Just Learn News Review

Game to Learn Conference

2010-03-26T10:55:00.001Z

Details of the Game to Learn conference from the eLearning Alliance being held in Dundee on 30th April.

Games Based Learning - Becta Briefings Note

2010-03-26T10:54:00.001Z

Latest thinking on games based learning brought together in this Briefings note from Becta.

Skillsoft Buy-out

2010-02-12T16:03:00.001Z

Skillsoft to be bought in $1.1bn deal.

We Are The People

2009-12-07T12:01:00.002Z

The world is changing rapidly - but our education system is not keeping pace - http://www.wearethepeoplemovie.com/

Review: 'The Complete Guide to Simulations & Serious Games' by Clark Aldrich

2009-11-26T10:39:00.000Z

Book review from eLearn Magazine - 'The Complete Guide to Simulations & Serious Games'
by Clark Aldrich

LearnVantage Make Offer for Thirdforce

2009-11-09T20:37:00.001Z

LearnVantage make 27 million euro offer for Thirdforce - more info

Education at the Crossroads

2009-08-18T11:33:00.001Z

Good summary from Seth Godin

White Tailed Seas Eagles have Landed

2009-06-30T14:02:00.002Z

Watching the osprey nests at Boat of Garten and Loch of the Lowes is spectacular, so when I read news that another 20 white tailed sea eagle chicks have been brought over from Norway I am impressed.

These birds of prey are awesome.

Kennys New Book

2009-05-01T12:46:00.003Z

Kenneth Fees new book - Delivering E-Learning: a complete strategy for design, application and assessment - was published on 03 April 2009, and is available on Amazon.

Some of the issue Kenny expects to be a bit controversial, and stir up some interest include:

1. A new way of understanding e-learning, as an approach that encompasses all new methods of learning utilising digital technology.

2. Identification of five distinct models of e-learning – and there may be more.

3. A matrix for considering the impact of different kinds of e-learning.

4. A call for more strategic thinking about e-learning.

5. Condemnation of techies for overuse of misleading jargon.

6. Condemnation of e-learning vendors for misleading clients and “vandalising the market”.

7. Dismissal of e-learning technology standards as largely irrelevant.

8. A new model for e-learning design – the “route map”.

Other interesting features of the book include: foreword by Bill McGrath; a “virtual round table” discussion; an illustrative project; a glossary of technical terms; consideration of how to evaluate e-learning; an annotated bibliography; and a look at what the future may hold.

Also, it seems that I get a mention!

Also of interest, it looks like Kennys re-introduced the "-".

Intellego Buys Zenosis for £50k

2008-08-07T10:43:00.000Z

Intellego, buys Zenosis, the publisher of compliance eLearning courses for the pharmaceutical industry, for £50,000 in cash.

The acquisition of Zenosis' library of eLearning pharmaceutical compliance courses, from the Administrator, will enable Intellego to serve both its existing pharmaceutical clients with additional material and courses, to acquire new customers and to sell into a whole new market of specialist training for the pharmaceutical industry.

Zenosis training courses include subjects such as good clinical practice and regulatory affairs - compulsory for those working in the pharmaceutical industry.

In the year to 31 December 2007 Zenosis generated sales of £341,787 and made a net loss before tax of £164,748. The balance sheet shows net assets of £148,566.

EducationGuardian - e-Learning

2008-04-03T15:05:00.002Z

The March edition of the e-Learning supplement to the Education Guardian is here.

It include articles on the eeePC, tools to help with study support and a bit about consoles and gaming.

Mobile e-Learning

2008-03-11T16:44:00.002Z

The iPhone (and other mobile devices) give learning experts a new platform to disperse their wares, but you'd need to be a real techy to have any idea about how to effectively use the medium. Until now that is - step up SumTotal.

SumTotal have released a beta version of ToolBook 9.5 which allows you to create content specifically for the iPhone. Could this be a real killer combination.

Further details from the ToolBook blog.

March e-Learning Poll

2008-03-10T10:24:00.001Z

e-Learning technologies give you a great degree of flexibility on your location for studying learning materials, but just because you could study whilst in the bath, doesn't mean you do.

So the March Poll from :e-LearningNow: aims to find out what is your preferred location for using work related e-Learning.

The poll is avaiable now on the home page of :e-LearningNow: .

2007-12-05T11:53:00.000Z

qaerqaergaergqaegv

Intellego Buys Copia

2007-11-21T15:20:00.000Z

Intellego Holdings continues on its' growth strategy with yet another acquisition. This time it is Copia that's being bought, with £50k in shares and £25k in cash on completion and another £15k based on performance.

