area would also be welcome.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3474&d=1
Workers Educational Association
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A pioneer in the field of adult and continuing education, the WEA has a
well-designed website with plenty of information about informal education,
District associations, courses, events and other adult learning
opportunities. The WEA has had to redefine its role in recent years but is
emerging as a strong and vibrant player.
http://www.wea.org.uk
Training and Enterprise Councils
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A year ago we asked readers if they new of any sites listing all the
English and Welsh TECs: no-one did. Now there are several sites with this
facility. The Training and Enterprise Council maintains its own site with
a full listing and plenty of news.
http://www.tec.co.uk
And here are some other highly useful websites which may well be valuable
to your work even though they do not relate specifically to training and
development. You will find these and similar useful 'general' links in our
Links pages.
Train tickets
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At last, Virgin have set up a website where you can buy train tickets for
any UK rail network and take advantage of all the various ticketing
discount schemes. Once set up, it remembers your details.
http://www.thetrainline.com
Phone number changes
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This summer we're in for another round of telephone code changes. This
affects five areas of the country (including London) as well as mobile,
pager, freephone and premium rate numbers. You can find out your new code
at
http://www.numberchange.org
Recent training-related news
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The latest issue of the Experiential Education Directory for March with
reviews and postings from current websites around this issue
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3417&d=1
New workshop runnign in Dundee during April from Insights enabling people
to be accredited in their approach to team and organisational development.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3416&d=1
The DfEE has announced a 44 million UKP for the University for Industry in
1999-2000 and expects a million courses to be available by 2004 with
hundreds of local learning centres.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3449&d=1
Latest issue of the Training Journal from Fenman has several features
available online including the Peter Honey column, latest training
resources, and the role of Training Departments following a merger or
company acquisition.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3463&d=1
Teambuilding - a reflective article and some pertinent questions for
managers before diving headlong into this approach as a panacea.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3461&d=1
Annual report form the DfEE suggests (not surprisingly in this government
public relations blitz?) that the government is on target to meet its
election pledges about training and education.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3470&d=1
Latest statistics on New Deal uptake across all programmes are now
available.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3471&d=1
The March/April issue of ASTD's Technical Training Magazine has been
published this week. You'll find the full contents (some of which are
available online) at
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3484&d=1
From the PressZone
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Wit - Interactive, computer-based training for Windows. A series of
programmes available in several languages to provide support and training
in computer use. Details at
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3472&d=1
The Training Solutions and IT Training Show at the NEC, Birmingham in July
has nearly doubled the number of exhibitors retaining its position as the
fastest growing UK training event.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3433&d=1
Coming next week
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It might be Easter, but we'll still find your news, reports and postings to
keep those still at their desks fully up-to-date. Already we've got:
- A review of Internet Explorer 5.0
- More on the CPD virtual conference
_ Information about the Companies Database.
_ Plus all the latest developments
About Sift
==========
Sift plc is a leading developer of online communities. Based in Bristol,
Sift has also developed AccountingWEB for the accounting sector,
BusinessZONE (for the SME market), and TravelMole for the travel industry.
At the 1997 Online Information Exhibition at Olympia,
AccountingWEB was voted European Information Product of the
Year (and also runner up as Internet Product of 1997).
http://www.sift.co.uk
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Editor: Tim Pickles mailto:tpickles@trainingzone.co.uk
Sift plc., The Mill House, Redcliff Backs, Bristol BS1 6LY
Tel:+44 (0)117 915 9600 Fax:+44 (0)117 915 9630
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk
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