MASIE SELECTED TO TOUR DEPT. OF DEFENSE - Elliot Masie of the Masie Institute has been selected by Secretary of Defense William Cohen to take an intensive one week tour of the United States Department of Defense capabilities next week. He will be part of a small group of civilian leaders from the worlds of finance, entertainment, education, labor and business, to meet with Secretary Cohen and the Joint Chiefs of Staff and visit key military installations across the country. His focus will be on the ways in which the Department of Defense is training and preparing the troops for the Digital Age. More in the next DESIEN Newsletter. (TechLearn Trends Special, 28 Apr 00)

JUST-IN-TIME LEARNING - By offering substantial time and money savings, as well as the most current content, e-learning training programs are becoming increasingly popular with corporations trying to keep their staff knowledgeable about industry developments. The electronic, just-in-time learning market is expected to reach $11.4 billion in 2003, up from over $1 billion last year, according to International Data (IDC). IBM, which offers its employees and business partners satellite- and Web-based e-learning programs, estimates that it saved $200 million last year in internal training costs, says IBM's Rick Horton. The Web-based Sales Compass application and 10-channel global satellite system keep IBM sales personnel, business partners and other employees supplied with the latest information on customers, industry trends and technology developments. Although online learning will not likely replace traditional classroom- based training, it does offer advantages in some instances, particularly in the IT industry, where all training is "essentially perishable," says IDC analyst Cushing Anderson. (Computerworld, 3 April 2000 Ð Edupage 7 Apr 00)

THE CENQUEST WAY - Cenquest, an Internet-learning company is offering online business graduate classes to employers. Cenquest provides more than 100 sites under its Business School 3.0 program, where students can receive an interactive education. Per student fee is $470 for each credit hour or $25,000 for all of the Internet-based classes and a degree from Oregon Graduate Institute. Extra benefits add another $5,000 for a total of $30,000. Revenues are shared with Cenquest's four partner institutions - Oregon Graduate Institute, the University of Texas, Australia's University of Adelaide and Mexico's TEC/Monterrey Tech. This concept may be part of a growing trend. International Data estimates that the Internet education market will grow from the less than $200 million it in 1997 to over $7 billion in 2002. Cenquest is anticipating that companies may leverage services to retain employees and are therefore directing its services toward human resource specialists. (Business Journal of Portland Online, 27 Mar 00)