http://www.namodemello.com.br//tendencias/elearningi.
Re por t s
e - Le a r n in g: D igit a l Edu ca t ion
M arch 2 0 0 1
© Zero Factory, 2001
Plaza Tirant lo Blanc 7-8, local. 08005 Barcelona (Spain)
+34 93 224 01 50
si@infonomia.com
I ndex
SUMMARY.......................................................................................................................................3
E-LEARNING PRIMER ...............................................................................................................4
TYPES OF PROGRAMS ..............................................................................................................7
Free Courses .............................................................................................................................7
How-to's .....................................................................................................................................7
Universities On-line .................................................................................................................8
On-line Learning Alternatives................................................................................................9
Degree and Certificate Programs .........................................................................................9
FIVE WAYS TO CHOOSE A PROGRAM.......................................................................... 10
1. Well-known Content ......................................................................................................... 10
2. Interactivity and Engagement......................................................................................... 10
3. Updates and Reinforcement............................................................................................ 10
4. Communities ...................................................................................................................... 11
5. Centralized Administration............................................................................................. 11
BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS ........................................................................................... 12
The Pros.................................................................................................................................. 12
The Cons ................................................................................................................................. 12
PRODUCT ANALYSIS .............................................................................................................. 15
CLICK2LEARN.COM (NASDAQ:CLKS) ..................................................................................16
LEARN2.COM (NASDAQ:LTWO)............................................................................................18
SMART PLANET .............................................................................................................................20
EM AGISTER ..................................................................................................................................22
HUNGRY M INDS (NASDAQ: HMIN) ......................................................................................24
FATHOM ........................................................................................................................................26
PENSARE ........................................................................................................................................28
SABA (NASDAQ: SABA) .........................................................................................................30
CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................................... 32
CONFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 33
ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS ..................................................................................................... 33
INFONOMIA.COM RESOURCES .........................................................................................34
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Su m m a r y
e-Lear n in g in clu des com pu t er - based lear ning, Web -based lear n in g, v ir t u al
classr oom s and digit al collabor at ion. I t pr ov ides a useful t ool for bot h indiv idual
and pr ofessional st udy .
and cost sav ings.
The benefit s of e- Lear ning ar e gr eat er t han j ust t im e
User s can cust om ize and per sonalize t heir lear ning
ex per ien ce, in cr easin g in t er est , lear n in g an d r et en t ion . e-Lear ning is st ill a
nascent ar ea, applicat ions ar e st ill being dev eloped t o fully ut ilize com p u t in g
pow er ; how ev er , t he choices cur r ent ly av ailable ar e ex cit ing and full of
pr om ise.
Repor t Obj ect iv e
This r epor t discusses t he landscape of e -Lear ning. The differ ent t y pes of
pr ogr am s cov er ed ar e: Fr ee Cou r ses, How- t o’s, On lin e Lear n in g Alt er n at iv es,
Universit i es Online, Degr ee and Cer t ificat e pr ogr am s. Fiv e w ay s t o select a
pr ogr am ar e out lined, and Benefit s and Lim it at ions ar e also discussed.
Pr oduct Analy sis
Tar get Audience
The Pr oduct Analy sis cont ains:
•
The m ain client s, par t ner s and financial infor m at ion.
•
A Descr ipt ion of t he pr oduct ’s f eat u r es.
•
The funct ions it pr ov ides.
People, pr ofessionals and/ or com panies int er est ed in t hr ee ar eas of lear ning:
Academ ic Lear ning, Pr ofessional Dev elopm ent , and Lifelong Lear ning.
Analyzed Pr oduct s
The
analy zed
pr oduct s
include:
Click 2Lear n,
Lear n2. com ,
Sm ar t Planet ,
eMagist er , Hungr y Minds, Fat hom , Pensar e and Saba.
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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e- Le a r n in g Pr im e r
Te l l m e a n d I ’ l l f o r g e t . Sh o w m e , a n d I m a y n o t r e m e m b e r . I n v o l v e m e , a n d I ’ l l
u n d e r st a n d .
- Nat iv e Am er ican say in g
The t er m e- Lear ning cov er s a w ide set of applicat ions an d pr ocesses, in clu din g
com put er -based lear ning, Web -based lear ning, v ir t ual classr oom s and digit al
collabor at ion. I t should not be confused w it h online lear ning, w hich const it ut es
j ust one par t of t echnology -based lear ning and descr ibes lear ning v ia I nt er net ,
int r anet and ex t r anet . 1
e-Lear ning is being posit ioned as t he nex t k iller app.
Fr om boar dr oom s t o
classr oom s t he possibilit ies pr esent ed by t he com binat ion of t echnology and
edu cat ion ar e ast ou n din g. e-Lear ning pr om ises not only t o r em ov e bar r ier s
such as dist ance, but also t o allow a fully cust om izable lear ning ex per ience in
or der t o m ax im ize lear ning and r et ent ion.
I n t he New Econom y , t he r aw m at er ial t hat fuels gr ow t h is k now ledge.
Lear ning is not som et hing t hat w as done in gr ade school or at t he u n iv er sit y .
Know ledge w or k er s m ust cont inually updat e t heir sk ills and m ust do so in an
adequ at e an d fit t in g m an n er .
e-Lear n in g pr ov ides t h e con du it for k n ow ledge
acquisit ion in a com plem ent ar y and fam iliar env ir onm ent for t he k n ow led g e
w orker .
The ed ucat ion m arket in t he w orld t ot als t w o t rillion dollars 2 ( t hat is a 2 w it h
t w elv e zer os) . Wit hin t his figur e w e hav e school cost s, w hich ar e gr ow ing at
15% annually , educat ional soft w ar e, a $7 billion dollar [€ 7 . 5 3 billion] m ar k et ,
1
2
Learnframe. Facts, Figures and Forces Behind e-Learning- August 2000
1997 Industry Figure
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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an d cor por at e t r ain in g, w h ich is ex pect ed t o r each $ 6 2 . 5 billion [ € 6 7 . 3 billion ]
by t he y ear 2003.
Maj or soft w ar e an d I n t er n et com pan ies ar e get t in g in t o t h e gam e as w ell. Cisco
Sy st em s, Micr osoft , AT&T an d I BM ar e all dev elopin g e-lear ning pr ogr am s.
These giant s w ill m ost lik ely lev er age t heir clout w it h collabor at ion soft w ar e and
h ar dw ar e, sear ch t ech n ologies, n et w or k s, ban dw idt h en h an cem en t an d an
abundance of cont ent . 3
Sou r ce: WR Ham br ech t + Co
Ther e ar e new play er s ent er ing t he m ar k et as w ell.
These include com panies
focused specifically on pr ov iding e -Lear ning pr ogr am s.
3
Many of t hese
Learnframe. Facts, Figures and Forces Behind e-Learning- August 2000
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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com panies hav e alr eady gone public in or der t o fur t her fuel t heir gr ow t h con v er t in g t h em in t o a pow er fu l for ce in t h is u n foldin g st or y .
Also, Univ er sit ies ar e launching e-lear ning pr ogr am s.
Most of y our local and
r egion al u n iv er sit ies ar e in t r odu cin g e- lear ning pr ogr am s or hav e alr eady
int r oduced t hem . This is an effor t t o r each new st udent s - t ak ing adv ant age of
an est ab lish ed b r an d an d rep u t at ion - as w ell as offer flex ibilit y t o cur r ent
st udent s.
All t his gr ow t h pot ent ially benefit s t he st udent . How ev er , befor e j um ping int o
e-lear ning, st udent s need t o hav e quit e clear w hat t hey ex pect t o get out of it .
Below w e out line t he t y pes of progr am s av ailable and w hat t o look for in a
pr ogr am in or der t o help m ak e t he best choice possible w hen select ing a
pr ogr am . Whet her lear ning for per sonal gr ow t h or as a pr ofessional, t her e is a
pr ogr am t hat fit s any st udent ’s needs.
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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Ty pe s of Pr ogr a m s
Pr ogr am s can be or ganized int o fiv e gener al gr oups.
These gr oups pr ov ide
ser v ices for indiv iduals and cor por at ions for per sonal or pr ofessional educat ion.
Pr ogr am s r ange w idely in cost st r uct ur e. A cour se for an indiv idual or pe r son al
int er est can cost a few dollar s, w her eas a cor por at e int r anet int egr at ed lear ning
solut ion can cost hundr eds of t housands of dollar s.
Du e t o t h is h igh cost of m ain t ain in g an in t er n al lear n in g solu t ion , m ost
com pan ies ar e adopt in g an ASP (Applicat ion Ser v ice Pr ov ider ) m odel.
This
pr ov ides sm all and m edium sized com panies, as w ell as indiv iduals, access t o
fully cust om izable e -Lear n in g pr ogr am s.
Fr e e Cour se s
Most com pan ies offer fr ee cou r ses. Th ey ser v e as an in t r odu ct ion t o t h e t y pe
of inst r uc t ion an d lear n in g m at er ials t h at ar e offer ed in t h eir pay ser v ices.
Ther e ar e not m any par t icipant s offer ing t op qualit y educat ional m at er ial
com plet ely fr ee. One com pany , nMinds, is offer ing a gr eat lear ning t ool for
en t er pr isin g in div idu als (ht t p: / / w w w . nm inds. com ).
nMinds has gat her ed m any of
t he t hought leader s in business and has assem bled a ser ies of lessons t hat
k eep t he user ( or st udent ) up -t o-dat e on a br oad r an ge of m an agem en t issu es.
How - t o ' s
How –t o cour ses t each day - to- day t ask s t hat ar e helpful t o k now and do not
r equ ir e ex cessiv e effor t t o lear n . Th ese t y pes of cou r ses in clu de ‘How t o Adj u st
t he Volum e on Your Com put er ’, ‘How t o Choose Wine’ and ‘What ar e Som e
Tast y Way s t o Cook Zucchini’. How - t o’s are per fect for self -im p r ov em en t an d
for indiv iduals w ho w ant t o get t he basics of a giv en t opic and quick ly apply
t hem t o t heir needs.
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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This is also called “ j ust- in -t im e” lear ning w hen applied t o pr ofessional lear ning.
The cour ses do not pr ov ide dept h in a subj ect m at t er , but r at her t he
oppor t unit y t o quick ly lear n and apply a new ly obt ained sk ill set . This helps t o
r einfor ce t he lear ning as w ell as im m ediat ely incr ease pr oduct iv it y in t he
w or k place.
Fast Com pany offer s a t y pe of j ust-in - t im e lear ning wit h it s FC LEARNI NG
sect ion ( ht t p: / / w w w .fast com pany .com ) . FC LEARNI NG is designed t o assist cor por at e
t r ainer s or educat or s t o pr epar e t heir classes or sem inar s, but t his ser v ice is
r eadily av ailable for an y on e.
By com bin in g Fast Com pan y ar t icles w it h a
Discussion Guide, t hey pr ov ide a r oad m ap for under st anding t he ar t icle and
t he concept behind it .
Universit ies On- lin e
Many univ er sit ies offer one set of cour ses ov er t he Net and a differ ent set of
cour ses on cam pus. Som e dist ance cour ses can be adapt ed v er sions of off -lin e
m at er ial.
I f t he m at er ial has been r e- w or k ed for t he I nt er net , t he st udent
st ands t o gain. How ev er , in som e cases t he m at er ial has not been r e- t h ou gh t
for an int er act iv e, self-paced en v ir onm ent . These cour ses pr ov e t o be
disappoint ing for t he st udent as w ell as fr ust r at ing. Use car e w hen elect ing one
of t hese cour ses.
One univ er sit y t hat pr ov ides qualit y online cour ses is t he Univ er sit at Ober t a de
Cat aluny a ( UOC) [ Cat alan Open Univ er sit y ] .
Th e UOC (ht t p: / / w w w .uoc.es ) has
est ablished an ex cellent v ir t ual univ er sit y , pr ov iding classes in Spanish and
Cat alan. They ar e also in t alk s w it h univ er sit ies in t he Unit ed Kingdom and t he
USA in or der t o pr ov ide co ur ses in English as w ell as pr ov ide cour ses in Spanish
for any pr ospect iv e par t ner s.
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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On- line Le a r ning Alt e r na t ive s
Univ er sit ies and colleges ar e not t he only sour ce for e - Lear ning: Mult iple
com panies and or ganizat ions offer cour ses. Com panies such as Hu n gr y Min ds
offer t op qualit y lear ning m at er ials. These lear ning alt er nat iv es include specific
m anagem ent t opics, such as I nt er act iv e Mar k et ing, as w ell as m or e t r adit ional
t r ack s can be follow ed leading t o a Mast er ’s degr ee or a specialist degr ee.
These com panies offer an alt er nat iv e t o t r adit ional univ er sit ies, and gener ally
consist of t op- qualit y m at er ials obt ained t hr ough agr eem ent s w it h w ell -k n ow n
publishing houses.
One of t he leader s in t his ar ea is Nint h House (ht t p: / / w w w .nint hhouse.com ) . Nint h
House is designed specifically for businesses.
One of t he r equir em ent s is a
m in im u m con n ect ion speed of a T1 ( 1 . 5 4 4 Mbps) . Th is speed alon e is en ou gh
t o inhibit an indiv idual user ( w hich isolat es as w ell m uch of w est er n Eur ope) .
