Read Online at:
http://www.e-learningguru.com/articles/ezine/guru2_17.htm

I've been away from you for far too long, but I've got a good excuse. My wife and I had a baby boy recently (I have two girls as well) so things have been extra crazy. A lot of ground to cover...

Online Learning Conference in CA
The Online Learning Conference is underway and if, like me, you aren't there, you can get a good glimpse of the highlights from Jay Cross's blog.

Webcast: Working with CIO's and IT Departments
Will you join me for an upcoming webcast? CLO magazine is producing a panel discussion with me and leading CIO's on how training folks and IT folks can partner for best results. All you need is a browser and a web connection and you'll be good to go.
Date: Oct 1, 2003
Time: 11:00am Pacific / 2:00pm Eastern
Length: 60 minutes
Click here to register at Interwise.

White Paper: Blended Learning: What Works?
Josh Bersin of Bersin & Associates sent me his summary white paper on blended learning. Some see "blended learning" as a cop-out and retreat from true e-learning, while others think the term is just redundant. Josh decided to look at at 30 different companies who were doing "blended learning" and concludes:

• Blended learning is the next big thing.
• Blended is a good way to optimize resources.
• Smart media choice must be driven by the strengths and weaknesses of each.
• Blended forces you to think about the business problem.
• The required technology is not as ubiquitous as we think.
• Blended needs an integrated "go to market" plan.
• Many companies are saving big $ by in-sourcing content dev.
• A huge impact is possible.

Click here for Blended Learning: What Works (MS-Word Doc).

Case Study: International Rectifier (IR)
Case study showing benefits and results of the cost-saving variety for training sales reps. Key points include:

• E-learning helped reduce sales training costs at IR by 75%.
• IR saved approximately $250,000 in the first 9 months.
• IR reduced course development costs by as much as 90% and development time was reduced by 80%.

Click here for full case study (1 MB Word Doc).

Personal Rant: Back to School
Many of us have sent our kids back to school in recent weeks and I almost screamed as I sat through "Parent Teacher Night" for my daughter's kindergarten class. I sat in a tiny chair and looked around the room and realized it could have been the exact same room I went to Kindergarten in over 30 years ago. And, in fact, I doubt that much has changed in the class for the last 90 years. Colorful stuff littering the walls, little chairs and desks, lots of curriculum kits from Scholastic.

This is crazy. Over the last ten years alone, think how dramatically technology has changed our offices, our homes, our cars, our stores, our doctor's and dentist's office, etc etc. But my daughter's classroom hasn't changed at all. (To be fair, I did notice a 10 year old broken Macintosh in the corner that hasn't been used in two years.)

Even setting aside the technology, she's in a room with 25 kids and one teacher (no assistant) for a whopping two and a half hours a day, with half hour of recess. What a joke! And I gotta tell you, my property taxes are high here in Bucks County, PA and the school district has a good reputation. What's K-6 like in other parts of the country where they spend less per child?

In the United States we continue to pay the most for educating our kids, and still manage to fail in so many ways. End of my rant for now, if you want more I suggest:
* Jay Cross' blog entry "Schooldaze" from Sept 17, 2003
* John Taylor Gatto's website "Challenging the Myth of Modern Schooling"

Banner Swapping with ASTD

The American Society for Training and Development is a strong, non-profit organization that I've worked with for many years. In order to help build the Guru community I've decided to swap banner ads with them. You see this banner, and visitors to their site see a banner enticing them to join the e-Learning Guru e-mail list.

Don't forget to sign-up for my webcast on working with CIO's and IT departments. Please send this newsletter to friends and enemies alike.

Here's to living and learning and returning to Kindergarten,
-- Kevin

Kevin Kruse is the e-learning columnist for CLO, Chief Learning Officer magazine, author of Technology-based Training (Jossey-Bass), and Principal with Kenexa. He can be reached at kkruse@e-learningguru.com.
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