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The
headings in this section have been changed yet again to reflect
better the true contents covered.
News (USA)
Saba to Acquire Centra (Oct 05)
Oct
12: Saba announced that it will acquire Centra Software, a
Lexington, Mass., collaborative learning provider. The acquisition
is expected to close near the end of the year.
© 2005 VNU Business
Media
Questionmark
Partners with Zeroed-In for Results Tracking (Oct 05)
Oct 13: Assessment software provider Questionmark today announced
that the Questionmark Perception assessment management system has
been integrated with CLO Dashboard, an innovative learning and
performance dashboard system from Zeroed-In Technologies.
©MediaTec Publishing Inc 2005
Blackboard to Acquire WebCT
(Oct 05)
Oct 19: The
second major acquisition of the month in the e-learning space was
announced on Oct. 12. Blackboard, a provider of enterprise software
and services to the education sector, announced that it would
acquire WebCT, a Lynnfield, Mass.-based competitor.
© 2005 VNU Business
Media
Utica National Insurance Selects
GeoLearning LMS Suite (Oct 05)
Oct 19: GeoLearning, a West Des Moines, Iowa-based managed learning
service and learning platform provider, announced last week that
Utica National Insurance Group in New Hartford, N.Y., has selected
its GeoMaestro LMS suite. The insurance provider will use the
software to deliver training content and manage enterprise-wide
employee performance.
© 2005 VNU Business
Media
Growth in Training Outsourcing will continue in 2006 (Oct 05)
Training
outsourcing will continue its impressive growth in 2006, including
an expanding role in HR outsourcing contracts, researchers predict.
The forecast was part of an industry assessment delivered at ASTD's
Outsourcing Learning: Trends and Strategies conference Oct. 18-19 in
Arlington, VA.
©Learning Circuits 2005
SumTotal Systems Reports Preliminary Results, Names Interim CEO
(Oct 05)
Oct 19:
SumTotal Systems Inc., a provider of learning and business
performance technologies and services, announced its preliminary
financial results for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2005, and
the appointment of Donald Fowler, chair of the company’s board of
directors, as the company’s interim CEO.
©MediaTec Publishing Inc 2005
SumTotal CEO Steps Down (Oct 05)
19 Oct: Less
than a month following its acquisition of Pathlore Software Corp.,
SumTotal Systems has announced the resignation of CEO R. Andrew
Eckert. Board Chair Donald Fowler will serve as an interim
replacement for Eckert, who left to accept a CEO position in a
different industry.
© 2005 VNU Business Media
Oct 20:
Provinent announced its merger with VitesseLearning, forming a
customized learning company with $20 million in combined billings.
©2005 Questex Media Group Inc
Oct 20: Find out which
companies and products have the best potential to change the future
of the learning and training industry.
©2005 Questex Media Group Inc
Element K Selected by IBM (Oct 05)
26 Oct:
Element K, a Rochester, NY-based learning solutions and services
provider, announced on Oct 21 that it will develop learning content
for Domino 7.0, Workplace and IBM WebSphere Portal. The development
agreement gives IBM customers access to Element K modalities such as
instructor-led training, e-learning courses, hands on virtual labs
and reference materials.
© 2005 VNU Business
Media
SyberWorks LMS Suite Offers Online Question Creation (Oct 05)
26 Oct: Waltham, MA-based e-learning solutions and learning
management system (LMS) provider SyberWorks has announced the
introduction of online question creation. The new functionality,
which uses information stored in SyberWorks Training Center LMS
database to compose questions, requires no knowledge of HTML, Flash
or e-learning development. Users are able to create questions such
as single-correct, multiple-correct, true/false, fill-in-the-blank
and item-matching over the Internet.
© 2005 VNU Business
Media
CLO Symposium - 29-30 Oct, Huntington Beach, Awards (Nov 05)
A
list of awards announced at the symposium.