One lear ning t ool, t he eSer ies, offer s an int er act iv e t elev ision show t hat let s
user s ( or st udent s) pr act ice w hat t hey hav e lear ned w it h each decision t hey
m ak e affect ing t he out com e of t he plot .
Degree and Cert ificat e Program s
A var iet y of cer t ificat ion pr ogr am s ar e av ailable t hr ough m ost lear ning por t als
or specialized pr ov ider s.
These pr ogr am s include Micr osoft , Cisco, and Nov ell
Cer t ificat ion t r ain in g; n et w or k in g; COBOL an d Jav a pr ogr am m in g; dat abases;
Web dev elopm en t an d e -com m er ce im plem en t at ion .
Net g ( ht t p: / / w w w .net g.com ) is one of t he m ar k et leader s in t his ar ea.
They
specialize in t echnology -based I T t r aining, but offer a select ion of gener al
m anagem ent and per sonal dev elopm ent cour ses as w ell.
The cour ses ar e
designed t o be highly int er act iv e- u sin g r eal-lif e sim u lat ion s, an d st r eam in g
audio and v ideo.
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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Fiv e W a y s t o Ch oose a Pr og r a m
What is it t hat dist inguishes one pr ogr am fr om anot her ? Ther e ar e fiv e cr it er ia
t hat can help differ ent ia t e bet w een pr oduct s 4.
For a su ccessf u l pr ogr am , all
fiv e elem ent s should be pr esent . I f one is m issing, car eful consider at ion of t he
pr ogr am should be m ade befor e choosing it .
1 . W e ll- k now n Cont e nt
Wit h so m any com panies and inst it ut ions com pet ing for m ar k et sh ar e,
incr easingly t he best choice is a fam iliar nam e. Many pr ogr am s offer w ell k now n indiv iduals. For ex am ple, Nint h House pr ov ides com m ent ar ies fr om Tom
Pet er s. Click 2Lear n offer s cont ent s fr om w ell-k now n sour ces such as Micr osoft ,
MacMillan and I BM. Addit ionally , consider ing how long t he com pany has been
ar ound, and how long t hey w ill be ar ound is im por t ant . For public com panies,
t his infor m at ion is m uch easier t o obt ain and t he fact t hat t hey ar e public
dem on st r at es t h eir st ay in g pow er .
2 . I nt eract ivit y and Engagem ent
An int er act iv e ex per ience is an engaging ex per ience.
I ncluding feat ur es such
as m u lt im edia, sim u lat ion s an d r ole play in g, v ideo- based t each in g an d
int er act iv e gam es, is a sur e sign t hat t he lear ner w ill be m or e lik ely t o m aint ai n
high int er est in t he lessons, and consequent ly im pr ov e lear ning.
3 . Upda t es a nd Reinforcem ent
Updat es pr ov ide fur t her insight int o t he subj ect . New slet t er s and r ecent ar t icles
br eat h e life in t o t h e su bj ect an d k eep t h e m at er ial cu r r en t .
I n addit ion to
enr iching t he infor m at ion in t he sy llabus, it ser v es as assur ance t hat t he
4
Adapted from WR Hambrecht + Co, Corporate Learning: Exploring a New Frontier
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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indiv iduals pr epar ing t he cour se ar e at t he for efr ont in t his t opic. Not hing is
m or e discour aging t han pay ing for out dat ed cont ent . This feat ur e helps ensur e
t hat y ou ar e get t ing t h e m ost f or y ou r m on ey .
4 . Com m unit ie s
An en v ir on m en t w h er e ideas, r esou r ces, adv ice an d a h elpin g h an d can be
shar ed, fav or fur t her inv olv em ent in t he pr oj ect . Com m unit ies can be used as
an int egr al par t of t he cour se w or k - pr ov idin g a t eam w or k en v ir on m en t as w ell.
Many com panies and univ er sit ies hav e incor por at ed com m unit ies int o t heir
pr ogr am s and cour ses.
I f it is m issing, t ak e a car eful look at t he subj ect
m at t er , and t hen consider if it w ill be m issed.
5 . Cent ra lized Adm inist ra t ion
While t his char act er ist ic is not cr it ical for t he indiv idual user , it is highly
r ecom m ended for cor por at e ent it ies.
Cent r alized t r ack ing can m ak e t he
differ ence w hen ev aluat ing an indiv idual or gr oup’s pr ogr ess.
This includes
assessm ent m et r ics t o help pinpoint em ploy ees n eeds an d goals. Cen t r alized
Adm inist r at ion also per m it s cour se usage t o be det er m ined. Which em ploy ees
ar e using t he sy st em , how oft en t hey use it and w hat t opics ar e being
con su lt ed all can be follow ed cen t r ally in or der t o det er m in e t h e ov er al l su ccess
of t he pr ogr am .
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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Be n e fit s a n d Lim it a t ion s
Ther e ar e m ult iple benefit s t o e- Lear ning. The m ost fr equent ly cit ed ar e
conv enience and cost sav ings. The follow ing point s pr ov ide an out line of t he
pr os and cons of e -Lear ning.
Th e Pr os
I t is a lw a y s on .
24 hour s a day, 7 days a w eek. Because t he lear ning is
digit al and on dem and, st udent s can access t he infor m at ion at any t im e or any
day- alw ay s at t h eir con v en ien ce. Th is sch edu le flex ibilit y is on e of t h e
st r ongest point s in it s fav or .
No N e e d f or Tr a v e l . For t im e pr essed ex ecut iv es, cut t ing out t r av el t im e can
cr eat e t he differ ence bet w een t ak ing a cour se and not t ak ing it . I f a class last s
for t w o hour s and t her e is a one -h ou r com m u t e t o an d f r om t h e cou r se t h at is a
4- hour t im e com m it m ent . By cut t ing out t r av el, t he t im e com m it m ent is cut in
half - an d t h at m ak es t h e differ en ce.
Se le ct iv it y .
You can select t o lear n w hat y ou don’t k now . You can sk ip or
easily pass t opics y ou ar e fam iliar w it h. I nst ead of lear ning being a passiv e
experie nce w her e y ou w ait for t he pr ofessor t o get t o t he par t t hat y ou need,
lear ning becom es act iv e- y ou choose w hat t o look at . This is analogous t o t he
differ ence bet w een w at ching a t elev ision and r eading a book . On t he TV y ou
ar e passiv e and hav e t o w ait .
Wit h a book , y ou can sk ip t o t he chapt er t hat
in t er est s y ou an d scan t h e page for t h e in for m at ion y ou ar e look in g for .
The Cons
How ev er st r on g t h e ar gu m en t s ar e in fav or of e- Lear ning, it is unlik ely t hat eLear ning
w ill
displace
disadv an t ages.
c- Lear n in g
( or
classr oom
lear n in g)
du e
to
it s
Un der cer t ain cir cu m st an ces e-Lear ning is clear ly super ior .
Under differ ent cir cum st ances, it does not fulfill t he st udent ’s needs.
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Digit alTh in k ' s Pet e Goet t n er , ch air m an an d CEO, com m en t ed in an in t er v iew
t hat " A lot of t he sales in e- lear ning t oday ar e happening not at t he end -u ser
lev el, but at t he cor por at e lev el. I t 's dr iv en by business r easons, not because
t he end user s necessar ily lov e it . ” Wit h t hat in m ind her e ar e a few addit ional
poin t s t o con sider .
Fr e e Tim e M e a n s You r Tim e . On e of t h e ar gu m en t s in fav or of e -Lear n in g is
t hat it can be done in t he user s “ Fr ee Tim e” .
This m eans y our t im e.
st udy ing is per sonal in nat ur e, t his is no pr oblem .
I f t he
How ev er , if it is w or k
r elat ed, m any com panies do not r ecognize st udy ing as a v alid subst it ut e for
w or k . Addit ionally , co - w or k er s per ceiv e t hat y ou ar e not doing any t hing. This
can cont r ibut e t o m isunder st andings in t he office.
N o Co n t a ct w it h A Pr o f e sso r. This is pr obably t he st r ongest ar gum ent
against e- Lear ning.
The lack of per sonal cont act w it h a k now ledgeable
indiv idual cut s out unr ehear sed, ser endipit ous lear ning w hile discussing a
pr oblem aft er class.
Ba n d w id t h Re st r ict ion s. Cur r ent bandw idt h r est r ict ions sev er ely lim it t he
m ult im edia cont ent t hat can be dist r ibut ed acr oss t he Net . Com panies such as
Nin t h Hou se h av e specifically design ed t h eir pr ogr am s for a br oadban d
connect ion.
These pr ogr am s ar e r ich, int er act iv e m edium s.
Unfor t unat ely ,
br oadband is not an opt ion for m any w ould-be st u den t s.
I t ’s on a Com pu t e r . I n or der t o st udy using an e- Lear ning pr ogr am , st udy ing
has t o be done at a com put er scr een. This ser iously lim it s st udy t im e. Som e
effor t s ar e being m ade in or der t o ease t his pr oblem .
RCA’s new e -Book s ( REB- 1 1 0 0 and REB1 2 0 0 ) offer hi gh -r esolut ion digit al
docum ent por t abilit y 5.
Th e e-Book is a dedicat ed r eader .
This m eans t hat it
can only be used for book s or for m agazines ( such as Tim e , New sw eek or Th e
New Yor k Tim es) . e-Book s allow user s t o highlight t ex t , t ak e not es and sear ch
for t ex t . While t his specificit y m ak es e-Book s a v iable su bst it u t e for book s ( or
5
e-Book Readers: Easier on the Eyes, Business Week, January 29, 2001
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nov els) , it ’s som ew hat
lim it ing in t he cont ex t
of class not es or Wor d
docum ent s.
I n or der t o ov er com e som e of t hese lim it at ions, r esear cher s at Xer ox ’s Palo
Alt o
labor at or y
hav e
pr ot ot y ped
( ht t p: / / w w w .fx pal.x er ox .com / x libr is/ ) .
an
act iv e
r eading
m achine,
Xlibr is
Xlibr is pr ov ides st udent s t he possibilit y of
t ak ing digit al m at er ials w her ev er t hey go.
I n addit ion t o being able t o v iew
digit al docum ent s, user s can w r it e dir ect ly on t he scr een in or der t o t ak e not es.
Ot her usabilit y issues include highlight ing t he im por t ant w or ds in a t ex t and
sav ing link s r elat ed t o t he m at er ial.
Unlik e t he e-Book , a w ider v ar iet y of
docum ent s can b e u sed- incr easing flex ibilit y and ut ilit y . How ev er , e-Book s ar e
cur r ent ly av ailable on r et ail shelv es; Xlibr is is st ill in dev elopm ent .
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© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Pr odu ct An a ly sis
Th e eigh t pr odu ct s below r epr esen t a sam plin g of t h e t y pes of pr ogr am s
available. Ther e is a pr ogr am for ev er y need- per sonal, pr ofessional; cont ent s
or plat for m s. Highlight ed Pr oduct s ar e specialized or focused on only one ar ea.
Pe r son a l
Co n t e n t
Pla t for m
Pr ofe ssion a l
Sm a r t P la n e t
e M a g ist e r
Fa t h o m
Pensa r e
Click 2 Lear n
Click 2 Lear n
Lear n2
Lear n2
Hu n gr y Min ds
Hu n gr y Min ds
N o t Ap p l i ca b l e
Sa b a
Pen sar e
Click 2 Lear n
Lear n2
Wher e possible w e hav e select ed public com panies for our analy sis, if a
com pan y is n on- public it has been included because it fulfills our fiv e select ion
cr it eria
( Well -k n ow n
Con t en t ,
I n t er act iv it y ,
Updat es
an d
Rein for cem en t ,
Com m unit y and Cent r alized Adm inist r at ion) and is t r uly ex cept ional in one or
m or e of t hese ar eas.
Th e m aj or it y of ou t st an din g pr ogr am s ar e in En glish , alt h ou gh som e Am er ican
co m p an i es ar e adapt in g t h eir con t en t s for Eu r opean lan gu ages.
We h av e
included one Spanish com pany t hat is r epr esent at iv e of t he pr ogr am s cur r ent ly
av ailable in Spain.
Each pr oduct is analy zed w it h t he cr it er ia for select ing an e - Lear ning pr ogr am .
I n addit ion, a descr ipt ion of t he ser v ice and pr oduct s is offer ed.
15
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Click2Learn.com ( NASDAQ: CLKS)
w w w . cl i ck 2 l e a r n . co m
Cl i e n t s: Accent ur e, Pr udent ial, Pr iceWat er houseCooper s, Boeing, HP
Pa r t n e r s: Max im Tr aining, Vault . com , Vignet t e , Go2 Net
Re v e n u e : $ 3 4 . 7 m illion [ €37. 36 m illion] in r ev enue ( FY99)
I n v e st or s: Vu lcan Ven t u r es, Mar sh all Capit al Man agem en t
Su m m a r y
Cr it e r ia
Well-k n ow n Con t en t
Co m m e n t
Pr ov ided by Micr osoft , Net g,
Cat apu lt ( I BM)
I nt er act iv it y and Engagem ent
I nt er act iv e Cour ses and
int er act ive cour se select ion
Updat es an d Rein f or cem en t
Un specified
Com m unit y
Gr oup Cour se Discussions
Cent r alized Adm inist r at ion
Adm inist r at ion t hr ough
Click 2lear n. m anager
Click 2Lear n offer s pr oduct s bot h for t he cor por at ion and t he indiv idual. I n t he
fall of 1 9 9 9 , Click 2 Lear n in t r odu ced it s con t en t aggr egat ion or por t al ser v ices.
