eLearning Ottawa

Moodle Event in Ottawa

2009-12-18T20:38:00Z

Blindside Networks (www.blindsidenetworks.com) is hosting a monthly Moodle user group in Ottawa. The meetings are held on the 4th Thursday of each month. The next event will be on January 28 , 2010, from 6:00 - 8:00 PM at the Code Factory (246 Queen street).

This meeting will have Steven Muegge, Associate Professor, Carleton University, giving a talk entitled "Use of Moodle for distance education within the Technology Innovation Management program at Carleton University".

There is no cost for this event, but the Code Factory asks that attendees make a $5 donation at the end of the meeting. Please register at Eventbrite (http://ottawamoodle.eventbrite.com/).

Do Your Employees Want to Learn?

2009-12-17T01:20:00Z

You can't teach someone who doesn't want to learn. To help your employees get the most from your training program, try the following:

Before: When enrolling an employee in a course, tell him/her specifically which skills he/she needs to learn and why. Provide concrete examples and real-life situations where certain skills would have helped improve his/her performance.
During: Make sure the timing is convenient. Many employees do not want to learn if it means they're going to have to stay late and work overtime to make up for the time "lost" spent learning.
After: Put the employee in a situation where he/she can immediately apply the newly acquired skills. Showing them how the stuff they just learned helped them perform better sets the tone for the next training session.

These concepts are not new, but many organizations tend to forget these steps.

Top 7 Ways eLearning Saves Money for Small to Medium Size Franchisors

2009-11-19T15:40:00Z

E-Learning provides franchisors many benefits. Notably:

· E-Learning strengthens a franchisor's brand by standardizing their training program across the franchise system and ensuring the message is consistent for all learners, regardless of their location.

· E-Learning eliminates logistical problems associated with conventional, face-to-face training by allowing participants to learn at their convenience, without the presence of an instructor.

E-Learning also provides franchisors with another major benefit: it saves them money! To be precise, it saves franchise systems anywhere between 40% and 80% on their annual training budget.

How exactly does eLearning save money for a small to medium size franchisor?

Reduce the Time Managers Spend Training Employees

Thanks to pre-recorded online training courses, employees can learn at their convenience, without the presence of an instructor. This means that managers can spend less time training employees and more time on other revenue-generating activities. Considering that your managers are your best-paid employees, freeing up their time can have a significant impact on your bottom line.

Reduce the Time Employees Spend Learning

E-Learning is proven to shorten training sessions by 20% to 60%. Because a lot more instructional design goes into each and every online training course, the student gets to maximize his/her time and learn much faster. This, once again, means employees can spend less time learning and more time focusing on the activities they were hired to do.

Increase Productivity

A new hire cannot be effective until he/she has learned a basic set of skills. Unfortunately, managers don't always have time to train new hires as soon as they walk in the door. This leads to remunerated, yet non-productive employees. Worst however is the fact that these employees who are eager to learn end up sucking other people's time, which temporarily leads to a decrease in the productivity of the entire team.

Online training allows new hires to learn at their own pace, without the presence of an instructor (or other peers). It enables them to become as productive as possible, as quickly as possible, and contribute to the productivity of the team from day 1.

Enable Learning During Downtime

Every retail business has peak hours followed by downtime. What do you employees do in between rushes?

Instead of having them read a magazine or go 3 cigarette breaks in a row, why not take this opportunity to train them on your latest products, services, equipment or operational procedures?

Thanks to the anytime, anywhere nature of eLearning, employees can learn at their convenience in small chunks, say 10 to 20 minute increments. And because courses can be paused at the click of a button, employees can briefly suspend their learning to attend clients or more pressing activities should they arise.

Eliminate Travel and Living Expenses

Many franchisors spend countless hours visiting their locations on a regular basis. Others fly their store owners and managers to head office for week-long training. How else are you going to ensure that your franchises operate in a consistent manner?

E-Learning allows you to standardize your training program across the franchise system and ensure the message is consistent for all employees, regardless of their location. It also allows you to track your employees’ participation and progress in your program. A centralized, online Corporate University eliminates, or at least significantly reduces, the need to physically travel to each and every franchised location to check up on your franchisors. It allows you to significantly reduce travel and living expenses, which for most franchise systems, represent 40% to 60% of their annual training budget.