©2005
MediaTec Publishing Inc
Intrepid Learning Solutions to Provide MSN
With Outsourced Training (Nov 05)
02 Nov:
Intrepid Learning Solutions, a Seattle-based provider of training,
consulting, outsourcing and research services, has won a multiyear
contract to provide the MSN division of Microsoft Corp. with
outsourced training services for its sales team. The services it
will provide MSN include learning strategy and assessment,
curriculum design, development and maintenance, instructor-led
training delivery and management, training administrative services,
and training evaluation, measurement and reporting.
© 2005 VNU Business
Media
OnDemand Software Offers New LCM System
(Nov 05)
02 Nov:
OnDemand Software, a King of Prussia, PA-based division of Global
Knowledge, has announced the availability of its Pathways v.4.5, a
learning content management system that allows companies to design,
manage and deliver Web-based instruction. The technology, which
aggregates and integrates all of a company's learning content in a
Web-based environment, enables expanded use of educational
materials. Existing browser deployment content can be
used to create courses and add assessments so all online learning is
accessible through a common interface.©
2005 VNU Business Media
LCMS Market to Grow 30 Percent (Nov 05)
Nov 3:
Bersin estimates the Learning Content Management Systems market at
$60 million today.
©2005 Questex Media Group Inc
CLO Symposium EMEA - 2-3 Nov, Barcelona, Keynotes (Nov 05)
The
main messages delivered by the five keynote speakers.
©MediaTec Publishing Inc 2005
Saba Releases Competency-Driven HCM Solution (Nov 05)
Nov
8: Saba, a provider of human capital management (HCM) solutions,
announced that has introduce a comprehensive competency management
solution.
©MediaTec Publishing Inc 2005
LearnShare Releases LMS for Small- to Mid-Sized Companies (Nov 05)
Nov
10: LearnShare, the consortium of Fortune 1000 companies organized
to research, design, purchase, package and share best practices in
the training and development field, announced the launch of LearnPak,
an affordable, feature-rich learning management system designed to
meet the needs of small and mid-size companies. LearnShare's
LearnPak combines many of the features and functionality of the
LearnShare LMS, designed by and for its large company membership,
stocked with off-the-shelf discounted content from recognized
providers on a pay-per-use basis.
©MediaTec Publishing Inc 2005
Cisco Joins Push to Increase Women in IT (Nov 05)
Nov 16: San Jose, CA.-based electronic network provider Cisco
Systems is troubled by the 19 percent decline of women in the
information technology field that the Information Technology
Association of America (ITAA) has noted over the last eight years.
Last week, the company announced that it had joined forces with the
National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) to combat
the problem. ©
2005 VNU Business Media
Oracle Adopts OnDemand Software for End-User Training (Nov 05)
Nov
16: King of Prussia, PA - OnDemand Software, a division of
Global Knowledge, announced that Oracle Corp. will use the OnDemand
Personal Navigator learning platform to develop an enhanced version
of the Oracle User Productivity Kit, an end-user training solution
that will cover all of the Oracle enterprise software product lines.
©MediaTec Publishing Inc 2005
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News (Europe)
Brightwave
delivers e-learning for Microsoft Tablet PC resellers
(20 Oct 05)
Brightwave
has teamed up with Microsoft to create a product knowledge course
that’s delivered on the topic of the training: the Tablet PC. The
e-learning programme aims to increase knowledge of the Microsoft
Tablet PC and its features among Microsoft’s value-added resellers.
Designed in a cartoon style with a ‘road warrior’ theme, it is now
being rolled out to Tablet PC resellers across the UK. "By
increasing the product knowledge among its resellers, Microsoft
hopes to not only increase its bottom line sales, but also improve
the general awareness of the Tablet PC’s unique features," said
Charles Gould, managing director for Brightwave. "The course uses
scenarios and stories to help resellers identify selling
opportunities, understand the product’s unique selling points and be
able to demonstrate it confidently to a variety of target audiences.
"Gould added: "E-learning was the best training vehicle in this
situation because the majority of resellers are on the road a lot so
they need to be able to access the training from anywhere. And what
would be better than using the topic of the training - a Tablet PC -
as the actual training tool!"