Click 2 Lear n is a m ar k et leader in t he t echnology segm ent . They pr ov ide t ools
for au t h or in g as w ell as lear n in g m an agem en t sy st em s.
These t ools include: To o lBo o k I I I n st r u ct o r, a sophist icat ed sy st em for
dev eloping online lear ning applicat ions; To o lBo o k I I Assist a n t, a st ep by st ep
appr oach t o dev elop and deploy an int er act iv e cour se; and I co n Au t h o r N e t
Ed it io n w hich offer s t he abilit y t o dev elop int er act iv e lear ning applicat ions fo r
CD-ROM or a net w or k .
I ndiv idual pr oduct s offer ings include it s por t al, e- Le a r n in g M a r k e t p la ce,
offer ing cont ent in I T and soft sk ills for indust r y pr ofessionals, st udent s and
higher educat ion inst it ut ions.
These cour ses ar e pr ov ided by specialized
16
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
su p plier s.
For ex am ple, Net g pr ov ides “ all y ou can eat ” bundles including
Office 2000 cur r iculum and MCSE ( Micr osoft Cer t ified Sy st em s Engineer )
cur r iculum .
Co n t a ct I n f o r m a t io n
U SA
Eu r o p e
Click 2 Lear n
Click 2lear n. com Lt d
110 - 1 1 0 t h Av en u e N. E. , Su it e 7 0 0 225 Mar sh Wall
Bellev u e, WA 9 8 0 0 4
Dock lands, London E14 9FW,
USA
U. K.
Pho ne: + 1 425 462 0501
Ph on e: + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 7 5 1 7 4 2 0 0
Toll fr ee: ( 800) 448 - 6543
Fax : + 44 ( 0) 20 7517 4201
Sp a i n
AB Gr oup
Glassm ult im edia
ht t p: / / w w w .abgr oup.es/
ht t p: / / w w w .glassm ult im edia.net
Castellana 123
Consell de Cent 106 5t h
Madr id 2 8 0 4 6
Bar celona 8 0 1 5
Spain
Spain
Phone: + 3 4 9 1 5 9 7 3 7 1 6
Phone: + 34 93 292 42 42
17
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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Learn2.com ( NASDAQ: LTWO)
www.learn2.com
Cl i e n t s: MTV. com , Bloom ber g. com , AOL, Bey on d. com , SegaSof t ( Heat . n et )
Pa r t n e r s: Mot iv at ion Online, Bey ond. com
Re v e n u e : $13.6 m illion [ € 1 4 . 6 m illion ] in r ev en u e ( CY9 9 )
I n v e st or s: East / West Capit al
Su m m a r y
Cr it e r ia
Co m m e n t
Well-k n ow n Con t en t
9 0 % of cont ent dev eloped in- house
I nt er act iv it y and Engagem ent
A
pr ogr am m able
Lear ning
Agent
and St r eam Mak er t echnology
Updat es an d Rein f or cem en t
No r ein for cem en t s; St u den t s h av e
ex t ended access t o cour se m at er ials
Com m unit y
Access t o an online m ent or
Cent r alized Adm inist r at ion
Per for m ance Mot iv at or
Lear n2 offer s a v ar iet y of pr oduct s aim ed at bot h indiv iduals and cor por at ions.
These pr oduct s ar e off- t he-shelf or cust om izable.
I n addit ion t o t he Lear n2
sit e, t her e is also a Lear n2Univ er sit y .
I ndiv iduals can access Lear n2 Consum er or Lear n2 Ev er y day .
Le a r n 2
Co n su m e r offer s a r ange of cour ses cov er ing office pr oduct iv it y app licat ions,
t he I nt er net and pr ofessional cer t ificat ion. Le a r n 2 Ev e r y d a y pr ov ides a w ide
select ion of m or e pr act ical cour ses such as how t o av oid bur glar y , how t o eat
sushi or how t o buy a hom e.
Cour ses ar e cur r ent ly av ailable pr im ar ily in
English; how ev er , t her e ar e cour ses av ailable in Spanish.
Cour ses in Fr ench,
Ger m an and I t alian w ill be int r oduced lat er in 2001.
Cor por at e solut ions include Le a r n 2 U n iv e r sit y , w hich is oper at ed as an ASP.
I t includes ov er 250 int er act iv e t ut or ials on t opics such as p r og r am m in g ,
Micr osoft Cer t ificat ion, finance and soft sk ills enhancem ent .
St r e a m M a k e r ™
18
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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allow s t ut or ials and cont ent t o be dev eloped for st r eam ing pr ogr am s t o be
dist r ibut ed ov er t he com pany ’s int r anet .
The Le a r n in g Ag e n t s™ can b e
com plet ely cust om ized t o pr ov ide on -lin e h elp desk su ppor t an d cu st om er
ser v ice, as w ell as infor m v isit or s of new pr oduct launches. They can also ser v e
a v ar iet y of e-com m er ce r elat ed funct ions, including sit e nav igat ional host , sit e
salesper son, and pr oduct t r aining agent .
Con t a ct I n f o r m a t io n
J. D. Sam pedr o
j dsam pedr o@lear n2 . com
3 0 6 Ridin g Tr ail Ct .
Leesbur g, VA 20176
Phone: + 1 ( 703) 777- 8 3 7 1
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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Sm art Planet
www.sm artplanet.com
Cl i e n t s: Not disclosed
Pa r t n e r s: Wet Feet . com , Clear St at ion , Bey on d. com , Sm ar t m on ey . com
Re v e n u e : Div ision of Z DNet
I n v e st or s: Non e
Su m m a r y
Cr it e r ia
Well-k n ow n Con t en t
Co m m e n t
Pr ov ided by Zdnet ,
Bar nesandnoble. com , et c.
I nt er act iv it y and Engagem ent
Audio and Video sem inar s
Updat es an d Rein f or cem en t
St udent s
can
access
ar chiv ed
cour ses
Com m unit y
Message boar d w it h I nst r uct or - l ed
cour ses
Cent r alized Adm inist r at ion
I ndiv idual account sum m ar y
Sm ar t Planet pr ov ides a la cart e cour ses or a subscr ipt ion ser v ice for indiv iduals
looking for per sonal or pr ofessional im pr ov em ent .
Ar eas include Car eer &
Business, Com put ing & I nt er net , Finance & I nv est ing, Science & Technology ,
Ar t s & Societ y , Body & Mind, Hobbies & Recr eat ion and Hom e & Fam ily .
My
Sm a r t Pla n e t k eeps y our lear ning or ganized. I t is div ided int o t hr ee sect ions:
I nst r uct or -led classes, Self St udy and Discussions. These can be sor t ed by dat e
and ar e cum ulat iv e.
The dist inguishing feat ur e is t hat Sm ar t Planet offer s is a m ont hly subscr ipt ion.
A St a n d a r d M e m b e r sh ip for $15. 95 [ €17. 22] m ont hly allow s user s access t o
all cour ses $19. 95 [ € 2 1 . 5 3 ] and under . Cour ses cost ing ov er $ 2 9 . 9 5 [ € 3 2 . 3 3 ]
ar e pay as y ou go. Pr e m iu m Cou r se s ar e also av ailable for cer t ificat ion. A
pay-a s-y o u- go sy st em allow ing cour ses t o be pur chased indiv idually is also
av ailable as par t of t he fr ee m em ber ship.
20
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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Co n t a ct I n f o r m a t io n
Sm ar t Plan et
w w w .sm ar t planet .com
368 Lakeside Dr .
Fost er Cit y , CA 9 4 4 0 4
Phone: ( 650) 350 -6 5 0 0
21
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
eMagist er
w w w . em ag ist er . com
Cl i e n t s: I nfoJobs. net
P a r t n e r s: Aulafacil. com , Air t el, OlaPy m es, Telefónica Móv iles
Re v e n u e : Not disclosed
I n v e st or s: Gr ou p I n t er com ( Cable & Wir eless)
Su m m a r y
Cr it e r ia
Co m m e n t
Well-k n ow n Con t en t
Pr ov ided by EVE, UOC, Aula Act iv a
I nt er act iv it y and Engagem ent
I nt er act iv it y includes List ening and
Check ing box es
Updat es an d Rein f or cem en t
Depends on Supplier
Com m unit y
Depends on Supplier
Cent r alized Adm inist r at ion
Depends on Cour se, Supplier
eMagist er is a Spanish lear ning por t al. They aggr egat e e - Lear n in g pr odu ct s in
Spain and offer t he user a concise one st op -lear n in g cen t er . User s can ch oose
bet w een cour ses and pr ogr am s.
Th e Cou r se s in clu de I n t er n et n av igat ion ,
w ebpage design and cr eat ion and psy chology .
Th e Pr og r a m s include MBAs,
Mast er ’s Degr ee in E- bu sin ess an d Mast er ’s Degr ee in En gin eer in g. Depen din g
on t he cour se or pr ogr am select ed, t he m at er ial is av ailable online.
Som e
cour ses ar e giv en in a phy sical locat ion.
I nt er act iv e lear ning v ia t he Web consist s of list ening t o an audio r ecor ding and
t h en an sw er in g qu est ion s as t o w h at y ou h av e h ear d. Becau se dif f er en t
inst it ut ions supply each cour se, t he char act er ist ics of each pr oduct v ar y w idely .
eMagist er ’s adv an t age lies in t h e abilit y t o access an d ch oose bet w een sev er al
supplier s for a giv en t opic.
22
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Co n t a ct I n f o r m a t io n
eMagist er
info@eMagist er . com
Phone: + 3 4 ( 93) 581 5111
Edificio Pr im a
C/ Alcalde Bar nils, 6 4- 68 4ª Plant a
0 8 1 9 0 San t Cu gat ( Bar celon a)
23
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Hungry Minds ( NASDAQ: HMI N)
w w w . h u n g r y m in d su n iv er sit y . com
Cl i e n t s: Not disclosed
P a r t n e r s: Am azon . com , Bu sin ess 2 . 0 , Kaplan , Th e Pr in cet o n Rev iew
Re v e n u e : $243.3 Million [ € 2 6 2 m illion ] in Rev en u e en din g Sept em ber 2 0 0 0
I n v e st or s: Pu b lic Com p an y
Su m m a r y
Cr it e r ia
Co m m e n t
Well-k n ow n Con t en t
Pr ov ided by UC Ber k ley , New Yor k
Univ er sit y
I nt er act iv it y and Engagem ent
Ther e is a special sect ion for Media
Updat es an d Rein f or cem en t
Depends on Cour se
Com m unit y
Th er e ar e Sit e an d cou r se
discu ssion s
Cent r alized Adm inist r at ion
Cust om ized sit es av ailable
Hungr y Minds Univ er sit y is a US sit e t hat ser v es as an e -Lear n in g Por t al.
Cour ses ar e div ided int o t hr ee lar ge gr oups: Academ ic Lear ning, Pr ofessional
Dev elopm ent and Lifelong Lear ning.
Aca d e m ic Le a r n in g is div ided int o t hr ee sect ions: On -lin e Cou r ses, Degr ees
and
Cer t ificat es,
Univ er sit ies
and
St udent
Ser v ices.
Pr o f e ssio n a l
D e v e lo p m e n t includes Accou n t in g, Teach er Tr ain in g, Man agem en t , Car eer
Dev elopm ent , Secur it ies, I nfor m at ion Technology and Mar k et ing. Lif e lo n g
Le a r n in g includes a w ide r ange of t opics r anging fr om Ar t s & Lit er at ur e t o
Tr avel & Leisur e.
Each cour se is pr ov ided by w ell -k n ow n so u r ces.
m et h ods f or par t icipat in g ar e ex h au st iv e.
Th e v ar iet y of cou r ses an d
Depen din g on t h e cat egor y , t h er e
ar e eight ar eas t o ex plor e in or der t o lear n about a specific t opic. These
cat egor ies ar e: Ex per t s for Hir e, Websit es, How -t o’s, On -line Cour ses, Deg r ee
24
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Pr ogr am s, Discussions, Book s and ot her m edia.
Eit her t he user is pr esent ed
w it h t he ar eas ar e av ailable for a giv en subj ect , or t he user can sear ch for
t opics av ailable as a How- t o, for ex am ple.
Pr iv at e lear ning solut ions ar e also av ailable.
Ser v ices include: Leading online
univ er sit ies such as UC Ber k eley , Penn St at e, and UCLA; Ex t ensiv e cour se
offer ings in
lear ning;
academ ic,
I nst r uct or -led
t r aining,
and
pr ofessional
self -paced
dev elopm ent ,
cou r ses;
Degr ee
and
an d
lifest y le
cer t if icat e
pr ogr am s ; Cu st om ized sear ch an d dir ect or y , an d eLear n in g pr odu ct s an d
ser v ices.
