According to Elliot Masie of the Masie Institute, people will often say, "But when will eLearning be awesome!" Masie believes that we have to look at the field as an ever improving art and science and to place quality into that context. "Web pages from five years ago are jokes when we look at them today, but they were exciting and business enabling five years ago. We've learned how to use the medium and have begun to understand the human response to technology." In the same way, says Masie, eLearning is getting better and better. We have to consider several things when judging the quality of eLearning:

- Don't Just Compare eLearning to the Classroom! Look at what it can do on its own, where it can reach people that will never get to the classroom and how it can change the process of how we share knowledge. Look at if a telephone call is never as good as seeing and hugging a good friend, yet that does not destroy my perception of its value and quality.
- Separate Technology from Methodology: Some of the constraints of eLearning are more in the technology arena, with the new process of sharing media like voice and video over the net. Let's judge quality from a technology perspective and then also judge quality from the experience of learning activities perspective.
- Quality May be Cultural and Generational: What one person gets all excited about may be very different than another person of a specific age, position or culture. I love to ask what people really like about eLearning experiences and what do they hope it will "grow into" in the years ahead. (Elliott Masie, TechLearn Trends #204, 30 May 01)

UBIQUITOUS CONNECTIVITY FROM CISCO? - Through its recently acquired Aironet 350, Cisco is developing plans to market a wireless LAN to hospitals, hotels, airlines and educational institutions - enabling the technologies in areas that have previously been restricted. Cisco is also in discussion with developers that would create dual-mode types of devices that would enable the use of 802.11 LAN technology and 3G networks. At present, the University of North Carolina has already installed Cisco's wireless network, while preserving the campus architectural character. Cisco's Long-Reach Ethernet (LRE) technology is also in development. This technology brings broadband to complexes and individual buildings that are otherwise impossible to upgrade. This solution transmits data at high speed over already existing telephone wiring. (InfoWorld.com, 17 May 01)

INDUSTRY/GOVERNMENT/ACADEMIA TO JOIN FORCES - Three federal agencies joined forces with industry and academia for a two-day conference this month to foster teamwork and collaboration to meet a critical need: drawing and retaining young engineers and scientists to the Huntsville area. The first Education and Employment for Technological Excellence in Aviation, Missiles, and Space was held May 15-16 in Huntsville, AL. A key goal of the conference was to encourage research colleges and universities from a four- state area - Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia - to partner with industry and government to build a "high-tech corridor" in the region. The event addressed future research and technology needs, and promoted educational opportunities and workforce development initiatives for engineers, scientists and students. To encourage participation by colleges and universities, Marshall, AMCOM, and the Space and Missile Defense Command will jointly offer up to $1 million in grant money. For more information, CLICK: http://www.tabes.org/ (Syllabus e-News, Resources and Trends, 7 May 01)

VIRTUAL CLASSROOM IS THE FUTURE - Businesses and educational institutions in the United Kingdom are looking for ways to implement eLearning, which can mean a substantial reduction in costs. Cisco's classroom programs, for example, cost as much as $1,800 per worker, while Web-based classes are approximately $120 per worker. Dow used to pay about $80 million for health and safety training for its employees; that figure fell by $30 million after the company incorporated Internet and multimedia-based courses in its program. Sony likewise uses eLearning methods to train its repair engineers. Wolverhampton University in the United Kingdom uses its Wolverhampton online learning framework, or Woolf, to offer career development in the West Midlands area. The Internet can magnify the reach of traditional classroom teaching as well - for instance, by connecting students to a Webcast of a live class. (Sunday Times Online, 29 Apr 01 - Edupage, 4 May 01)

LMS CUSTOMER SATISFACTION MANAGEMENT RESULTS - Which Learning Management Systems (LMS) are receiving the highest levels of real-world customer approval? Find out this summer, when the results from the first independent, industry-wide Customer Satisfaction Study are announced. The study will showcase the top customer- pleasing Learning Management Systems providers in terms of:

- Overall satisfaction with the vendor
- Satisfaction with the product
- Satisfaction during pre-sales
- Satisfaction during implementation
- Satisfaction with support
- Confidence that the vendor can meet future needs

This report is based on evaluations from more than 200 LMS customers who rated 72 different systems over a four-month time frame. Results will be released in an upcoming dispatch. If you would like to be notified when this report is available, CLICK: http://www.brandon-hall.net/lmscss-notify/index.html (News and Notes from brandon-hall.com, 4 May 01)