Eliminate Printing & Mailing Costs

All instructor-led courses I've ever attended included training manuals. That's because once the instructor is gone, the information is gone - with the exception of course of what you managed to retain following a marathon cramming session, which is typically very little! In the franchise world, those training manuals are sometimes referred to as Operation Manuals.

Printing manuals with hundreds of pages isn't only bad for the environment; it's bad for your wallet. The printing and shipping costs especially add up when errors or omissions are found in the pre-printed copies, requiring you to throw them all out and print a new batch. Thanks to your learning environment however, you can easily update training courses or PDF operation manuals and make them immediately available to all of your employees. You'll very quickly realize that employees no longer need printed material now that it is available anytime, anywhere, at the click of a mouse.

Eliminate Facilities and Equipment

Most franchised locations don't have separate training facilities to train their employees, but some do in fact rent facilities to train a large group of employees all at once. By offering courses over the Web, you no longer need such classrooms, projectors, etc. Students can learn anytime, anywhere, including from home. And because learning environments allows you to track the amount of time students spend learning, it's easy to tell whether or not your employees are being productive or simply surfing the net.

Egypt Schools Fight H1N1 with eLearning

2009-10-08T01:44:00Z

The owners of private schools in Egypt are developing their own measures to prevent the spread of H1N1 flu, also known as swine flu, when the academic year resumes on October 3rd. Possible courses of action include, amongst other things, shortening the time spent in classrooms and replacing it with eLearning, thereby allowing students to learn from home.

The full article can be read online on the Egypt News Web site.

Free Whitepaper - Online Training for Technology Companies

2009-09-29T12:18:00Z

Dual Code has just released a white paper titled "Online Training for Technology Companies". This white paper presents best practices and "how to" information to help technology companies develop a successful online training program.

Although this paper focuses on training your employees, many of the principles such as the benefits of an online Corporate University and characteristics of adult learners also apply to training other stakeholders such as your clients and partners.

This eLearning white paper is available as a free download here: www.dualcode.com/whitepaper.htm. No registration or email address is required!

Student of eLearning

2009-09-28T03:05:00Z

There is constant buzz of how beneficial eLearning can be and the advantages it has over conventional learning. This type of learning has many attractive features for companies as it saves time and money as well as gives the most flexibility for learning as it can be done almost anywhere, anytime! There have been many articles and options from the pros on this kind of technology however this article deals with a student’s perspective of eLearning. Recently I was able to sit down with a fellow named Robert who was utilizing a corporate university in order to train for a new employment position.

Robert gained a position with a company in Ottawa which manages client care for other companies. AT&T is one of the many contracts that it handles. Representatives in Ottawa deal with billing issues as well as technical ones that the customers may have. To learn how to deal with these issues and how to best resolve them, employees undergo five weeks of training through AT&T’s Corporate University. Prior to his training through AT&T, Robert only had basic knowledge of what eLearning was and how it could be applied. Here are the questions we had for Robert and his experience:

Did you have any knowledge of eLearning prior to dealing with AT&T’s Corporate University?

I was aware of eLearning but I had never experienced it firsthand. I didn’t really know anything too specific about the technology or how it was really used but I understood the idea behind it. I thought that it sounded like an interesting way to have people learning.

Were you apprehensive to take such an innovate approach to learning?

Honestly, I wasn't too sure about it. I'm more of a pen, paper and textbook kind of guy so I wasn't positive that reading materials on a computer screen was going to be effective in helping me learn what I needed to for my job. I sometimes find that computers can be a distraction when I am trying to really concentrate on something and focus.

After completing the training through the corporate university did you still have reservations about eLearning?

Actually, it was the best way to learn the materials that we needed to know. The material that we were dealing with was rather dry, however it was nice to be able to have the interactive online quizzes and scenarios to help understand and learn the material. There were a few chalkboard lessons along with what we did but it was only to reinforce what we had previously learned, more of a review than actually learning new material.

Were you engaged with the learning?

