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March 16, 1999
110 - MyFamily.Com Creates Free Communities for Contact and Collaboration; Army Extends Computer Based Training Offerings to Force
1. MyFamily.Com Creates Free Communities for Contact and Collaboration:
Check out a new free site where families or other groups can create
communities of contact, collaboration and even learning. Go to
www.myfamily.com and you can create a private site for your extended family.
Give access to each member of the family and they can access a private site
with a shared family calendar, picture album, family tree, announcements,
private scheduled or impromptu chats and even a filtered search engine of
the net. There are connections to e-commerce site, which is their economic
model, but the links are mild and the features are great. You could also
use this for a study group or professional collaboration group. Check it
out!
2. Army Extends Computer Based Training Offerings to Force: Yesterday, I
was at FOSE, leading a key session for Federal Training Managers, with
representatives from the White House, Vice President Gore's NPR, ADL and
ALX. The group focused on the need to use the Federal Government as a
powerful customer to support innovations in the field of learning and
technology. We will have a special track at TechLearn '99
(www.techlearn.com) entitled Government & Military Learning @ TechLearn
'99/.
At FOSE, the Federal Government Computer show that sponsored this meeting, a
number of announcements were made in the training segment. CBT Systems
announced they were awarded a $1 Million dollar contract with the U.S. Army
that provides 500,000 Army personnel worldwide with just-in-time access to
CBT Systems' library of 750 titles using web access software.
3. Learning Quotation - Judy Finnel
"Let's not get caught up in on-line learning fever and forget that the
majority of training is still being done by dedicated trainers in classrooms
filled with learners. Position on-line learning as an extension of
classroom training, remembering to provide focus, support and recognition
for classroom trainers as we move into a new era. If we don't, we will
loose our best trainers!"
Judy Finnel, CFS, Inc - Training Manager
4. Las Vegas Trip Report - Learning Decisions: I spent a very busy 12 hours
in Las Vegas on Saturday, doing a field visit for our upcoming Learning
Decisions '99 retreat for training and learning executives. We are going to
be one of the first groups to use the brand new Venetian Hotel, an amazing
conference facility that is being built by the former owner of COMDEX. I
donned a hard hat and walked the property and checked out the final phases
of construction. With their background in technology, they are building a
very high tech hotel of conference attendees. A special laptop safe in
every room, a printer in every room and a third data line for access. And,
while there is a casino in the lobby, it is far from the focus of the
property. The theme is a reconstruction of Italy, along with a working
gondola canal and awesome art and sculpture.
We have 62% of the spaces filled at Learning Decisions '99. Learning
executives from Lucent, NCR, Wal-Mart, CIA, Chase Manhattan, Anheuser Busch,
Amazon.Com, US Air, Ernst & Young and more than 100 other leading
organizations. There is a limit of 285 attendees and it is limited to
internal training executives. Complete details are at
http://www.masie.com/decisions/ We are honored to add Marc Rosenberg and
David Vaughn to our faculty resources at Learning Decisions '99. (By the
way, it was the night of the so-called fight on pay TV. I never saw more
disappointed sports fans as I did when the fight was called a draw.)
5. On-Line Learning Business Trends Article: If you would like to check out
an article about current business trends in on-line learning industry, go to
the Computer Reseller News site and read my latest article on standards,
consolidation, content and new players:
http://www.crn.com/sections/columnist/833/833masie.asp
6. Ken Dychtwald - Learning Throughout Age Curve: There is all too much
focus on the younger generation of workers as forces of change. Let's not
forget that we have an enormous population of learners that are in the
forties, fifties and sixties. What about their needs and changing learning
profiles. Here is a provocative quote from Ken Dychtwald, the leading
thinker in the new conversation on the "Age Wave" (Ken will be a featured
Keynote Speaker at TechLearn '99):
"By 2020, the traditional 'linear life' paradigm in which people migrate
through education, then work, then leisure/retirement, will be replaced by a
new 'cyclic life' paradigm in which education, work and leisure are
interspersed repeatedly throughout the life span. It will become 'normal'
for 50-year-olds to go back to school and for 70-year-olds to start new
careers."
"Phased retirements, part-time and flex-time work and 'rehirements' will
become common options for mature men and women who either need or want to
keep working."
"In the years and decades to come, tens of millions of outspoken, long-lived
men and women will force a redefinition of the purpose and arrangement of
work in our lives. You can already see the tip of this iceberg with the
growing popularity of sabbaticals, phased retirement programs, flextime, job
banks, and career-transition retraining programs geared to older workers."
You will have a chance to dialogue with Ken about the needs of the older
workers in our workforce at TechLearn '99 http://www.masie.com
7. Reminder: FREE Internet and Satellite Broadcast Tomorrow: At 1 PM to 3
PM Eastern Time, we will be hosting the next free TechLearn LIVE Broadcast,
with almost 20,000 viewers scheduled. Guests, topics and viewing
instructions are at http://www.masie.com/live/ If you would like to submit
questions for the panel, please send them to me at live@techlearn.com Send
some early ones so that we can integrate them into the broadcast.
Posted by elliott at March 16, 1999 03:05 PM