Co n t a ct I n f o r m a t io n
info@hungr y m inds. com
1 1 6 0 Bat t er y St r eet Suit e 4 0
San Fr ancisco, CA 9 4 1 1 1
Phone: + 1 ( 415) 277 -2 5 0 0
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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Fat hom
w w w . f at h om . com
Cl i e n t s: Not disclosed
Pa r t n e r s: Colu m bia Un iv er sit y , Lon don Sch ool of Econ om ics, Su n
Micr osy st em s
Re v e n u e : Not disclosed
I n v e st or s: I ncubat ed w it hin Mor ningside Vent ur es, I nc
Su m m a r y
Cr it e r ia
Co m m e n t
Well-k n ow n Con t en t
Pr ov ided by t op t ier univ er sit ies
I nt er act iv it y and Engagem ent
Cour ses ar e highly int er act iv e
Updat es an d Rein f or cem en t
Relat ed m at er ial r efer ence
Com m unit y
Cou r se Discu ssion s; r eal- t im e ch at
Cen t r alized Adm in ist r ation
None, I ndiv idual Lear ning is
of f er ed
Fat h om h as gat h er ed t oget h er som e of t h e m ost r espect ed n am es in edu cat ion :
Cam br idge Un iv er sit y , t h e Lon don Sch ool of Econ om ics an d Polit ical Scien ce,
t he Br it ish Libr ar y , t he Univ er sit y of Chicago and ot her s.
int er m ediar y
bet w een
t he
end
user
( or
st udent )
Fat h om act s as an
and
t he
affiliat ed
or ganizat ions.
Fat hom offer s bot h f r e e co n t e n t as w ell as U n iv e r sit y Cou r se s . Wh ile t h e
univ er sit y cour ses ar e fr om
ex cept ional univ er sit ies, t he int r oduct ion of
Le a r n i n g Tr a ils is t he m ost int er est ing ( and fr ee) aspect of Fat hom .
Know ledge is a net w or k of connect ions- Lear ning Tr ails m ak e t he connect ions
fr om point t o point . A t r ail is a gr oup of Fat hom feat ur es or r efer ence ent r ies
t h at ex plor e a com m on su bj ect or t h em e. Som e t r ails cr oss sev er al t opics as
t hey ex plor e t he subj ect .
As a consequence, a single feat ur e of Fat hom m ay
r eside on m ult iple t r ails. To ex plor e infor m at ion r elat ed t o t he cur r ent t r ail, t he
user click s on t he appr opr iat e link .
26
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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The dem onst r a t ion on t he Fat hom w ebsit e does an ex cellent j ob of ex plaining
t his concept .
In
or der
to
fully
under st and
t he
concept ,
t he
gr aphical
r epr esent at ion t hey pr esent is necessar y . Cur r ent ly , Lear ning t r ails ar e fr ee.
How ev er , t his could change in t he fut ur e.
Fat hom has not officially launched
yet .
Co n t a ct I n f o r m a t io n
U SA
w w w . f at h om . com
330 Fift h Av enue,
New Yor k , New Yor k 1 0 0 0 1
Phone: + 1 ( 877) 731 6941
UK
Phone: 0 800 013 0011,
t hen 877 731 6941
Ot h e r Cou n t r ie s
+ 1 314 436 6164
27
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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Pensare
w w w . pen sar e. com
Cl i e n t s: Unisy s, Hallm ar k , Fuj it su, Duk e Univ er sit y ’s Fuqua School of Business
Pa r t n e r s: Cap Gem in i Er n st & You n g ( BLUR) , Jeff Sam pler
Re v e n u e : Not disclose d
I n v e st or s: AVI Capit al Ser v ices, AI G Hor izon LLC, Associat ed Ven t u r e
I nv est or s, Ar cadia, Bat t er y Vent ur es, GE Capit al, Media Technology Vent ur es,
WR Ham b r ech t & Co
Su m m a r y
Cr it e r ia
Well-k n ow n Con t en t
Co m m e n t
Pr ov ided by HBS, Duk e Univ er sit y ,
Whar t on
I nt er act iv it y and Engagem ent
I nt er act iv it y includes Voice,
Diagr am , I m age, an d Video
Updat es an d Rein f or cem en t
Tim e sensit iv e cont ent is used
Com m unit y
Chat s, new sgr oups, for um s and
discu ssion s
Cent r alized Adm inist r at ion
Web -based f or m s adm in ist r at ion
Pensar e offer s bot h a plat for m and cont ent ser v ices. The Co n t e n t Se r v ice s
ar e div ided int o six ar eas: Finance, E-com m er ce, Mar k et in g, Man agem en t ,
Leader sh ip an d Cu st om er Relat ion sh ips. Th ese ar eas con t ain Ex per t Cont ent fr om academ ic par t ner inst it ution s;
Mu lt im edia Pr esen t at ion s- u sin g Real
Net w or k ’s Real Play er , Micr osoft Media and Macr om edia Flash; Collabor at ion
Tools - including w or k gr oups and discussion chat s; and Dev elopm ent Tools t em plat es t hat allow t he quick cr eat ion of w or k shops, t ools and pr esent at ions.
Pe n sa r e Le a r n in g Pla t f or m allow s adm inist r at or s t o design Kn o w le d g e
Com m u n it ie s w it hin t heir or ganizat ion.
By com bining t he six ar eas of
cont ent ser v ices and collabor at ion t ools, a cust om ized lear ning solut ion can be
cr eat ed. Pensar e is a m odular ser v ice allow ing for scalabilit y .
28
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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Pensar e can also design cust om ized t r aining cour ses.
host ing,
w eb
collabor at ion
t ools,
per for m ance
Ot her ser v ices include:
suppor t ,
t r ack ing
t ools,
m ent or ing, per sonalizat ion and v ir t ual ev ent s or ganizat ion.
Co n t a ct I n f o r m a t io n
U SA
Pensar e, I nc.
4 5 0 5 Chandler Blv d.
Suit e 250
Phoenix , AZ 8 5 0 4 4
( 4 8 0 ) 7 6 3- 1 8 0 4
Cont act : Duane Nov osel
29
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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Saba ( NASDAQ: SABA)
w w w . saba. com
Cl i e n t s: Cisco, Lucent , Dalm er Chy r sler , For d, GE, 3 com an d ot h er s
Pa r t n e r s: Or acle, Micr osoft , I BM an d iPlan et , am on g ot h er s
Re v e n u e : $6.7 Million [ €7.2 Million] in 1999
I n v e st or s: Sequ oia Capit al, Cr osslin k Capit al, Com disco Ven t u r es an d ot h er s
Su m m a r y
Cr it e r ia
Well-k n ow n Con t en t
Co m m e n t
Cont ent is av ailable t hr ough t he
Saba Ex change
I nt er act iv it y and Engagem ent
Not Applicable
Updat es and Rei n f or cem en t
Not Applicable
Com m unit y
Not Applicable
Cent r alized Adm inist r at ion
Lear ning
Ent er pr ise
feat ur es
cent r alized adm inist r at ion
Saba is a plat for m pr ov ider . Th ey cu r r en t ly offer t h r ee pr odu ct s: t h e Saba
Net w or k Plat for m , Saba Lear ning Net w or k and t he Saba Lear ning Ent er pr ise.
Saba plat for m s ar e con t en t n eu t r al an d h igh ly scalable.
Addit ion ally , Saba
plat for m s w or k w it h m any languages.
Sa b a N e t w or k Pla t f or m ’s n -t ier I n t er n et ar ch it ect u r e m ak es u se of En t er pr ise
Jav a Beans ( EJB) , Jav a Ser v er Pages ( JSP) , XML, and XSL. The plat for m
feat u r es an XML- based I nt er Connect fr am ew or k for t r ansfer r ing infor m at ion
bet w een Saba applicat ions and ot her sy st em s such as HRI S, Financials, ERP,
SFA, an d CRM.
Sa b a Le a r n in g En t e r p r ise is an I n t er n et based lear n in g m an agem en t sy st em .
I t allow s com panies t o est ablish t he lear ning needs of indiv iduals, m easur e an
indiv idual’s pr ogr ess as w ell as select and pur chase lear ning m at er ials.
Saba
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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Lear ning Ent er pr ise can be host ed in- h ou se or t h r ou gh a Saba- host ed solut ion:
Saba Lear ning Net w or k .
Sa b a Le a r n in g N e t w or k pr ov ides m or e basic funct ionalit y t han t he Lear ning
Ent er pr ise and is best suit ed for m idm ar k et ent er pr ises. I t feat ur es basic
cat alog
building,
r egist r at ion,
com pet ency
m anagem ent ,
e -m ar k et in g
capabilit ies, and t ight int egr at ion w it h t he Saba Ex change. The Saba Lear ning
Net w or k is designed for Associat ions, Business Unit s, Wor k for ce Educat ion,
Gr ow ing Ent er pr ises and Tr aining Pr ov ider s.
Co n t a ct I n f o r m a t io n
U SA
Europe
Saba
Saba UK
2 4 0 0 Br idge Par k w ay
Cent ur ion House
Redw ood Sh or es, CA 9 4 0 6 5
London Road
Phone: + 1- 650 -696 - 3840
St aines, Middlesex TW18 4AX
Phone: + 44 ( 0) 1784 410 400
31
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Con clu sion s
e-Lear ning offer s a gr eat oppor t unit y t o lear n m or e about alm ost any t opic.
One of t he gr eat adv ant ages of t his t y pe of educat ion is t hat t her e do not hav e
t o be any ex am inat ions or hom ew or k inv olv ed. Lear ning does not hav e t o be
t ied t o any degr ee-or ien t ed cu r r icu lu m .
Ju st- in -t im e lear ning pr ov ides t he abilit y t o lear n j ust w hat y ou ar e look ing fo r ,
in a r educed t im e fr am e and in st r aight t o t he point env ir onm ent - b y p assin g
an y su per flu ou s poin t s ( Th is is an alogou s t o speed r eadin g) .
Befor e deciding t o enr oll in an e- Lear ning pr ogr am , t her e ar e sev er al point s
t h at depen d on y ou r at h er t h en t h e ser v ices offer ed.
You need t o hav e t he
answ er s t o t hese quest ions fir m ly in m ind.
1 . What ar e y our lear ning pr efer ences?
2 . Do y ou w an t a j u st-i n- t im e cou r se, or a m or e com pr eh en siv e on e?
3 . Ar e y ou self - m ot iv at ed? No one is t her e t o sit y ou dow n at t he com p u t er .
4 . I s y our com put er and connect ion sufficient ?
Finally , t he lear ning m odels cur r ent ly used w ill be fur t her dev eloped ov er t he
nex t few y ear s. As w e m ov e t ow ar ds a pay -f o r-con t en t I n t er n et , su bscr ipt ion
ser v ices should becom e m or e com m on. A subscr ipt ion t o one of t hese ser v ices
sh ou ld be able t o pr ov ide an all - in -on e lear n in g solu t ion . Aft er all, ev er y ar t icle
w e r ead is p ar t of an ad- h oc lear n in g ex per ien ce.
Su bscr ipt ion ser v ices w ill
help t o giv e or der and sense t o infor m at ion as w ell as add value by helping us
apply w hat w e r ead and lear n.
Ja son
Ba ll
is
r esponsible
for
I nt er nat ional
Business
Dev elopm ent
at
I n fon om ia. com . He can be con t act ed by em ail at j ason@infonom ia. com
32
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Con f e r e n ce s
The Fut ur e of Lear ning - Lear ning for t he Fut ur e: Shaping t he Tr ansit ion
April 1 -5 , 2 0 0 1 . Du sseldor f, Ger m an y
ht t p: / / w w w . fer nuni- h agen . de/ I CDE/ D- 2 0 0 1
The Rot t er dam Mar k et for Educat ional Pr ogr am s & e- Lear ning
April 8 -10, 2001. Rot t er dam , The Net her lands
ht t p: / / w w w . r ot t er dam m ar k et . or g
11t h Annual e - Lear ning Confer ence & Ex po
Apr il 1 7- 20, 2001. Washingt on, DC USA
ht t p: / / w w w . elear n in gex pos. com /
I nt er pr ise e -Lear n in g
May 1 4- 15, 2001. Nar v ik , Nor w ay
h t t p: / / w w w . pr ok om w eb. com / elear n in g/
Ad d it ion a l Pr od u ct s
Span ish Sit es:
w w w . ed ucanet . com
w w w . educat eca. com
w w w . ed u n ex o. com
w w w . apr obados. com
w w w . ah or aqu e. com
w w w . dir ect iv osn et . com
English Sit es:
w w w . eHow . com
w w w . univ er ist y . com
w w w . cy ber st at eu . com
33
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
w w w . digit alt hink . com
w w w . cor pedia. com
w w w . k n ow ledgen et . com
w w w . black boar d. com
w w w . cogn it iv ear t s. com
I n f on om ia .com Re sou r ce s
Ex t r a !- N e t Nu m ber 5 6 4
ht t p: / / w w w .infonom ia.com / english/ ext ranet / index.asp?idm = 2&idrev= 1&num = 564
D id a ct ic N e t
ht t p: / / w w w .infonom ia.com / english/ applied/ files.asp?idm = 2&idrev= 28&num Max= 0 )
Ed u ca t io n a l Co n sid e r a t io n s
ht t p: / / w w w .infonom ia.com / english/ applied/ files.asp?idm = 2&idrev= 12&num Max= 0 )
Fo o d f o r T h o u g h t
“ Lesson s of a v ir t u al t im et able”- Th e Econ om ist
ht t p: / / w w w .infonom ia.com / english/ food/ food18.asp
34
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
e - Le a r n in g: D igit a l Edu ca t ion
M arch 2 0 0 1
© Zero Factory, 2001
Plaza Tirant lo Blanc 7-8, local. 08005 Barcelona (Spain)
+34 93 224 01 50
si@infonomia.com
I ndex
SUMMARY.......................................................................................................................................3
E-LEARNING PRIMER ...............................................................................................................4
TYPES OF PROGRAMS ..............................................................................................................7
Free Courses .............................................................................................................................7
How-to's .....................................................................................................................................7
Universities On-line .................................................................................................................8
On-line Learning Alternatives................................................................................................9
Degree and Certificate Programs .........................................................................................9
FIVE WAYS TO CHOOSE A PROGRAM.......................................................................... 10
1. Well-known Content ......................................................................................................... 10
2. Interactivity and Engagement......................................................................................... 10
3. Updates and Reinforcement............................................................................................ 10
4. Communities ...................................................................................................................... 11
5. Centralized Administration............................................................................................. 11
BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS ........................................................................................... 12
The Pros.................................................................................................................................. 12
The Cons ................................................................................................................................. 12
PRODUCT ANALYSIS .............................................................................................................. 15
CLICK2LEARN.COM (NASDAQ:CLKS) ..................................................................................16
LEARN2.COM (NASDAQ:LTWO)............................................................................................18
SMART PLANET .............................................................................................................................20
EM AGISTER ..................................................................................................................................22
HUNGRY M INDS (NASDAQ: HMIN) ......................................................................................24
FATHOM ........................................................................................................................................26
PENSARE ........................................................................................................................................28
SABA (NASDAQ: SABA) .........................................................................................................30
CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................................... 32
CONFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 33
ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS ..................................................................................................... 33
INFONOMIA.COM RESOURCES .........................................................................................34
2
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Su m m a r y
e-Lear n in g in clu des com pu t er - based lear ning, Web -based lear n in g, v ir t u al
classr oom s and digit al collabor at ion. I t pr ov ides a useful t ool for bot h indiv idual
and pr ofessional st udy .