As I said before, the material was rather dry, however there were many mediums used to relay the information. PowerPoint’s, online quizzes, mock scenarios, program tutorials as well as the conventional handouts were used to teach the methods and techniques that we were going to have to utilize once we were taking calls and dealing with clients. Because there were so many ways that we were able to learn about the information it made it more interesting than if we would have been reading from handouts and chalkboards and textbooks while in training.

What did you enjoy the most about the online learning experience?

I enjoyed the fact that I was able to go at my own pace, that things were explained clearly in the tutorials and that I was able to follow along with them as I completed the sections. The modules also allowed you the ability to go back and look over something if you were not able to grasp it the first time. It was nice knowing that I wasn’t holding any of my colleagues back with a question. It was a very comfortable way of learning.

The tutorials were also nice because it was nice to have it explained and then be able to put it into practice. The online quizzes were also beneficial as it allowed you to track your progress and informed you of where you would be able to make improvements. The learning was organized in modules which flowed logically from one section to the next. Sometimes I find that learning from a textbook and lectures can be unorganized, jumping from one topic to the next and not connecting the two together.

How would you rate your corporate university experience?

Overall I was extremely satisfied with the corporate university experience and the eLearning involved with it. I was sceptical at first but it was the best way that I would have been able to learn the material that I needed for my job. It is a great way to teach many people at one time. It allows all students to learn at their own pace which seemed to really work for the other employees who were in the same training group as I was.

I would certainly be open to learning again through a corporate university or training for a new job with eLearning tools. I think that it is a positive move forward for any company that aligns themselves with this kind of technology. It makes training and learning so much more enjoyable and easier.

E-Learning Article in Epoch Times

2009-09-25T18:47:00Z

The Epoch Times has published an interesting article on eLearning in their early September edition. You can read the full article here, but I wanted to highlight a few key points I found interesting.

(University) professors went from just posting a course syllabus to podcasting lectures and now 85 percent of students (at the University of Cincinnati) use it in at least one of their courses.
The renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) offers 1900 courses on everything from Chinese to the Aerodynamics of Viscous Fluids through MIT Open Courseware.
In the 2007-2008 school year, 23,000 (Ontario) students registered in online classes.
Patricia MacNeil, a spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Education which funds e-Learning Ontario, says the province will be investing $6 million in e-learning for K-12 in the 2009-2010 school year.
Tanya Blazina, a spokesperson for the Ontario's Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities says the province will invest $2.5 million this year to open 12 new e-learning network centres and to support five centres already up and running in southern and eastern Ontario.

Another interesting comment was that "some software can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to license and support. [...] There are free, open-source alternatives like Moodle that can fill the role for a fraction of the price for schools willing to roll up their sleeves and read the self-help tech forums." Haven't these guys ever heard of Dual Code Inc.?

The Most Common Complaint Among Franchisees Is...

2009-09-05T00:21:00Z

I recently found an interesting article from Black Enterprise explaining that "lack of adequate training and ongoing support is the most common complaint among franchisees". I thought this article would be of high interest to franchisors or business owners considering franchising their business.

Long story short: invest in an online Corporate University. It could go a long way to convincing your potential franchisees that you invest in your most important resource: THEM!

Survey Finds 90% of Respondents Expect to Maintain or Grow Usage of SaaS

2009-08-20T14:35:00Z

Many organizations are torn between hosting their online Corporate University themselves, or getting someone else to host it for them.

A survey conducted by Gartner Inc. in late 2008 concluded that nearly 90 percent of organizations expect to maintain or grow their usage of software as a service (SaaS), citing cost-effectiveness and ease/speed of deployment as primary reasons for adoption. In fact, more than one-third of respondents indicated plans to transition from on-premises to SaaS, citing total cost of ownership (TCO) and unmet performance expectations with on-premises solutions as key decision factors.

“Use of SaaS has been evolving during the past decade and the SaaS model has become increasingly popular over the past three or four years,” said Sharon Mertz, research director at Gartner. “Our survey indicates that more than 40 percent of organizations have used SaaS for more than three years, implying a growing fluency with the model within the end-user base. Users are demanding higher levels of functionality, sometimes prompting organizations to renegotiate their contracts early to opt for more feature-rich solutions, or to add more users as the organizational footprint expands.”