© TrainingReference.co.uk 2003 - 2005
Freelance
suppliers resource MoD project (04 Nov 05)
Freelance
trainer suppliers BroadSkill and Synergy have been selected as the
resource providers for one of the UK's largest IT user training
initiatives. The suppliers say the project is valued at over £3
million in year one and involves training around 175,000 staff. In
March of this year, the ATLAS consortium was selected by the MoD to
supply Increment 1 of the Defence Information Infrastructure
(Future) project. Over 10 years, the project aims to replace
numerous individual information systems throughout the MoD with a
single, more efficient information infrastructure. BroadSkill and
Synergy say they will provide the end user training element as
sub-contractors for EDS, the prime contractor for the ATLAS
consortium. The project will include Microsoft Office 2003 and
Windows XP training. It is envisaged that the delivery will consist
of a mixture of classroom-based training and floor walking. This
first phase is expected to run for a year from this December and
will involve up to 100 trainers and training coordinators. To help
with resourcing, the two providers say they will establish an 'ATLAS
Academy' designed to reskill suitable military personnel who are
reaching the end of their engagements as trainers. Stephen Fletcher,
MD at BroadSkill, said: "This is a tremendous opportunity for some
of our existing freelance trainers to secure long term work. I'm
also pleased by the establishment of the ATLAS Academy which will
provide an injection of new talent into the training industry and
allow those making the difficult transition to civilian life to
establish new rewarding and profitable careers." Daniel Hanlon, MD
at Synergy, said: "We went through a tough bid process in
competition with some of the largest training providers in the
industry and I'm very pleased that our offering has been deemed to
be the most attractive. Our focus now is on working closely with
BroadSkill and ATLAS to make the delivery an equal success."
© TrainingReference.co.uk 2003 - 2005
Where are the UK's
Chief Learning Officers? (09 Nov 05)
Major UK employers do not seem to recognise the need to appoint
Chief Learning Officers, according to recent research. Of the top
FTSE 100 companies surveyed by training firm Thomson NETg, only one
unnamed firm employs a chief learning officer, compared with about
50% of Nasdaq 250-listed companies in the US. In the US, the
position of chief learning officer has increased in popularity over
the past five years. Businesses in the UK risk falling even further
behind their American counterparts if they fail to react,
researchers warned. One of a chief learning officer's key
responsibilities is to link staff development with business goals to
ensure the workforce has the right skills to drive the company
forward. For any business to prosper, the strategic planning and
implementation of coherent and comprehensive training is imperative,
said Mike Summers, director at Thomson NETg. "There is an empty
chair at the boardroom table in nearly all UK-listed companies," he
said. "Our poll clearly highlights gaps in UK business strategies
and that we're far behind the US in viewing staff development as a
strategic business factor."
© 2001 - 2005 The Training Foundation
Lloyds TSB Selects SumTotal (16 Nov 05)
SumTotal Systems, a Mountain View, CA,-based provider of learning
and business performance technologies and services, announced last
week that U.K. bank Lloyds TSB has deployed the SumTotal Enterprise
Suite. The financial house will use the technology to improve
employee performance as part of its Performance Learning Management
System initiative, a push to centralize and automate the company's
learning functions.
©
2005 VNU Business Media
Capita survey
finds positive views on budgets (24 Nov 05)
A survey of attendees at the recent
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Conference
found that 80% believe training budgets in their organisations will
either remain the same or increase in 2006. The poll, undertaken by
Capita Learning & Development, also found that over 75% of
respondents believe that training is given appropriate attention
within their organisation. "These findings suggest that employers
recognise that people are an organisation’s finest assets",
commented Sally Worsley-Speck, research manager at Capita Learning &
Development. "High quality training is in demand and today it’s
imperative that employers see newly acquired skills in action and
the added value that training brings to that organisation." 60
people were questioned in the survey which also found that 93% of
senior managers had so far attended a training course in 2005.
Management level courses in 'management and leadership' and 'people
skills and communication' (19% each) were identified as key skills
which organisations would benefit most from.