and cost sav ings.
The benefit s of e- Lear ning ar e gr eat er t han j ust t im e
User s can cust om ize and per sonalize t heir lear ning
ex per ien ce, in cr easin g in t er est , lear n in g an d r et en t ion . e-Lear ning is st ill a
nascent ar ea, applicat ions ar e st ill being dev eloped t o fully ut ilize com p u t in g
pow er ; how ev er , t he choices cur r ent ly av ailable ar e ex cit ing and full of
pr om ise.
Repor t Obj ect iv e
This r epor t discusses t he landscape of e -Lear ning. The differ ent t y pes of
pr ogr am s cov er ed ar e: Fr ee Cou r ses, How- t o’s, On lin e Lear n in g Alt er n at iv es,
Universit i es Online, Degr ee and Cer t ificat e pr ogr am s. Fiv e w ay s t o select a
pr ogr am ar e out lined, and Benefit s and Lim it at ions ar e also discussed.
Pr oduct Analy sis
Tar get Audience
The Pr oduct Analy sis cont ains:
•
The m ain client s, par t ner s and financial infor m at ion.
•
A Descr ipt ion of t he pr oduct ’s f eat u r es.
•
The funct ions it pr ov ides.
People, pr ofessionals and/ or com panies int er est ed in t hr ee ar eas of lear ning:
Academ ic Lear ning, Pr ofessional Dev elopm ent , and Lifelong Lear ning.
Analyzed Pr oduct s
The
analy zed
pr oduct s
include:
Click 2Lear n,
Lear n2. com ,
Sm ar t Planet ,
eMagist er , Hungr y Minds, Fat hom , Pensar e and Saba.
3
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
e- Le a r n in g Pr im e r
Te l l m e a n d I ’ l l f o r g e t . Sh o w m e , a n d I m a y n o t r e m e m b e r . I n v o l v e m e , a n d I ’ l l
u n d e r st a n d .
- Nat iv e Am er ican say in g
The t er m e- Lear ning cov er s a w ide set of applicat ions an d pr ocesses, in clu din g
com put er -based lear ning, Web -based lear ning, v ir t ual classr oom s and digit al
collabor at ion. I t should not be confused w it h online lear ning, w hich const it ut es
j ust one par t of t echnology -based lear ning and descr ibes lear ning v ia I nt er net ,
int r anet and ex t r anet . 1
e-Lear ning is being posit ioned as t he nex t k iller app.
Fr om boar dr oom s t o
classr oom s t he possibilit ies pr esent ed by t he com binat ion of t echnology and
edu cat ion ar e ast ou n din g. e-Lear ning pr om ises not only t o r em ov e bar r ier s
such as dist ance, but also t o allow a fully cust om izable lear ning ex per ience in
or der t o m ax im ize lear ning and r et ent ion.
I n t he New Econom y , t he r aw m at er ial t hat fuels gr ow t h is k now ledge.
Lear ning is not som et hing t hat w as done in gr ade school or at t he u n iv er sit y .
Know ledge w or k er s m ust cont inually updat e t heir sk ills and m ust do so in an
adequ at e an d fit t in g m an n er .
e-Lear n in g pr ov ides t h e con du it for k n ow ledge
acquisit ion in a com plem ent ar y and fam iliar env ir onm ent for t he k n ow led g e
w orker .
The ed ucat ion m arket in t he w orld t ot als t w o t rillion dollars 2 ( t hat is a 2 w it h
t w elv e zer os) . Wit hin t his figur e w e hav e school cost s, w hich ar e gr ow ing at
15% annually , educat ional soft w ar e, a $7 billion dollar [€ 7 . 5 3 billion] m ar k et ,
1
2
Learnframe. Facts, Figures and Forces Behind e-Learning- August 2000
1997 Industry Figure
4
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
an d cor por at e t r ain in g, w h ich is ex pect ed t o r each $ 6 2 . 5 billion [ € 6 7 . 3 billion ]
by t he y ear 2003.
Maj or soft w ar e an d I n t er n et com pan ies ar e get t in g in t o t h e gam e as w ell. Cisco
Sy st em s, Micr osoft , AT&T an d I BM ar e all dev elopin g e-lear ning pr ogr am s.
These giant s w ill m ost lik ely lev er age t heir clout w it h collabor at ion soft w ar e and
h ar dw ar e, sear ch t ech n ologies, n et w or k s, ban dw idt h en h an cem en t an d an
abundance of cont ent . 3
Sou r ce: WR Ham br ech t + Co
Ther e ar e new play er s ent er ing t he m ar k et as w ell.
These include com panies
focused specifically on pr ov iding e -Lear ning pr ogr am s.
3
Many of t hese
Learnframe. Facts, Figures and Forces Behind e-Learning- August 2000
5
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
com panies hav e alr eady gone public in or der t o fur t her fuel t heir gr ow t h con v er t in g t h em in t o a pow er fu l for ce in t h is u n foldin g st or y .
Also, Univ er sit ies ar e launching e-lear ning pr ogr am s.
Most of y our local and
r egion al u n iv er sit ies ar e in t r odu cin g e- lear ning pr ogr am s or hav e alr eady
int r oduced t hem . This is an effor t t o r each new st udent s - t ak ing adv ant age of
an est ab lish ed b r an d an d rep u t at ion - as w ell as offer flex ibilit y t o cur r ent
st udent s.
All t his gr ow t h pot ent ially benefit s t he st udent . How ev er , befor e j um ping int o
e-lear ning, st udent s need t o hav e quit e clear w hat t hey ex pect t o get out of it .
Below w e out line t he t y pes of progr am s av ailable and w hat t o look for in a
pr ogr am in or der t o help m ak e t he best choice possible w hen select ing a
pr ogr am . Whet her lear ning for per sonal gr ow t h or as a pr ofessional, t her e is a
pr ogr am t hat fit s any st udent ’s needs.
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Ty pe s of Pr ogr a m s
Pr ogr am s can be or ganized int o fiv e gener al gr oups.
These gr oups pr ov ide
ser v ices for indiv iduals and cor por at ions for per sonal or pr ofessional educat ion.
Pr ogr am s r ange w idely in cost st r uct ur e. A cour se for an indiv idual or pe r son al
int er est can cost a few dollar s, w her eas a cor por at e int r anet int egr at ed lear ning
solut ion can cost hundr eds of t housands of dollar s.
Du e t o t h is h igh cost of m ain t ain in g an in t er n al lear n in g solu t ion , m ost
com pan ies ar e adopt in g an ASP (Applicat ion Ser v ice Pr ov ider ) m odel.
This
pr ov ides sm all and m edium sized com panies, as w ell as indiv iduals, access t o
fully cust om izable e -Lear n in g pr ogr am s.
Fr e e Cour se s
Most com pan ies offer fr ee cou r ses. Th ey ser v e as an in t r odu ct ion t o t h e t y pe
of inst r uc t ion an d lear n in g m at er ials t h at ar e offer ed in t h eir pay ser v ices.
Ther e ar e not m any par t icipant s offer ing t op qualit y educat ional m at er ial
com plet ely fr ee. One com pany , nMinds, is offer ing a gr eat lear ning t ool for
en t er pr isin g in div idu als (ht t p: / / w w w . nm inds. com ).
nMinds has gat her ed m any of
t he t hought leader s in business and has assem bled a ser ies of lessons t hat
k eep t he user ( or st udent ) up -t o-dat e on a br oad r an ge of m an agem en t issu es.
How - t o ' s
How –t o cour ses t each day - to- day t ask s t hat ar e helpful t o k now and do not
r equ ir e ex cessiv e effor t t o lear n . Th ese t y pes of cou r ses in clu de ‘How t o Adj u st
t he Volum e on Your Com put er ’, ‘How t o Choose Wine’ and ‘What ar e Som e
Tast y Way s t o Cook Zucchini’. How - t o’s are per fect for self -im p r ov em en t an d
for indiv iduals w ho w ant t o get t he basics of a giv en t opic and quick ly apply
t hem t o t heir needs.
7
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
This is also called “ j ust- in -t im e” lear ning w hen applied t o pr ofessional lear ning.
The cour ses do not pr ov ide dept h in a subj ect m at t er , but r at her t he
oppor t unit y t o quick ly lear n and apply a new ly obt ained sk ill set . This helps t o
r einfor ce t he lear ning as w ell as im m ediat ely incr ease pr oduct iv it y in t he
w or k place.
Fast Com pany offer s a t y pe of j ust-in - t im e lear ning wit h it s FC LEARNI NG
sect ion ( ht t p: / / w w w .fast com pany .com ) . FC LEARNI NG is designed t o assist cor por at e
t r ainer s or educat or s t o pr epar e t heir classes or sem inar s, but t his ser v ice is
r eadily av ailable for an y on e.
By com bin in g Fast Com pan y ar t icles w it h a
Discussion Guide, t hey pr ov ide a r oad m ap for under st anding t he ar t icle and
t he concept behind it .
Universit ies On- lin e
Many univ er sit ies offer one set of cour ses ov er t he Net and a differ ent set of
cour ses on cam pus. Som e dist ance cour ses can be adapt ed v er sions of off -lin e
m at er ial.
I f t he m at er ial has been r e- w or k ed for t he I nt er net , t he st udent
st ands t o gain. How ev er , in som e cases t he m at er ial has not been r e- t h ou gh t
for an int er act iv e, self-paced en v ir onm ent . These cour ses pr ov e t o be
disappoint ing for t he st udent as w ell as fr ust r at ing. Use car e w hen elect ing one
of t hese cour ses.
One univ er sit y t hat pr ov ides qualit y online cour ses is t he Univ er sit at Ober t a de
Cat aluny a ( UOC) [ Cat alan Open Univ er sit y ] .
Th e UOC (ht t p: / / w w w .uoc.es ) has
est ablished an ex cellent v ir t ual univ er sit y , pr ov iding classes in Spanish and
Cat alan. They ar e also in t alk s w it h univ er sit ies in t he Unit ed Kingdom and t he
USA in or der t o pr ov ide co ur ses in English as w ell as pr ov ide cour ses in Spanish
for any pr ospect iv e par t ner s.
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
On- line Le a r ning Alt e r na t ive s
Univ er sit ies and colleges ar e not t he only sour ce for e - Lear ning: Mult iple
com panies and or ganizat ions offer cour ses. Com panies such as Hu n gr y Min ds
offer t op qualit y lear ning m at er ials. These lear ning alt er nat iv es include specific
m anagem ent t opics, such as I nt er act iv e Mar k et ing, as w ell as m or e t r adit ional
t r ack s can be follow ed leading t o a Mast er ’s degr ee or a specialist degr ee.
These com panies offer an alt er nat iv e t o t r adit ional univ er sit ies, and gener ally
consist of t op- qualit y m at er ials obt ained t hr ough agr eem ent s w it h w ell -k n ow n
publishing houses.
One of t he leader s in t his ar ea is Nint h House (ht t p: / / w w w .nint hhouse.com ) . Nint h
House is designed specifically for businesses.
One of t he r equir em ent s is a
m in im u m con n ect ion speed of a T1 ( 1 . 5 4 4 Mbps) . Th is speed alon e is en ou gh
t o inhibit an indiv idual user ( w hich isolat es as w ell m uch of w est er n Eur ope) .