"SaaS especially makes sense in the eLearning market" stated Luc Richard, President & CEO of Dual Code Inc., a leading eLearning solutions provider that offers a turnkey Corporate University solution under a SaaS model. "There are so many changes taking place in the eLearning industry right now that trying to keep pace with change is nearly impossible for a small to medium size company's IT department. Letting an eLearning provider manage your Corporate University means you're solution will remain leading edge without you ever having to worry about it or invest large capital sums."

Additional information is available in the Gartner report “User Survey Analysis: Software as a Service, Enterprise Application Markets, Worldwide, 2008.” The report is available on Gartner’s Web site at www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?ref=g_search&id=802221&subref=simplesearch.

Additional information is available on Dual Code's Corporate University solution by visiting http://www.dualcode.com/elearning/index.htm.

Canadian Franchise Association

2009-08-19T11:52:00Z

For those of you thinking about franchising your business, I wanted to point out a "Franchising 101" tutorial on the CFA (Canadian Franchise Association) Web site.

http://www.cfa.ca/Publications_Research/Tutorials/

From an online training perspective, this tutorial would probably get a 1 out of 10 - at best! It's basically 20 mini-chapters of text. No images, multimedia, or even the ability to search through it. That being said, if you can manage to read through the entire CFA tutorial, you can find some very valuable information.

Two sections of this "Franchising 101" tutorial are related to training. Section 7 is related to initial franchisor training and section 8 deals with ongoing training. Section 9 additionally provides you with an introduction to Operations Manuals.

I'm a bit disappointed that the Canadian Franchise Association barely touches on the subject of online training. An online Corporate University is such a great tool, especially for small to medium size franchisors, that it probably deserves an entire section in this tutorial.

A company trying to franchise has enough things to worry about. The more you can automate, the better. Especially if you can find a good, reliable service provider to outsource the administration of your Corporate University (e.g. hardware maintenance, software upgrades, network administration, etc.)

The Advantages of High Quality eLearning Software

2009-08-17T13:08:00Z

By Fred Green

We've come a long way in a short amount of time. The internet's remarkable growth and the increased affordability of technology and access have combined to usher in the age of elearning. Today, the idea of sharing information and conducting educational projects online isn't exotic or futuristic. It's commonplace. Elearning is now a key component in the educational and business worlds.

The ability to connect to the Internet in an efficient and affordable way was a necessary precondition for the elearning explosion, but it wasn't sufficient. One missing link remained. The right software. Hardware will only get you so far! Without the right programming, elearning wouldn't have become the force it now is.

Fortunately, developers filled that gap with some quality products. It quickly became possible to conduct multiparty webinars online, providing live training opportunities that rivaled their traditional offline counterparts. Meanwhile, other educational software tools made it possible to conduct asynchronous online education, as well. These LMS systems represented a significant leap forward in the realm of online educational software.

Today, things are getting even more interesting-and powerful. The right elearning software can handle both of those tasks readily with one set of tools. In the business training sector, we're also witnessing the development and implementation of high-quality blended elearning programs that go even farther in terms of their potential use, creating a seamless top to bottom training and education system that has outward-facing benefits in terms of customer loyalty and service.

Gains in the elearning field have made the process incredibly popular. Entire university-level courses of study are now available online. Businesses are using blended elearning software to replace traditional training methods. Analysts maintain that elearning is now a $35 billion per year industry and there's no reason to think that number will do anything but go up. The efficiency and efficacy of elearning makes it a growing area of interest even in a recessionary economy.

Are you using elearning software to improve your educational efforts or business training? If not, now is the time to jump on the bandwagon. Elearning software is now capable of performing all necessary functions effectively and inexpensively.

Get Your FREE eZ-Web Meeting, and FREE eZ-Contact at www.eLearningZoon.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fred_Green http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Advantages-of-High-Quality-E-Learning-Software&id=2429663

eLearning or e-Learning

2009-08-14T10:36:00Z

Is it eLearning or e-Learning?