© TrainingReference.co.uk 2003 - 2005
Industry News from IT Skills Research (Nov 05)
What's going on in the world of IT
training and skills.
© Copyright 1998-2005 IT Skills Research
IT Training Press Releases (Nov 05)
Press releases in Nov 05. ©Training Press Releases 2005
Back to top
Reviews and Current Trends
Market Monitor 2005 Q3 (from IT Skills Research) – Nov 05
© IT Skills
Research Programme 1998-2005, last modified 22 Nov 2005
The Chief Learning Officer’s Investment Portfolio: One Year Later
(Nov 05)
In 2004, members of the CLO Business Intelligence Board were
surveyed on how their organizations would invest in learning and
development over the next year. One year later, Peter McStravick of
IDC takes a look back and a look ahead at next year's investment
forecast.
©MediaTec Publishing Inc 2005
Death of the Corporate University, Birth of Learning Services (Nov
05)
In
his High Impact Learning Organization®
research
and workshops,
Bersin talks with training managers and directors about their
challenges in organization, management and governance. Nearly every
organization tells him the same thing: their current organization
model for corporate training is undergoing a dramatic change. This
article summarizes these changes and what they mean for you.
©2005 Bersin and Associates
Back to top
Training Manager/Director Development
Life of a Training Manager: More Resources, Please (Oct 05)
One dilemma that
most Training Managers would love to have is to be blessed with an
over abundance of work. While at first glance this might seem to be
an attractive proposition, this situation also however presents
tremendous challenges.
©2005 Questex Media Group Inc
In Conclusion
This series of
articles from
Jeanne C Meister, the vice president of market development at
Accenture Learning, gives us a view on the changing role of the
training manager/director.
©2005
MediaTec Publishing Inc
What’s on the Mind of Your Senior Executives? (Nov
05)
Business Intelligence & Learning: Improving Customer
Service & Sales
(Oct 05)
The CLO’s Role: Marketing Learning Success
(Jul 05)
Learning’s Role in Transforming the IT Workforce
(Jun 05)
What’s In a Name?
(May 05)
The CLO’s Role: What’s Next?
(Apr 05)
Back to top
Selling and Marketing Education
Why Learning Must Be Marketed
(Oct 05)
Enterprises make
significant investments into the marketing and sales of their
products and services, easily ranging from 10 percent to 50 percent
of total costs. This is very different when you look at the average
corporate learning function. Typically, learning functions spend
significant percentages of their budgets in product (course)
development or acquisition, but assume that their customers
(employees) will come and buy. Their investments in marketing and
sales are almost nonexistent. Nick van Dam explains why.
©MediaTec Publishing Inc 2005
Sell Learning to Gain Executive Support
(Nov 05)
Executives understand that corporate education activities bring
value to an organization in many ways, but that understanding does
not always translate into financial support for learning initiatives
or development programs. Often, chief learning officers must present
a case to gain the funds required to bring their learning plans from
paper to post. The Center for Effective Performance has come up with
five actions learning leaders can employ to help gain executive
support. Kellye Whitney explains.
©MediaTec Publishing Inc 2005
Back to top
Learning Media
Emerging Technologies – A detailed Report (Aug 05)
A very
comprehensive overview from AU of the state of learning technologies. This
report covers all the key areas - VoIP, blogs, wikis, standards,
pedagogy, e-portfolios, podcasts, and so on.
©Australian
Capital Territory, Canberra, 2005
Blended Learning Automates the Business of Training (Oct 05)
The emerging
trend of "blended learning" takes advantage of new technologies to
address varied needs while making the most of the training budget.
©2005 Questex Media Group Inc
Standards – heaven or hell (Oct 05)
Learning
Circuits, in conjunction with E-Learning Network News, ran a short
survey in July 2005. Donald Clark of EPIC looks at the results then looks at
the views of the many dissenters and sceptics who do not see
standards as having provided value for money.