One lear ning t ool, t he eSer ies, offer s an int er act iv e t elev ision show t hat let s
user s ( or st udent s) pr act ice w hat t hey hav e lear ned w it h each decision t hey
m ak e affect ing t he out com e of t he plot .
Degree and Cert ificat e Program s
A var iet y of cer t ificat ion pr ogr am s ar e av ailable t hr ough m ost lear ning por t als
or specialized pr ov ider s.
These pr ogr am s include Micr osoft , Cisco, and Nov ell
Cer t ificat ion t r ain in g; n et w or k in g; COBOL an d Jav a pr ogr am m in g; dat abases;
Web dev elopm en t an d e -com m er ce im plem en t at ion .
Net g ( ht t p: / / w w w .net g.com ) is one of t he m ar k et leader s in t his ar ea.
They
specialize in t echnology -based I T t r aining, but offer a select ion of gener al
m anagem ent and per sonal dev elopm ent cour ses as w ell.
The cour ses ar e
designed t o be highly int er act iv e- u sin g r eal-lif e sim u lat ion s, an d st r eam in g
audio and v ideo.
9
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Fiv e W a y s t o Ch oose a Pr og r a m
What is it t hat dist inguishes one pr ogr am fr om anot her ? Ther e ar e fiv e cr it er ia
t hat can help differ ent ia t e bet w een pr oduct s 4.
For a su ccessf u l pr ogr am , all
fiv e elem ent s should be pr esent . I f one is m issing, car eful consider at ion of t he
pr ogr am should be m ade befor e choosing it .
1 . W e ll- k now n Cont e nt
Wit h so m any com panies and inst it ut ions com pet ing for m ar k et sh ar e,
incr easingly t he best choice is a fam iliar nam e. Many pr ogr am s offer w ell k now n indiv iduals. For ex am ple, Nint h House pr ov ides com m ent ar ies fr om Tom
Pet er s. Click 2Lear n offer s cont ent s fr om w ell-k now n sour ces such as Micr osoft ,
MacMillan and I BM. Addit ionally , consider ing how long t he com pany has been
ar ound, and how long t hey w ill be ar ound is im por t ant . For public com panies,
t his infor m at ion is m uch easier t o obt ain and t he fact t hat t hey ar e public
dem on st r at es t h eir st ay in g pow er .
2 . I nt eract ivit y and Engagem ent
An int er act iv e ex per ience is an engaging ex per ience.
I ncluding feat ur es such
as m u lt im edia, sim u lat ion s an d r ole play in g, v ideo- based t each in g an d
int er act iv e gam es, is a sur e sign t hat t he lear ner w ill be m or e lik ely t o m aint ai n
high int er est in t he lessons, and consequent ly im pr ov e lear ning.
3 . Upda t es a nd Reinforcem ent
Updat es pr ov ide fur t her insight int o t he subj ect . New slet t er s and r ecent ar t icles
br eat h e life in t o t h e su bj ect an d k eep t h e m at er ial cu r r en t .
I n addit ion to
enr iching t he infor m at ion in t he sy llabus, it ser v es as assur ance t hat t he
4
Adapted from WR Hambrecht + Co, Corporate Learning: Exploring a New Frontier
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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indiv iduals pr epar ing t he cour se ar e at t he for efr ont in t his t opic. Not hing is
m or e discour aging t han pay ing for out dat ed cont ent . This feat ur e helps ensur e
t hat y ou ar e get t ing t h e m ost f or y ou r m on ey .
4 . Com m unit ie s
An en v ir on m en t w h er e ideas, r esou r ces, adv ice an d a h elpin g h an d can be
shar ed, fav or fur t her inv olv em ent in t he pr oj ect . Com m unit ies can be used as
an int egr al par t of t he cour se w or k - pr ov idin g a t eam w or k en v ir on m en t as w ell.
Many com panies and univ er sit ies hav e incor por at ed com m unit ies int o t heir
pr ogr am s and cour ses.
I f it is m issing, t ak e a car eful look at t he subj ect
m at t er , and t hen consider if it w ill be m issed.
5 . Cent ra lized Adm inist ra t ion
While t his char act er ist ic is not cr it ical for t he indiv idual user , it is highly
r ecom m ended for cor por at e ent it ies.
Cent r alized t r ack ing can m ak e t he
differ ence w hen ev aluat ing an indiv idual or gr oup’s pr ogr ess.
This includes
assessm ent m et r ics t o help pinpoint em ploy ees n eeds an d goals. Cen t r alized
Adm inist r at ion also per m it s cour se usage t o be det er m ined. Which em ploy ees
ar e using t he sy st em , how oft en t hey use it and w hat t opics ar e being
con su lt ed all can be follow ed cen t r ally in or der t o det er m in e t h e ov er al l su ccess
of t he pr ogr am .
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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Be n e fit s a n d Lim it a t ion s
Ther e ar e m ult iple benefit s t o e- Lear ning. The m ost fr equent ly cit ed ar e
conv enience and cost sav ings. The follow ing point s pr ov ide an out line of t he
pr os and cons of e -Lear ning.
Th e Pr os
I t is a lw a y s on .
24 hour s a day, 7 days a w eek. Because t he lear ning is
digit al and on dem and, st udent s can access t he infor m at ion at any t im e or any
day- alw ay s at t h eir con v en ien ce. Th is sch edu le flex ibilit y is on e of t h e
st r ongest point s in it s fav or .
No N e e d f or Tr a v e l . For t im e pr essed ex ecut iv es, cut t ing out t r av el t im e can
cr eat e t he differ ence bet w een t ak ing a cour se and not t ak ing it . I f a class last s
for t w o hour s and t her e is a one -h ou r com m u t e t o an d f r om t h e cou r se t h at is a
4- hour t im e com m it m ent . By cut t ing out t r av el, t he t im e com m it m ent is cut in
half - an d t h at m ak es t h e differ en ce.
Se le ct iv it y .
You can select t o lear n w hat y ou don’t k now . You can sk ip or
easily pass t opics y ou ar e fam iliar w it h. I nst ead of lear ning being a passiv e
experie nce w her e y ou w ait for t he pr ofessor t o get t o t he par t t hat y ou need,
lear ning becom es act iv e- y ou choose w hat t o look at . This is analogous t o t he
differ ence bet w een w at ching a t elev ision and r eading a book . On t he TV y ou
ar e passiv e and hav e t o w ait .
Wit h a book , y ou can sk ip t o t he chapt er t hat
in t er est s y ou an d scan t h e page for t h e in for m at ion y ou ar e look in g for .
The Cons
How ev er st r on g t h e ar gu m en t s ar e in fav or of e- Lear ning, it is unlik ely t hat eLear ning
w ill
displace
disadv an t ages.
c- Lear n in g
( or
classr oom
lear n in g)
du e
to
it s
Un der cer t ain cir cu m st an ces e-Lear ning is clear ly super ior .
Under differ ent cir cum st ances, it does not fulfill t he st udent ’s needs.
12
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Digit alTh in k ' s Pet e Goet t n er , ch air m an an d CEO, com m en t ed in an in t er v iew
t hat " A lot of t he sales in e- lear ning t oday ar e happening not at t he end -u ser
lev el, but at t he cor por at e lev el. I t 's dr iv en by business r easons, not because
t he end user s necessar ily lov e it . ” Wit h t hat in m ind her e ar e a few addit ional
poin t s t o con sider .
Fr e e Tim e M e a n s You r Tim e . On e of t h e ar gu m en t s in fav or of e -Lear n in g is
t hat it can be done in t he user s “ Fr ee Tim e” .
This m eans y our t im e.
st udy ing is per sonal in nat ur e, t his is no pr oblem .
I f t he
How ev er , if it is w or k
r elat ed, m any com panies do not r ecognize st udy ing as a v alid subst it ut e for
w or k . Addit ionally , co - w or k er s per ceiv e t hat y ou ar e not doing any t hing. This
can cont r ibut e t o m isunder st andings in t he office.
N o Co n t a ct w it h A Pr o f e sso r. This is pr obably t he st r ongest ar gum ent
against e- Lear ning.
The lack of per sonal cont act w it h a k now ledgeable
indiv idual cut s out unr ehear sed, ser endipit ous lear ning w hile discussing a
pr oblem aft er class.
Ba n d w id t h Re st r ict ion s. Cur r ent bandw idt h r est r ict ions sev er ely lim it t he
m ult im edia cont ent t hat can be dist r ibut ed acr oss t he Net . Com panies such as
Nin t h Hou se h av e specifically design ed t h eir pr ogr am s for a br oadban d
connect ion.
These pr ogr am s ar e r ich, int er act iv e m edium s.
Unfor t unat ely ,
br oadband is not an opt ion for m any w ould-be st u den t s.
I t ’s on a Com pu t e r . I n or der t o st udy using an e- Lear ning pr ogr am , st udy ing
has t o be done at a com put er scr een. This ser iously lim it s st udy t im e. Som e
effor t s ar e being m ade in or der t o ease t his pr oblem .
RCA’s new e -Book s ( REB- 1 1 0 0 and REB1 2 0 0 ) offer hi gh -r esolut ion digit al
docum ent por t abilit y 5.
Th e e-Book is a dedicat ed r eader .
This m eans t hat it
can only be used for book s or for m agazines ( such as Tim e , New sw eek or Th e
New Yor k Tim es) . e-Book s allow user s t o highlight t ex t , t ak e not es and sear ch
for t ex t . While t his specificit y m ak es e-Book s a v iable su bst it u t e for book s ( or
5
e-Book Readers: Easier on the Eyes, Business Week, January 29, 2001
13
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
nov els) , it ’s som ew hat
lim it ing in t he cont ex t
of class not es or Wor d
docum ent s.
I n or der t o ov er com e som e of t hese lim it at ions, r esear cher s at Xer ox ’s Palo
Alt o
labor at or y
hav e
pr ot ot y ped
( ht t p: / / w w w .fx pal.x er ox .com / x libr is/ ) .
an
act iv e
r eading
m achine,
Xlibr is
Xlibr is pr ov ides st udent s t he possibilit y of
t ak ing digit al m at er ials w her ev er t hey go.
I n addit ion t o being able t o v iew
digit al docum ent s, user s can w r it e dir ect ly on t he scr een in or der t o t ak e not es.
Ot her usabilit y issues include highlight ing t he im por t ant w or ds in a t ex t and
sav ing link s r elat ed t o t he m at er ial.
Unlik e t he e-Book , a w ider v ar iet y of
docum ent s can b e u sed- incr easing flex ibilit y and ut ilit y . How ev er , e-Book s ar e
cur r ent ly av ailable on r et ail shelv es; Xlibr is is st ill in dev elopm ent .
14
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Pr odu ct An a ly sis
Th e eigh t pr odu ct s below r epr esen t a sam plin g of t h e t y pes of pr ogr am s
available. Ther e is a pr ogr am for ev er y need- per sonal, pr ofessional; cont ent s
or plat for m s. Highlight ed Pr oduct s ar e specialized or focused on only one ar ea.
Pe r son a l
Co n t e n t
Pla t for m
Pr ofe ssion a l
Sm a r t P la n e t
e M a g ist e r
Fa t h o m
Pensa r e
Click 2 Lear n
Click 2 Lear n
Lear n2
Lear n2
Hu n gr y Min ds
Hu n gr y Min ds
N o t Ap p l i ca b l e
Sa b a
Pen sar e
Click 2 Lear n
Lear n2
Wher e possible w e hav e select ed public com panies for our analy sis, if a
com pan y is n on- public it has been included because it fulfills our fiv e select ion
cr it eria
( Well -k n ow n
Con t en t ,
I n t er act iv it y ,
Updat es
an d
Rein for cem en t ,
Com m unit y and Cent r alized Adm inist r at ion) and is t r uly ex cept ional in one or
m or e of t hese ar eas.
Th e m aj or it y of ou t st an din g pr ogr am s ar e in En glish , alt h ou gh som e Am er ican
co m p an i es ar e adapt in g t h eir con t en t s for Eu r opean lan gu ages.
We h av e
included one Spanish com pany t hat is r epr esent at iv e of t he pr ogr am s cur r ent ly
av ailable in Spain.
Each pr oduct is analy zed w it h t he cr it er ia for select ing an e - Lear ning pr ogr am .
I n addit ion, a descr ipt ion of t he ser v ice and pr oduct s is offer ed.
15
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Click2Learn.com ( NASDAQ: CLKS)
w w w . cl i ck 2 l e a r n . co m
Cl i e n t s: Accent ur e, Pr udent ial, Pr iceWat er houseCooper s, Boeing, HP
Pa r t n e r s: Max im Tr aining, Vault . com , Vignet t e , Go2 Net
Re v e n u e : $ 3 4 . 7 m illion [ €37. 36 m illion] in r ev enue ( FY99)
I n v e st or s: Vu lcan Ven t u r es, Mar sh all Capit al Man agem en t
Su m m a r y
Cr it e r ia
Well-k n ow n Con t en t
Co m m e n t
Pr ov ided by Micr osoft , Net g,
Cat apu lt ( I BM)
I nt er act iv it y and Engagem ent
I nt er act iv e Cour ses and
int er act ive cour se select ion
Updat es an d Rein f or cem en t
Un specified
Com m unit y
Gr oup Cour se Discussions
Cent r alized Adm inist r at ion
Adm inist r at ion t hr ough
Click 2lear n. m anager
Click 2Lear n offer s pr oduct s bot h for t he cor por at ion and t he indiv idual. I n t he
fall of 1 9 9 9 , Click 2 Lear n in t r odu ced it s con t en t aggr egat ion or por t al ser v ices.