A recent (August 12, 2009) search on Google Trends shows that worldwide, eLearning (without the hyphen) took the lead on e-Learning in late 2008. Seems like people are dropping the dash.

Figure 1. Worldwide search volume for eLearning and e-Learning.

The same search in Canada indicates that we've had a preference for eLearning for quite a while. I guess Canadians are ahead of the times.

Figure 2. Canadian search volume for eLearning and e-Learning.

Free eBooks from the eLearning Guild

2009-08-13T14:16:00Z

The eLearning Guild has a collection of free eBooks available for download. More importantly, you can download these eBooks without registering to their Web site or newsletter. Some sample titles include:

The eLearning Guild's Handbook of e-Learning Strategy
The eLearning Guild's Handbook on Synchronous e-Learning
65 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your e-Learning Budget

You can access these eBooks at the following address: http://www.elearningguild.com/content.cfm?selection=doc.545

Enjoy

Moddle

2009-08-13T03:07:00Z

Did you come across this article searching for the term Moddle but really meant Moodle?

If you did, then chances are you've heard of Moodle and are trying to figure out what the heck it is. And while doing so, you misspelled it as Moddle. If you want to learn more about Moodle, you can visit their Web site OR BETTER YET, you can stop searching and contact Dual Code.

Dual Code hosts Moodle and has packages starting at $89/month. Their fully hosted solution is provided to you as a subscription-based service (SaaS), which alleviates your burden of purchasing, installing, configuring and maintaining the hardware equipment or software application. All of Dual Code's packages include a free 14-day trial and:

Free installation and configuration
No-charge ongoing maintenance
Secure, private database
Technical support
Daily backups
24/7 monitoring
99% uptime guarantee
Risk-free cancellation policy

So, instead of spending countless hours trying to download, install, and learn how Moddle works, visit Dual Code's Web site at www.dualcode.com and sign up for your free trial.

CSTD Webinar on eLearning

2009-08-12T17:36:00Z

The CSTD (Canadian Society for Training and Development) is hosting a 1-hour Webinar on Thursday, September 24, 1:00pm titled "Maybe You Shouldn't Do That! Research-Validated Practices for Designing eLearning".

The cost is $25 for CSTD members and $40 for non-members (plus GST).

Abstract: Do digital natives and immigrants really exist? Should you convert all of your online learning to games? In what types of learning situations is eLearning likely to be effective? What personnel challenges does eLearning present? Should you feel guilty about not measuring the ROI of your learning program? Academic and third-party research on learning suggest answers—and they might surprise you. This fast-paced session presents a number of research-validated answers in the context of your on-the-job challenges—and suggests ways that you can seek out similar information on your own.

For more information or to register, click here.

Difference Between Asynchronous and Synchronous Learning

2009-08-11T16:55:00Z

Many eLearning vendors use the terms synchronous and asynchronous when describing their offering. What is the difference between asynchronous and synchronous learning anyway?

Synchronous means that an instructor is present when the course is delivered, even though the course might be delivered remotely over the Internet. Web conferencing solutions such as Webex or GoToMeeting are synchronous.

Asynchronous means that the instructor does not need to be present, thereby allowing students to learn anytime, at their convenience. Solutions that allow you to deliver pre-recorded courses such as Dual Code's Corporate University is asynchronous.

Free eLearning White Paper

2009-08-10T17:53:00Z

Dual Code has just released a white paper titled "Online Training for Franchisors & Retail Chains". This white paper presents best practices and "how to" information to help franchise systems and retail chains develop a successful online training program.

Although this paper focuses on franchise systems, many of the principles such as the benefits of an online Corporate University and characteristics of adult learners apply to any industry.

This eLearning white paper is available as a free download here: www.dualcode.com/whitepaper.htm. No registration or email address is required!

15 Tips To Help Promote Your eLearning Programs

2009-08-07T19:46:00Z

By Catherine Franz

Pre-note: In this article, teleclass is an example used to illustrate one type of eLearning market. The tips work the same for other eLearning programs, including, but not limited to, teleseminars and ecourses.