©2005 EPIC
Creating an
Environment that Facilitates Informal Learning (Oct 05)
There are dozens of different
ways to dispense learning and development opportunities to teach,
encourage use of learning tools and otherwise foster acquisition of
the skills and knowledge required to enhance performance and create
the bottom line impact that all organizations want. But informal
learning, the kind that happens between co-workers outside the
classroom, should not be discounted. Studies have shown that when
Bob asks Sally one desk over to show him how to conduct X or Y
procedure, that learning is just as effective and often more
long-lasting than learning derived from another source. Further,
there are many ways to encourage this type of just-in-time knowledge
sharing, and capture the knowledge for future use.
©2005
MediaTec Publishing Inc
Learning Management - the Enterprise Approach (Nov 05)
The high-impact
learning organization can be vitally linked to the management system
that serves as its foundation. However, there are some pitfalls to
successful implementation. Josh Bersin describes how to choose an
enterprise LMS.
©MediaTec Publishing Inc 2005
E-Reference: The Real Just-in-Time Training (Nov 05)
Bob Mosher was recently talking with
a colleague about how blurred the definition of e-learning has
become. For many organizations, it means an online tutorial or
Web-based training. For others, it involves different modalities,
such as synchronous technologies. And for others, it includes Web
communities driven by threaded message boards, blogs or wikis. The
point here is that e-learning has expanded tremendously, and you
seem to need a scorecard to know the players.
©MediaTec Publishing Inc 2005
Taking E-Learning on the Road (Nov 05)
Your company has an
e-learning package that is immensely popular at home. Feedback and
measured results indicate that employees are engaged, informed and
motivated when companies use your approach. But when you take your
package abroad - either at the request of a global corporation that
wants to reach non-English-speaking employees in other countries, or
as part of an aggressive marketing plan to reach new customers
overseas - you suddenly see your ratings and effectiveness plummet.
What went wrong?
©2005 Questex Media Group Inc
Is the time right for mLearning? (Nov 05)
Everyone's asking for increased efficiency while workers are
spending more and more time out of the office. Is it a surprise
then, that more and more companies are turning to mobile learning.
©2005 Mindcrossings
Course Management Systems Versus Learning Management Systems (Nov
05)
One question that vexes many e-learning specialists is, "What is the
real difference between course management systems (CMSs), like WebCT
and Blackboard, and learning management systems (LMSs), like
NetDimensions EKP, Saba, and SumTotal?" Here's a description of what
CMSs are and the issues that arise when using them, followed by a
similar discussion of LMSs.
©2005 Learning Circuits
Review: SumTotal 7.0 (Nov 05)
SumTotal also sets a high standard for balancing elegant design and
a flexible user environment. Especially notable is the new workspace
for training administrators and the common interface used for both
the standard reporting and analytics.
©2005 Learning Circuits
Can computers teach skills? (Nov 05)
When any trainer
is first introduced to the concept of e-learning, they are likely to
come up with the same key questions. In this article Clive Shepherd
asks: "What exactly is e-learning, and when should I use it?".
©2001 - 2005 The Training Foundation
Meeting the Challenge of Global Training Programs (Jun 05)
This white paper from Adayana discusses their multi-lingual
courseware development for multi-national clients.
©2005 Adayana
Trend: 3D Training (Nov 05)
3D training. It might sound like something out of a science-fiction
novel, but it’s starting to happen now. From the basic to the
complex, 3D approaches are under development and—in some
cases—already available.
©2005 Learning Circuits
Learning-based games in training - engaging minds (Jun 05)
This white paper from Caspian Learning discusses one innovative
aspect of the use of technology in training and that is the marriage
between 3D gaming technology with learning and memory science.
©2005 Caspian
Learning
Proof of Learning: Assessment in Serious games (Oct 05)
In
Houston, Texas, a new hire steps onto a simulated offshore drilling
platform and rehearses safety protocols. In Washington, D.C., a
firefighter surveys a digital raging forest fire and chooses
locations for trenches and firebreaks. A soldier in Iraq prepares
for an upcoming mission using a detailed simulation of the urban
battlefield. And a high school student in Portland, Oregon, manages
the political campaign of Abe Lincoln as he tries to beat out Rudy
Giuliani in the presidential elections of 2008. Games and game
technology are poised to transform the way we educate and train
students at all levels. Education and information, skill training,
even political and religious beliefs can be communicated via video
games. But these games and repurposed game technology, collectively
called "serious games," have yet to be fully embraced by educators.
