MEDIA LAB EXPANDS TO INDIA - India will soon have a Media Laboratory of its own. Officials with the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MS., confirmed it is involved in talks with the Indian government to set up a new Media Lab facility in India. The deal, which could be worth as much as $1 billion, would be funded partially by India's government and by the sponsors recruited both by MIT and by the Indian government. With so many American high-tech companies setting up development centers there, the new lab should boost India's already accelerating IT economy. In addition, the lab will conduct research to use technology to help improve education in the country. (Syllabus News, Resources and Trends 20 Feb 01)

PROFIT FOR SOME FOR-PROFITS - Enrollments at some established virtual colleges showed increases last year. University of Phoenix Online was up from 12,000 in January of 2000 to 16,300 the end of last year. It also received significant investment last year - a $70 million stock offering by parent company, the Apollo Group. Cappella University, Minneapolis-based, saw enrollment double last year and received a $35 million investment from Forstmann Little & Co. In addition, a number of virtual colleges launched online MBA programs. It appears that investors are turning to online education enthusiastically because it has enormous growth potential. It's projected that online MBA programs will see enrollment increase tenfold within two years. (Online Learning, Jan 01)

eLEARNING IN HARDER ECONOMIC TIMES - The Masie Institute has just completed a scan of organizations to find out what the impact of harder economic times would be on eLearning investments and projects. Here are a few perspectives:

* Most see eLearning as surviving (with a few bumps) from a tightening budget process. Learning will need to be quicker, less expensive and more responsive in tighter budget times.
* Organizations may find it harder to get a large sum for buying a learning system and may shift to an ASP (or hosted) model for LMS, to keep the outflow of dollars smaller.
* The need to align with Business Objectives is even more critical. Executive teams are asking for Cost Reduction, Direct Savings and Impact on Business Lines in the proposals for eLearning efforts.
* Do not portray eLearning as a Dot.Com effort, but link it to a Click and Mortar strategy, adding effectiveness to an existing business process rather than suggesting a "new economy" radical alternative. (Techlearn Trends #196 2 Feb 01)