In the mid-1990s, the teleclass format began and was named, distance learning. During these early years, learning institutions, particularly universities, were chief users of this format. Mainly due to the large equipment investment needed at that time. Now, due to technology changes and cost reduction, people can give and attend ePrograms without leaving their chair or selling their first child. No parking challenges, auto expenses, or travel time required. Another benefit to learning by phone is that your listening skills will reach new heights quickly.

In 2003, technology allowed a single conference line to expand from 30 to 150 participants per line. Affordable conference lines were previously only available in certain states, Florida and Nevada. Now other states, like New York, are jumping in on this bandwagon with affordable rates.

Currently, a 24/7 conference line, is available to rent around $600 a year. An alternative is to rent the line by the hour. This can range between $10 to $20 per hour depending on the service features desired. You can also share a line with one or two others to reduce your cost. I recommend finding line-share partners who are in other time zones, it makes sharing easier.

Zero-cost teleconference lines at available at www.mrconference.com and by other vendors. Most of these services have flaws that range from automatic disconnect if no voice is detected every 8 to 10 minutes, to being blocked from entering the call because of overstressed lines. I recommend the leader dialing in 5 to 10 minutes early to secure the line, however, this doesn't mean that all participants may not experience over trafficked busy signals.

Actually, teleprograms will not take the place of "being there" for all people. The skills and experience of the teleclass leader or host can also make or break the learning experience. There are just as many teleclass leader styles as people. If you have never experienced a teleclass, I recommend attending four or five before deciding if the format is or isn't for you.

15 Tips To Help Promote Your eLearning Programs

1. If you produce your own eNewsletter, electronic newsletter, or eZine, electronic magazine, or printed newsletter, add an eLearning announcement section.

2. Contact other newsletter editors and ask to have your program announced in their issue. You can swap ad space, your ad for their ad, exchange ad space for participation, offer a commission option, purchase the ad, or pay per click-through. I don't recommend paying for click-throughs unless excellent tracking systems are in place. In order to attract, make sure their target market and yours match.

3. You can also use pay-per-click through search engines like Google’s AdWord program. If you go this route, I suggest you purchase an ad analyzer software (about $100) or a service (average $19.95/month) to maximize time and reduce mistakes.

4. Place notices all over your web site -- especially your main page -- about the program. Remember: posting announcement notices is actually passive marketing. You will still need to pull visitors to the site.

5. Write and distribute Internet articles on the same subject. Unable to write, hire a ghostwriter. Allow four to twelve weeks for this process to begin pulling visitors to your website. The number of articles distributed will proportionally be your return. My low end measurement has been: 1 article = 10 visitors or more = 8 new eNewsletter subscribers = 1 sale. High end: 1 article = 350 new visitors = 125 new subscribers = 10 sales. This is now one of the top five Internet promotion building attractions.

6. Since ePrograms don't require people to be physically present, attendance is now open internationally. Thus, you will want to distribute information about your eLearning opportunity globally. Find places in other English-speaking countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. If you speak a foreign language, you can even offer the same program in that language. Spanish speaking ePrograms are in high demand.

7. Mention your eProgram on other ePrograms you attend. You can slip it in with a question or when presenting your personal information to the class.

8. Add a promotional paragraph about the program to all your outgoing e-mails, called signatures in Outlook. Choose HTML design in your software and add a picture of the leader/host along with a link to where someone can register or find out additional information.

9. Join market-rich discussion lists, billboards, or chat rooms. If direct solicitation isn't permitted, sell gently through your signature or indirect questions.

10. Write a press release for each eProgram. Become a member of PR Web www.prweb.com/. Membership is free. This number one website attracts a very high percentage of media personnel.

11. Accumulate a list of all the local newspapers that offer free community event announcements. Inquire into their deadline and submission requirements. You will also want to ask how can may confirm receipt of your information. They don't intentionally leave information out, however, they move at a fast pace and things do get lost in the shuffle. Special note: Most community list ads are for fr*e* events.