©2005 CMP Media
Inc.
Back to top
Case Studies and Projects
Case Study - Implementing an enterprise-wide LCMS (Oct 05)
This case study profiles
a financial services firm that is using a Learning Content
Management System as the repository for an enterprise-wide content
management strategy.
©2005 Bersin and Associates
Case Study - Learning Objects (Nov 05)
This case study looks at
the more strategic side of learning content management by studying
the business requirements of Greene Consulting.
©2005 Bersin and Associates
Case Study: Blended
Learning Fuels Sales at Toshiba (Nov 05)
Toshiba America Business Solutions keeps winning awards for turning
dealer training into sales of its office equipment. And with good
reason.
©2005 Learning Circuits
Back to top
Measuring Education Value
Seven Key Learning Indicators your CEO really needs to know (Oct 05)
Chris Moore describes his seven KLI's in the Learning Dashboard.
©2005 Zero-ed In Technologies
Buy versus Build (Oct 05)
Considerations for Clients buying CLO Dashboard.
©2005 Zero-ed In Technologies
Validating Knowledge through Testing and Assessment (Nov 05)
Ensuring that learners leave training with the skills
they need is essential to the CLO's mission. Taking a performance
approach to testing and assessment leads to greater productivity,
fewer errors and more confident employees.
©2005
MediaTec Publishing Inc
Back to top
Managing Costs/Outsourcing
Outsourcing the learning function: Laying the groundwork for a
successful transformation (Aug 05)
Recently, IBM completed a major research effort to better
understand some of the key decisions and risk mitigation strategies
associated with multiprocess HR outsourcing. As part of this
research effort, we conducted interviews with a range of providers,
consultants, academics and individuals responsible for outsourcing
arrangements. The findings from this research, coupled with our
experience in helping clients outsource their learning function,
provides us with some important insights that influence the ultimate
success of a learning outsourcing effort. This report focuses on how
organizations can apply the lessons from our research and experience
to their own learning functions.
©2005
IBM Corp
Training Process Framework (Nov 05)
To assist
those not so familiar with the processes inherent in structured
training organizations and to assist in standardizing the
terminology associated with training business process outsourcing,
TrainingOutsourcing.com has created the
"Training Process Framework".
This framework defines 22 business processes within four functional
process categories. Your organization may use a different
nomenclature for these processes but our research shows that all
learning organizations perform each of them at some level of
sophistication.
©2005, TrainingOutsourcing.com
A Successful Outsourcing Engagement, Step-by-Step (Nov 05)
To conduct a successful
outsourcing engagement, learning organizations must devote
considerable time and energy to pre- and post-planning. Jim Hanlin,
Ph.D, chief operating officer of TrainingOutsourcing.com, describes
the relationship between the learning organization and its
outsourcing provider like dating. “You’re learning about each other
through examination, questioning, documentation, further
clarification. You need to get that dating out of the way before you
get married,” he said.
©2005
MediaTec Publishing Inc
Back to top
Instructor Resourcing
No
articles this month.
Education Administration
No
articles this month.
Skills Gap/Technical
Certification
Microsoft Learning Solutions Tied to Product Launches (Nov 05)
New IT certifications support launches
of Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server 2005 and BizTalk 2006.
©Questex Media Group Inc
Microsoft's new generation of certification programmes (Nov 05)
Microsoft Learning has announced a new three-tiered
certification programme that it says will better reflect the
changing IT environment and the needs of IT professionals and
developers. In this article, Lutz Ziob, general manager for
Microsoft Learning, discusses how the evolution of certifications
and learning tools aims to meet the demands of today's IT
departments.
© TrainingReference.co.uk 2003 - 2005
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