Click 2 Lear n is a m ar k et leader in t he t echnology segm ent . They pr ov ide t ools
for au t h or in g as w ell as lear n in g m an agem en t sy st em s.
These t ools include: To o lBo o k I I I n st r u ct o r, a sophist icat ed sy st em for
dev eloping online lear ning applicat ions; To o lBo o k I I Assist a n t, a st ep by st ep
appr oach t o dev elop and deploy an int er act iv e cour se; and I co n Au t h o r N e t
Ed it io n w hich offer s t he abilit y t o dev elop int er act iv e lear ning applicat ions fo r
CD-ROM or a net w or k .
I ndiv idual pr oduct s offer ings include it s por t al, e- Le a r n in g M a r k e t p la ce,
offer ing cont ent in I T and soft sk ills for indust r y pr ofessionals, st udent s and
higher educat ion inst it ut ions.
These cour ses ar e pr ov ided by specialized
16
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
su p plier s.
For ex am ple, Net g pr ov ides “ all y ou can eat ” bundles including
Office 2000 cur r iculum and MCSE ( Micr osoft Cer t ified Sy st em s Engineer )
cur r iculum .
Co n t a ct I n f o r m a t io n
U SA
Eu r o p e
Click 2 Lear n
Click 2lear n. com Lt d
110 - 1 1 0 t h Av en u e N. E. , Su it e 7 0 0 225 Mar sh Wall
Bellev u e, WA 9 8 0 0 4
Dock lands, London E14 9FW,
USA
U. K.
Pho ne: + 1 425 462 0501
Ph on e: + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 7 5 1 7 4 2 0 0
Toll fr ee: ( 800) 448 - 6543
Fax : + 44 ( 0) 20 7517 4201
Sp a i n
AB Gr oup
Glassm ult im edia
ht t p: / / w w w .abgr oup.es/
ht t p: / / w w w .glassm ult im edia.net
Castellana 123
Consell de Cent 106 5t h
Madr id 2 8 0 4 6
Bar celona 8 0 1 5
Spain
Spain
Phone: + 3 4 9 1 5 9 7 3 7 1 6
Phone: + 34 93 292 42 42
17
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Learn2.com ( NASDAQ: LTWO)
www.learn2.com
Cl i e n t s: MTV. com , Bloom ber g. com , AOL, Bey on d. com , SegaSof t ( Heat . n et )
Pa r t n e r s: Mot iv at ion Online, Bey ond. com
Re v e n u e : $13.6 m illion [ € 1 4 . 6 m illion ] in r ev en u e ( CY9 9 )
I n v e st or s: East / West Capit al
Su m m a r y
Cr it e r ia
Co m m e n t
Well-k n ow n Con t en t
9 0 % of cont ent dev eloped in- house
I nt er act iv it y and Engagem ent
A
pr ogr am m able
Lear ning
Agent
and St r eam Mak er t echnology
Updat es an d Rein f or cem en t
No r ein for cem en t s; St u den t s h av e
ex t ended access t o cour se m at er ials
Com m unit y
Access t o an online m ent or
Cent r alized Adm inist r at ion
Per for m ance Mot iv at or
Lear n2 offer s a v ar iet y of pr oduct s aim ed at bot h indiv iduals and cor por at ions.
These pr oduct s ar e off- t he-shelf or cust om izable.
I n addit ion t o t he Lear n2
sit e, t her e is also a Lear n2Univ er sit y .
I ndiv iduals can access Lear n2 Consum er or Lear n2 Ev er y day .
Le a r n 2
Co n su m e r offer s a r ange of cour ses cov er ing office pr oduct iv it y app licat ions,
t he I nt er net and pr ofessional cer t ificat ion. Le a r n 2 Ev e r y d a y pr ov ides a w ide
select ion of m or e pr act ical cour ses such as how t o av oid bur glar y , how t o eat
sushi or how t o buy a hom e.
Cour ses ar e cur r ent ly av ailable pr im ar ily in
English; how ev er , t her e ar e cour ses av ailable in Spanish.
Cour ses in Fr ench,
Ger m an and I t alian w ill be int r oduced lat er in 2001.
Cor por at e solut ions include Le a r n 2 U n iv e r sit y , w hich is oper at ed as an ASP.
I t includes ov er 250 int er act iv e t ut or ials on t opics such as p r og r am m in g ,
Micr osoft Cer t ificat ion, finance and soft sk ills enhancem ent .
St r e a m M a k e r ™
18
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
allow s t ut or ials and cont ent t o be dev eloped for st r eam ing pr ogr am s t o be
dist r ibut ed ov er t he com pany ’s int r anet .
The Le a r n in g Ag e n t s™ can b e
com plet ely cust om ized t o pr ov ide on -lin e h elp desk su ppor t an d cu st om er
ser v ice, as w ell as infor m v isit or s of new pr oduct launches. They can also ser v e
a v ar iet y of e-com m er ce r elat ed funct ions, including sit e nav igat ional host , sit e
salesper son, and pr oduct t r aining agent .
Con t a ct I n f o r m a t io n
J. D. Sam pedr o
j dsam pedr o@lear n2 . com
3 0 6 Ridin g Tr ail Ct .
Leesbur g, VA 20176
Phone: + 1 ( 703) 777- 8 3 7 1
19
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Sm art Planet
www.sm artplanet.com
Cl i e n t s: Not disclosed
Pa r t n e r s: Wet Feet . com , Clear St at ion , Bey on d. com , Sm ar t m on ey . com
Re v e n u e : Div ision of Z DNet
I n v e st or s: Non e
Su m m a r y
Cr it e r ia
Well-k n ow n Con t en t
Co m m e n t
Pr ov ided by Zdnet ,
Bar nesandnoble. com , et c.
I nt er act iv it y and Engagem ent
Audio and Video sem inar s
Updat es an d Rein f or cem en t
St udent s
can
access
ar chiv ed
cour ses
Com m unit y
Message boar d w it h I nst r uct or - l ed
cour ses
Cent r alized Adm inist r at ion
I ndiv idual account sum m ar y
Sm ar t Planet pr ov ides a la cart e cour ses or a subscr ipt ion ser v ice for indiv iduals
looking for per sonal or pr ofessional im pr ov em ent .
Ar eas include Car eer &
Business, Com put ing & I nt er net , Finance & I nv est ing, Science & Technology ,
Ar t s & Societ y , Body & Mind, Hobbies & Recr eat ion and Hom e & Fam ily .
My
Sm a r t Pla n e t k eeps y our lear ning or ganized. I t is div ided int o t hr ee sect ions:
I nst r uct or -led classes, Self St udy and Discussions. These can be sor t ed by dat e
and ar e cum ulat iv e.
The dist inguishing feat ur e is t hat Sm ar t Planet offer s is a m ont hly subscr ipt ion.
A St a n d a r d M e m b e r sh ip for $15. 95 [ €17. 22] m ont hly allow s user s access t o
all cour ses $19. 95 [ € 2 1 . 5 3 ] and under . Cour ses cost ing ov er $ 2 9 . 9 5 [ € 3 2 . 3 3 ]
ar e pay as y ou go. Pr e m iu m Cou r se s ar e also av ailable for cer t ificat ion. A
pay-a s-y o u- go sy st em allow ing cour ses t o be pur chased indiv idually is also
av ailable as par t of t he fr ee m em ber ship.
20
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Co n t a ct I n f o r m a t io n
Sm ar t Plan et
w w w .sm ar t planet .com
368 Lakeside Dr .
Fost er Cit y , CA 9 4 4 0 4
Phone: ( 650) 350 -6 5 0 0
21
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
eMagist er
w w w . em ag ist er . com
Cl i e n t s: I nfoJobs. net
P a r t n e r s: Aulafacil. com , Air t el, OlaPy m es, Telefónica Móv iles
Re v e n u e : Not disclosed
I n v e st or s: Gr ou p I n t er com ( Cable & Wir eless)
Su m m a r y
Cr it e r ia
Co m m e n t
Well-k n ow n Con t en t
Pr ov ided by EVE, UOC, Aula Act iv a
I nt er act iv it y and Engagem ent
I nt er act iv it y includes List ening and
Check ing box es
Updat es an d Rein f or cem en t
Depends on Supplier
Com m unit y
Depends on Supplier
Cent r alized Adm inist r at ion
Depends on Cour se, Supplier
eMagist er is a Spanish lear ning por t al. They aggr egat e e - Lear n in g pr odu ct s in
Spain and offer t he user a concise one st op -lear n in g cen t er . User s can ch oose
bet w een cour ses and pr ogr am s.
Th e Cou r se s in clu de I n t er n et n av igat ion ,
w ebpage design and cr eat ion and psy chology .
Th e Pr og r a m s include MBAs,
Mast er ’s Degr ee in E- bu sin ess an d Mast er ’s Degr ee in En gin eer in g. Depen din g
on t he cour se or pr ogr am select ed, t he m at er ial is av ailable online.
Som e
cour ses ar e giv en in a phy sical locat ion.
I nt er act iv e lear ning v ia t he Web consist s of list ening t o an audio r ecor ding and
t h en an sw er in g qu est ion s as t o w h at y ou h av e h ear d. Becau se dif f er en t
inst it ut ions supply each cour se, t he char act er ist ics of each pr oduct v ar y w idely .
eMagist er ’s adv an t age lies in t h e abilit y t o access an d ch oose bet w een sev er al
supplier s for a giv en t opic.
22
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Co n t a ct I n f o r m a t io n
eMagist er
info@eMagist er . com
Phone: + 3 4 ( 93) 581 5111
Edificio Pr im a
C/ Alcalde Bar nils, 6 4- 68 4ª Plant a
0 8 1 9 0 San t Cu gat ( Bar celon a)
23
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Hungry Minds ( NASDAQ: HMI N)
w w w . h u n g r y m in d su n iv er sit y . com
Cl i e n t s: Not disclosed
P a r t n e r s: Am azon . com , Bu sin ess 2 . 0 , Kaplan , Th e Pr in cet o n Rev iew
Re v e n u e : $243.3 Million [ € 2 6 2 m illion ] in Rev en u e en din g Sept em ber 2 0 0 0
I n v e st or s: Pu b lic Com p an y
Su m m a r y
Cr it e r ia
Co m m e n t
Well-k n ow n Con t en t
Pr ov ided by UC Ber k ley , New Yor k
Univ er sit y
I nt er act iv it y and Engagem ent
Ther e is a special sect ion for Media
Updat es an d Rein f or cem en t
Depends on Cour se
Com m unit y
Th er e ar e Sit e an d cou r se
discu ssion s
Cent r alized Adm inist r at ion
Cust om ized sit es av ailable
Hungr y Minds Univ er sit y is a US sit e t hat ser v es as an e -Lear n in g Por t al.
Cour ses ar e div ided int o t hr ee lar ge gr oups: Academ ic Lear ning, Pr ofessional
Dev elopm ent and Lifelong Lear ning.
Aca d e m ic Le a r n in g is div ided int o t hr ee sect ions: On -lin e Cou r ses, Degr ees
and
Cer t ificat es,
Univ er sit ies
and
St udent
Ser v ices.
Pr o f e ssio n a l
D e v e lo p m e n t includes Accou n t in g, Teach er Tr ain in g, Man agem en t , Car eer
Dev elopm ent , Secur it ies, I nfor m at ion Technology and Mar k et ing. Lif e lo n g
Le a r n in g includes a w ide r ange of t opics r anging fr om Ar t s & Lit er at ur e t o
Tr avel & Leisur e.
Each cour se is pr ov ided by w ell -k n ow n so u r ces.
m et h ods f or par t icipat in g ar e ex h au st iv e.
Th e v ar iet y of cou r ses an d
Depen din g on t h e cat egor y , t h er e
ar e eight ar eas t o ex plor e in or der t o lear n about a specific t opic. These
cat egor ies ar e: Ex per t s for Hir e, Websit es, How -t o’s, On -line Cour ses, Deg r ee
24
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Pr ogr am s, Discussions, Book s and ot her m edia.
Eit her t he user is pr esent ed
w it h t he ar eas ar e av ailable for a giv en subj ect , or t he user can sear ch for
t opics av ailable as a How- t o, for ex am ple.
Pr iv at e lear ning solut ions ar e also av ailable.
Ser v ices include: Leading online
univ er sit ies such as UC Ber k eley , Penn St at e, and UCLA; Ex t ensiv e cour se
offer ings in
lear ning;
academ ic,
I nst r uct or -led
t r aining,
and
pr ofessional
self -paced
dev elopm ent ,
cou r ses;
Degr ee
and
an d
lifest y le
cer t if icat e
pr ogr am s ; Cu st om ized sear ch an d dir ect or y , an d eLear n in g pr odu ct s an d
ser v ices.