Use a three-ring binder to record the advertising information. You can also save the information in your e-mail software, like Outlook, and your Internet browser software, in a separate "Community newspaper" section. However, if the hard drive crashes, make sure the information safe. Due to the value of this information and the amount of time you spent accumulating it, you still may want to keep updated printouts just in case. Even a backup diskette in the binder. Having a paper version also helps when the computer is off or you need to transport the information. This is also a great item to delegate to a virtual assistant.

12. Add your announcement to your telephone answering script. Change it whenever you are offering a new eProgram. Give instructions as to how to register -- and it’s important to make this as easy as possible for them. Don't forget some marketing tidbits of "what’s in it for them (WIIFM)" to register and do it now.

13. Use free ePrograms or offers to provide a taste and attract participants to register for longer paid programs. Offers can include: ebooks, ecourses, special reports, or even a professional white papers. Offering a transcription of the program or an audio copy is another great offer.

14. List your class in teleclass directories. Some directories require that you attend their particular teleclass-leading course. A big downfall in time and expense in the short-run, however, good investment for the long term. Here are a few directories to get you started:

http://www.seminarannouncer.com

http://www.teleclass4u.com

http://www.teleclasslive.com

http://www.teleclass.com

http://www.thefeelgoodplace.com/freetele.htm

http://www.Yahoogroups.com -- over 30 places to post your eProgram listing.

15. If you give speaking engagements or even when you participate in other events, seminars, workshops, give out flyers on your eProgram. Works well in networking groups too. Take the flyers to the libraries, senior and civic centers.

FYI, names of ePrograms can seem confusing at times, however, there is a standard for what to expect depending on the name. A teleseminar usually has very little interaction between leader and attendees. It is set up to instruct and participants to solely listen. Sometimes a brief Q&A period is spaced in-between subtopic changes.

On the other hand, a teleclass provides more time for participant to participant or participant to leader interaction. It has a higher ratio of free forming. A teleclass format copies more of the workshop atmosphere. A teleprogram, is a teleclass delivered over a period of time, like a class at a learning institution. The term eProgram is a compilation, or overview term, of all electronically delivered learning programs.

Catherine Franz, a Certified Professional Marketing & Writing Coach, specializes in product development, Internet writing and marketing, nonfiction, training. Newsletters and articles available at: http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Catherine_Franz
http://EzineArticles.com/?15-Ways-to-Promote-eLearning-Programs&id=5091

Green eLearning

2009-08-07T19:19:00Z

Is eLearning environmentally friendly? You bet it is!

E-Learning isn't only great as saving companies money. It also helps save the environment. Two immediate benefits of eLearning in regards to the environment are:

- It eliminates the need to travel, thereby reducing emissions.
- It eliminates the need to print training manuals, thereby saving trees.

What's your company's eLearning footprint? Why don't you find out for yourself.

Atmosfair: Let's you calculate emissions based on specific flights/airports.
Conservatree: Let's you calculate how many trees are used to print your training manuals.

In short, a single-person return flight between Ottawa and Vancouver is almost equivalent to driving a car for a year (12,000 km, middle class model) or running a refrigerator for 19 years! And 1 tree makes 8,333.3 sheets, or roughly 30 copies of a standard Operations Manual.

If you know any other ways eLearning helps save the environment, or would like to share your success story detailing how you've implemented a green eLearning program in your company, please share it with us by posting your comments here.

The "Forgotten" Benefit of eLearning

2009-08-06T16:21:00Z

The benefits of eLearning are quite well understood. (This previous post lists 12 of them.) But there's one major advantage that many people tend to forget: Online training is less intimidating than instructor-led training.

Most students, and adult ones in particular, learn best in nonthreatening environments. They might be intimidated to try something new for the first time in front of a larger group or even an instructor. Self-paced online training allows them to learn new skills in privacy. Students taking an online course enter a risk-free environment in which they can try new things and make mistakes without exposing themselves. This characteristic is particularly valuable when trying to learn soft skills, such as leadership and decision-making.

A good learning program shows the consequences of students’ actions and where/why they went wrong. After a failure, students can go back and try again. This type of learning experience eliminates the embarrassment of failure in front of a group. Once the learner has completed the online evaluation and feels confident he has mastered the skills, he will feel more confident demonstrating his newly acquired skills in front of his manager, supervisor, or fellow employees.