That sounds like a fair bit of money for a Company with net liabilities of £46k, though in saying that, Copia did generate a pre tax profit of £23k in the 6 months to September.

Alistair Marshall, Managing Director and major shareholder in Copia, will be joining Intellegos executive team.

Full announcement at :e-LearningNow:

L.Tech Seminars

2007-11-13T17:08:00.001Z

New Ideas for a New Year

We're looking at running seminars in January / February aimed at small businesses who have little or no experience in using technology to deliver / facilitate their training and development.

The initial thinking is that these will be taster sessions lasting a couple of hours. But some feedback we have had is that with limited experience of learning technologies, we will be able to get across very little of what the technology can actually achieve, and probably spend a relatively large proportion of our time on more general T&D issues.

Any comments on this would be appreciated, as would suggestions of which tools would be most effective to highlight e.g. Moodle (content mgt), social networking, blogs/wikis, video & audio.

Huveaux Up For Grabs

2007-10-23T08:10:00.000Z

Disappointing results have hammered Huveaux recently, and now the Company set up to buy brands in the publishing market (which in the past couple of years has included Epic, Letts and Leckie and Leckie) finds itself on the receiving end of a possible bid.

Further details at :e-LearningNow: and The Scotsman.

DA Group - dafunct

2007-10-12T14:04:00.000Z

They have had some interesting looking products over the years, but despite their marketing successes, I'm afraid the old rules of accounting (and especially cash flow), have finally caught up with DA Group.

Smart products are one thing, and so long as you have someone willing to pump money into it a loss maker, then you can continue to operate. However, when money gets tight (and for e-learning and I'm guessing other sectors of the creative industries it is) then cash flow is the thing that counts.

Last year DA lost £1.7m on £642k of sales, the year prior, it was an even bigger loss.

DA have seen the writing on the wall for a while now, but they would have hoped for a better outcome from their strategic review announcement in May 2007. However they are now at the stage where even dealing with their own bank is becoming increasingly difficult.

The hoped for result of keeping the business intact whilst also selling it, now looks to have failed, with the result that only the operating activities will be sold, leaving the remaining business with about £200k. There is no indication as to how long this cash will be able to keep the remaining business running.

The Board believes that failure to complete the sale will result in the Company having insufficient funds to meet its liabilities as they fall due by the end of October 2007.

More details at :e-LearningNow:.

Mindleaders set to Transform Thirdforce

2007-09-27T13:47:00.000Z

Thirdforce have reported a first half revenue increase of almost 18% to €9m, with previous losses of €1.8m being turned into a profit of €573k during the first 6 months of the current year.

Thirdforce completed the acquisition of Mindleaders during the period, but with only 9 days of trading included in these results, these are an impressive set of figures.

The €13m Mindleaders deal transforms the Thirdforce business, making them the largest Irish and UK based independent e-learning company, whilst also giving them access to the lucrative US market as well as a new product range for their existing marketplaces.

It's estimated that had Mindleaders been part of the Thirdforce Group for the full period, revenues would have been another €6m higher, whilst profits would have been up another €70k.

As part of the acquisition, Thirdforce raised additional capital of €14m, part of which helped to finance the deal, with the remainder transforming the cash / debt situation. Thirdforce now finds itself with €3.6m sitting in the bank compared to just €920k this time last year.

The next 12 months provides huge opportunities for Thirdforce, but they will need to work hard to integrate the businesses, or they may find that the €12.6m goodwill added to the balance sheet will have a significant drag on the business.

Full results available from UKWire.

eLearning Alliance - Performance and Training

2007-08-29T10:00:00.001Z

eLAs most recent networking meeting was supposedly a discussion on the merits of rapid eL, with a look at some case studies from University of East London. The main thing that came out of this presentation is understanding that what one person calls rapid eL, is not what another person call rapid eL.

Anyway, this isn't the point of this post. During the following discussions, Norman noted how the use of Facebook has now been blocked in his organisation for fears of how much time staff are spending/wasting during the day.

So here's my point - if staff are wasting time (whether on Facebook or by any other method), their performance must be suffering. So if their performance is suffering, what are their managers doing about?

My view is that managers should manage for performance, and whilst banning the use of Facebook may result in a few people not wasting so much time during the day, what negative effect on performance/motivation may it have for others in the organisation.

This theme is now followed up in this article in Workforce Management, which highlights Reuters approach to training.

"In place of traditional learning metrics—number of training hours per employee, completion of required coursework or reuse of content—Reuters measures employee performance against business goals. Training that fails to directly support Reuters’ business objectives is being eliminated."

