LOTUS ANNOUNCES NEW BUSINESS DIVISION - IBM and subsidiary Lotus Development recently announced a new business division devoted to Internet-based distance learning. The initiative is intended to help Lotus focus on three areas integral to the company's business strategy: distance learning, knowledge management and messaging and collaboration software. "It's my intention to have Lotus established as the franchise player in the knowledge management and distributed learning space," said Lotus CEO Al Zollar. Lotus last year released its first e-learning product, Learning Space Anytime 3.0, and is currently testing its first knowledge management system, Raven, at 250 customer sites. Zollar added that the rapid evolution of technology is making it difficult for companies to train workers, claiming that "in some cases, the time to train is exceeding the time to market." Consequently, many in the high-tech industry view distance learning as a tool that will enable companies to quickly train employees, speed delivery of products and services and achieve key business goals. E-learning company Hungry Minds believes that IBM's entrance will help the e-learning industry obtain needed credibility and visibility. (InformationWeek, 15 May 00 - Edupage 17 May 00)

BUILDING e-PARTNERSHIPS - Many governments, particularly state and local ones, are partnering with private technology and services firms to apply e-commerce solutions to government services. The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, for example, estimates the cost of serving its customers has dropped 50 percent since implementing e-commerce services. Although it is not hard to see why government agencies are interested in e-commerce, some concerns remain. Some worry that encouraging interaction with the government over the Internet will widen the gap between the "haves" and "have-nots" while others object to paying a small transaction fee online in addition to the normal fees associated with renewing fishing licenses or business permits. Still others question whether private businesses should be playing a role in government duties, citing the risk of fraud or privacy violations. Citizens are demanding online access to government services, however, and Dell Computer CEO Michael Dell estimates only one percent of transactions between governments and citizens are currently performed online. (Government Executive, May 00)

STANFORD TO LAUNCH FOR-PROFIT VENTURE FOR WEB SEARCHES - E-Skolar, Stanford University's first for-profit online endeavor, is a medical search engine that enables physicians to find information using multiple databases including textbooks, medical journals reviewed by peers, drug databases, updated clinical guidelines and the National Library of Medicine. Continuing-education credits sanctioned by the American Medical Association can be obtained by clinicians at the site. The new company, which will operate independently of the university, has a $240 annual subscription fee and provides a faster and higher quality service than other medical sites on the Internet. The company recently signed a distribution agreement with Agilent Technologies and intends to develop corporate partnerships. The university may not develop any more for- profit sites. This site was created in order to keep Stanford at the forefront of online education after the university saw the large amount of competition from outside institutions. (Wall Street Journal, 9 May 00 - Edupage 10 May 00)

UPDATE: MASIE TOUR - Elliott Masie of the Masie Center, recently returned from a 9-day Defense Department Tour. Some observations: 1) Simulation is accepted as a core element in the department's culture and workplace. As the internet becomes available throughout the services, the desire for Distributed Simulation and laptop-based simulations will be key; 2) Email links deployed forces with their families back at the base. Over 1,000,000 emails go through their server in a 5 month deployment, causing a 300% drop in the number of sailors that had to return home due to family crisis. Internet-based video will expand the process dramatically; 3) Both e-learning and new models of distance learning were prevalent; 4) There was a wide spread interest and effort to adopt service wide standards as the Department of Defense heads towards e-Learning. The Advanced Distributed Learning Project (www.adlnet.org) was on the "radar screens." "We have to create rapid ways of providing fast, ongoing learning to our troops around the world," said Secretary Cohen. (TechLearn Trends - May 00)