Co n t a ct I n f o r m a t io n
info@hungr y m inds. com
1 1 6 0 Bat t er y St r eet Suit e 4 0
San Fr ancisco, CA 9 4 1 1 1
Phone: + 1 ( 415) 277 -2 5 0 0
25
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Fat hom
w w w . f at h om . com
Cl i e n t s: Not disclosed
Pa r t n e r s: Colu m bia Un iv er sit y , Lon don Sch ool of Econ om ics, Su n
Micr osy st em s
Re v e n u e : Not disclosed
I n v e st or s: I ncubat ed w it hin Mor ningside Vent ur es, I nc
Su m m a r y
Cr it e r ia
Co m m e n t
Well-k n ow n Con t en t
Pr ov ided by t op t ier univ er sit ies
I nt er act iv it y and Engagem ent
Cour ses ar e highly int er act iv e
Updat es an d Rein f or cem en t
Relat ed m at er ial r efer ence
Com m unit y
Cou r se Discu ssion s; r eal- t im e ch at
Cen t r alized Adm in ist r ation
None, I ndiv idual Lear ning is
of f er ed
Fat h om h as gat h er ed t oget h er som e of t h e m ost r espect ed n am es in edu cat ion :
Cam br idge Un iv er sit y , t h e Lon don Sch ool of Econ om ics an d Polit ical Scien ce,
t he Br it ish Libr ar y , t he Univ er sit y of Chicago and ot her s.
int er m ediar y
bet w een
t he
end
user
( or
st udent )
Fat h om act s as an
and
t he
affiliat ed
or ganizat ions.
Fat hom offer s bot h f r e e co n t e n t as w ell as U n iv e r sit y Cou r se s . Wh ile t h e
univ er sit y cour ses ar e fr om
ex cept ional univ er sit ies, t he int r oduct ion of
Le a r n i n g Tr a ils is t he m ost int er est ing ( and fr ee) aspect of Fat hom .
Know ledge is a net w or k of connect ions- Lear ning Tr ails m ak e t he connect ions
fr om point t o point . A t r ail is a gr oup of Fat hom feat ur es or r efer ence ent r ies
t h at ex plor e a com m on su bj ect or t h em e. Som e t r ails cr oss sev er al t opics as
t hey ex plor e t he subj ect .
As a consequence, a single feat ur e of Fat hom m ay
r eside on m ult iple t r ails. To ex plor e infor m at ion r elat ed t o t he cur r ent t r ail, t he
user click s on t he appr opr iat e link .
26
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
The dem onst r a t ion on t he Fat hom w ebsit e does an ex cellent j ob of ex plaining
t his concept .
In
or der
to
fully
under st and
t he
concept ,
t he
gr aphical
r epr esent at ion t hey pr esent is necessar y . Cur r ent ly , Lear ning t r ails ar e fr ee.
How ev er , t his could change in t he fut ur e.
Fat hom has not officially launched
yet .
Co n t a ct I n f o r m a t io n
U SA
w w w . f at h om . com
330 Fift h Av enue,
New Yor k , New Yor k 1 0 0 0 1
Phone: + 1 ( 877) 731 6941
UK
Phone: 0 800 013 0011,
t hen 877 731 6941
Ot h e r Cou n t r ie s
+ 1 314 436 6164
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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Pensare
w w w . pen sar e. com
Cl i e n t s: Unisy s, Hallm ar k , Fuj it su, Duk e Univ er sit y ’s Fuqua School of Business
Pa r t n e r s: Cap Gem in i Er n st & You n g ( BLUR) , Jeff Sam pler
Re v e n u e : Not disclose d
I n v e st or s: AVI Capit al Ser v ices, AI G Hor izon LLC, Associat ed Ven t u r e
I nv est or s, Ar cadia, Bat t er y Vent ur es, GE Capit al, Media Technology Vent ur es,
WR Ham b r ech t & Co
Su m m a r y
Cr it e r ia
Well-k n ow n Con t en t
Co m m e n t
Pr ov ided by HBS, Duk e Univ er sit y ,
Whar t on
I nt er act iv it y and Engagem ent
I nt er act iv it y includes Voice,
Diagr am , I m age, an d Video
Updat es an d Rein f or cem en t
Tim e sensit iv e cont ent is used
Com m unit y
Chat s, new sgr oups, for um s and
discu ssion s
Cent r alized Adm inist r at ion
Web -based f or m s adm in ist r at ion
Pensar e offer s bot h a plat for m and cont ent ser v ices. The Co n t e n t Se r v ice s
ar e div ided int o six ar eas: Finance, E-com m er ce, Mar k et in g, Man agem en t ,
Leader sh ip an d Cu st om er Relat ion sh ips. Th ese ar eas con t ain Ex per t Cont ent fr om academ ic par t ner inst it ution s;
Mu lt im edia Pr esen t at ion s- u sin g Real
Net w or k ’s Real Play er , Micr osoft Media and Macr om edia Flash; Collabor at ion
Tools - including w or k gr oups and discussion chat s; and Dev elopm ent Tools t em plat es t hat allow t he quick cr eat ion of w or k shops, t ools and pr esent at ions.
Pe n sa r e Le a r n in g Pla t f or m allow s adm inist r at or s t o design Kn o w le d g e
Com m u n it ie s w it hin t heir or ganizat ion.
By com bining t he six ar eas of
cont ent ser v ices and collabor at ion t ools, a cust om ized lear ning solut ion can be
cr eat ed. Pensar e is a m odular ser v ice allow ing for scalabilit y .
28
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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Pensar e can also design cust om ized t r aining cour ses.
host ing,
w eb
collabor at ion
t ools,
per for m ance
Ot her ser v ices include:
suppor t ,
t r ack ing
t ools,
m ent or ing, per sonalizat ion and v ir t ual ev ent s or ganizat ion.
Co n t a ct I n f o r m a t io n
U SA
Pensar e, I nc.
4 5 0 5 Chandler Blv d.
Suit e 250
Phoenix , AZ 8 5 0 4 4
( 4 8 0 ) 7 6 3- 1 8 0 4
Cont act : Duane Nov osel
29
e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Saba ( NASDAQ: SABA)
w w w . saba. com
Cl i e n t s: Cisco, Lucent , Dalm er Chy r sler , For d, GE, 3 com an d ot h er s
Pa r t n e r s: Or acle, Micr osoft , I BM an d iPlan et , am on g ot h er s
Re v e n u e : $6.7 Million [ €7.2 Million] in 1999
I n v e st or s: Sequ oia Capit al, Cr osslin k Capit al, Com disco Ven t u r es an d ot h er s
Su m m a r y
Cr it e r ia
Well-k n ow n Con t en t
Co m m e n t
Cont ent is av ailable t hr ough t he
Saba Ex change
I nt er act iv it y and Engagem ent
Not Applicable
Updat es and Rei n f or cem en t
Not Applicable
Com m unit y
Not Applicable
Cent r alized Adm inist r at ion
Lear ning
Ent er pr ise
feat ur es
cent r alized adm inist r at ion
Saba is a plat for m pr ov ider . Th ey cu r r en t ly offer t h r ee pr odu ct s: t h e Saba
Net w or k Plat for m , Saba Lear ning Net w or k and t he Saba Lear ning Ent er pr ise.
Saba plat for m s ar e con t en t n eu t r al an d h igh ly scalable.
Addit ion ally , Saba
plat for m s w or k w it h m any languages.
Sa b a N e t w or k Pla t f or m ’s n -t ier I n t er n et ar ch it ect u r e m ak es u se of En t er pr ise
Jav a Beans ( EJB) , Jav a Ser v er Pages ( JSP) , XML, and XSL. The plat for m
feat u r es an XML- based I nt er Connect fr am ew or k for t r ansfer r ing infor m at ion
bet w een Saba applicat ions and ot her sy st em s such as HRI S, Financials, ERP,
SFA, an d CRM.
Sa b a Le a r n in g En t e r p r ise is an I n t er n et based lear n in g m an agem en t sy st em .
I t allow s com panies t o est ablish t he lear ning needs of indiv iduals, m easur e an
indiv idual’s pr ogr ess as w ell as select and pur chase lear ning m at er ials.
Saba
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Lear ning Ent er pr ise can be host ed in- h ou se or t h r ou gh a Saba- host ed solut ion:
Saba Lear ning Net w or k .
Sa b a Le a r n in g N e t w or k pr ov ides m or e basic funct ionalit y t han t he Lear ning
Ent er pr ise and is best suit ed for m idm ar k et ent er pr ises. I t feat ur es basic
cat alog
building,
r egist r at ion,
com pet ency
m anagem ent ,
e -m ar k et in g
capabilit ies, and t ight int egr at ion w it h t he Saba Ex change. The Saba Lear ning
Net w or k is designed for Associat ions, Business Unit s, Wor k for ce Educat ion,
Gr ow ing Ent er pr ises and Tr aining Pr ov ider s.
Co n t a ct I n f o r m a t io n
U SA
Europe
Saba
Saba UK
2 4 0 0 Br idge Par k w ay
Cent ur ion House
Redw ood Sh or es, CA 9 4 0 6 5
London Road
Phone: + 1- 650 -696 - 3840
St aines, Middlesex TW18 4AX
Phone: + 44 ( 0) 1784 410 400
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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Con clu sion s
e-Lear ning offer s a gr eat oppor t unit y t o lear n m or e about alm ost any t opic.
One of t he gr eat adv ant ages of t his t y pe of educat ion is t hat t her e do not hav e
t o be any ex am inat ions or hom ew or k inv olv ed. Lear ning does not hav e t o be
t ied t o any degr ee-or ien t ed cu r r icu lu m .
Ju st- in -t im e lear ning pr ov ides t he abilit y t o lear n j ust w hat y ou ar e look ing fo r ,
in a r educed t im e fr am e and in st r aight t o t he point env ir onm ent - b y p assin g
an y su per flu ou s poin t s ( Th is is an alogou s t o speed r eadin g) .
Befor e deciding t o enr oll in an e- Lear ning pr ogr am , t her e ar e sev er al point s
t h at depen d on y ou r at h er t h en t h e ser v ices offer ed.
You need t o hav e t he
answ er s t o t hese quest ions fir m ly in m ind.
1 . What ar e y our lear ning pr efer ences?
2 . Do y ou w an t a j u st-i n- t im e cou r se, or a m or e com pr eh en siv e on e?
3 . Ar e y ou self - m ot iv at ed? No one is t her e t o sit y ou dow n at t he com p u t er .
4 . I s y our com put er and connect ion sufficient ?
Finally , t he lear ning m odels cur r ent ly used w ill be fur t her dev eloped ov er t he
nex t few y ear s. As w e m ov e t ow ar ds a pay -f o r-con t en t I n t er n et , su bscr ipt ion
ser v ices should becom e m or e com m on. A subscr ipt ion t o one of t hese ser v ices
sh ou ld be able t o pr ov ide an all - in -on e lear n in g solu t ion . Aft er all, ev er y ar t icle
w e r ead is p ar t of an ad- h oc lear n in g ex per ien ce.
Su bscr ipt ion ser v ices w ill
help t o giv e or der and sense t o infor m at ion as w ell as add value by helping us
apply w hat w e r ead and lear n.
Ja son
Ba ll
is
r esponsible
for
I nt er nat ional
Business
Dev elopm ent
at
I n fon om ia. com . He can be con t act ed by em ail at j ason@infonom ia. com
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
© Zero Factory SL, 2001.
Con f e r e n ce s
The Fut ur e of Lear ning - Lear ning for t he Fut ur e: Shaping t he Tr ansit ion
April 1 -5 , 2 0 0 1 . Du sseldor f, Ger m an y
ht t p: / / w w w . fer nuni- h agen . de/ I CDE/ D- 2 0 0 1
The Rot t er dam Mar k et for Educat ional Pr ogr am s & e- Lear ning
April 8 -10, 2001. Rot t er dam , The Net her lands
ht t p: / / w w w . r ot t er dam m ar k et . or g
11t h Annual e - Lear ning Confer ence & Ex po
Apr il 1 7- 20, 2001. Washingt on, DC USA
ht t p: / / w w w . elear n in gex pos. com /
I nt er pr ise e -Lear n in g
May 1 4- 15, 2001. Nar v ik , Nor w ay
h t t p: / / w w w . pr ok om w eb. com / elear n in g/
Ad d it ion a l Pr od u ct s
Span ish Sit es:
w w w . ed ucanet . com
w w w . educat eca. com
w w w . ed u n ex o. com
w w w . apr obados. com
w w w . ah or aqu e. com
w w w . dir ect iv osn et . com
English Sit es:
w w w . eHow . com
w w w . univ er ist y . com
w w w . cy ber st at eu . com
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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w w w . digit alt hink . com
w w w . cor pedia. com
w w w . k n ow ledgen et . com
w w w . black boar d. com
w w w . cogn it iv ear t s. com
I n f on om ia .com Re sou r ce s
Ex t r a !- N e t Nu m ber 5 6 4
ht t p: / / w w w .infonom ia.com / english/ ext ranet / index.asp?idm = 2&idrev= 1&num = 564
D id a ct ic N e t
ht t p: / / w w w .infonom ia.com / english/ applied/ files.asp?idm = 2&idrev= 28&num Max= 0 )
Ed u ca t io n a l Co n sid e r a t io n s
ht t p: / / w w w .infonom ia.com / english/ applied/ files.asp?idm = 2&idrev= 12&num Max= 0 )
Fo o d f o r T h o u g h t
“ Lesson s of a v ir t u al t im et able”- Th e Econ om ist
ht t p: / / w w w .infonom ia.com / english/ food/ food18.asp
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e- Learning: Digital Educat ion
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