So my question to big corporate organisation - If your staff are achieving their targets, who's fault is it that they are wasting several hours a day on Facebook?

Whatever your answer, my reply will be - the line manager.

...

And a follow on piece for a bit of extra reading

Ubiquitous Learning

2007-07-30T14:56:00.000Z

Kenny is seeking a definition for e-learning, but in my eyes, the definition has probably evolved over the past year or so.

e-Learning is no longer a thing you do (it probably never was, but it was how the term was used), and more a description of method/mechanism.

To me, e-learning now describes a set of technology tools that can be used to deliver learning opportunities and to facilitate learning.

But give it another year, and the term will become increasingly obsolete - the technology will be ubiquitous.

Fuel bought by LRN

2007-07-17T12:53:00.000Z

UK based e-Learning developer Fuel has been bought by American counter-part LRN. No financial details have been released, but the press release includes this statement -

"The acquisition also extends LRN’s offerings and customer footprint in financial services, technology and military/government markets as well as in the European marketplace."

So it looks to be about increasing market share.

Fuel are just one of the multitude of small UK based houses that develops e-Learning content, so expect more such moves in the future as the market continues to consolidate in the search of a sustainable profit.

Further details from :e-LearningNow:.

ILX – Another Year of Significant Growth

2007-06-27T13:10:00.000Z

Revenue over the year has increased 49% to £10.3m at ILX Group, but with net profit lower at £1.1m. Almost all of the revenue growth is attributable to the July 2006 acquisition of Corporate Training Group.

ILX Group initially came to the stock market in 2000 as Time2Learn, and in that time they have been busy acquiring competitors in an attempt to build a sizeable training and software business in the vocational training market. Acquisitions have included Key Skills, Mindscope, Intellexis, Computa-Friendly, MountLane and Customer Projects.

These results seem to indicate that ILX are now suffering some indigestion in their attempts to integrate so many organisations into one.

Within their best practise division revenue from PRINCE2 training grew 16%, whilst ITIL training growth was 34%. These areas now account of 77% of revenues within Best Practise. IT training revenues fell 32% and Finance for non finance managers fell 45%.

Growth of revenue as a result of e-Learning delivery was 26% (now 58% of revenue) with classroom training revenue down 1%.

The hope is that a restructure into two divisions will provide the cost control and the focus required. ILX now have a Best Practise division with Corporate Training Group operating independently from this.

If ILX gets its' act together, there are significant opportunities for its' range of subjects as well as a continuing growth in its' preferred e-learning delivery methods. However, these can be relatively easily replicated by others in the marketplace, so if they fail to get their house in order this year, then perhaps they will find themselves struggling further. Their training products don't look to be the issue, it's more about the effective delivery of the product. But the question is, how long will the balance sheet give ILX to sort out their issues (cash of £843k and bank debt of £3.2m).

The full results statement is available at Financial Express.

The beginning of the end for the industrial schooling system?

2007-06-27T08:35:00.000Z

If this story about Knowsley Council is accurate, then it's mega.

More research required.

Fools Guide to Second Life

2007-06-26T20:56:00.000Z

Not had a chance to review this eBook on Second Life yet, so any comments will be useful.

Did You Know (Revised Version)

2007-06-25T22:07:00.000Z

Animated version of the Did You Know video.

WikiMindMap

2007-06-22T10:33:00.000Z

I think I have died and gone to heaven - this is fantastic

wikimindmap

VideoJug

2007-06-22T10:24:00.000Z

VideoJug hosts one of the world's largest, most all-encompassing libraries of factual content online.

Professionally-produced, high definition video content covers every conceivable topic and delivers the definitive online "encyclopedia of life". The content is divided into a variety of formats that include informative "How To" and "Ask The Expert" films that take users, step-by-step through everything from the lighter, more welcome aspects of life (leisure, hobbies, beauty and style) to the more serious tribulations we all face in day-to-day life (health, legal, money, parenting).

Tips on Developing a Wiki Community

2007-06-21T10:51:00.000Z

From Teaching Hacks

Introduction to the Semantic Web

2007-06-21T10:33:00.000Z

A bit of background to semantics and what the semantic web is.

Journey of Mankind

2007-06-21T10:20:00.000Z

Peopling of the world animation - good stuff.

ABC Science Podcasts

2007-06-21T09:33:00.000Z

The Lab (from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation) brings us a series of science podcasts.

Opensource CMS & LMS

2007-06-12T21:37:00.000Z

A couple of interesting looking opensource solutions have pooped up my radar.

If these do what they say they do, then the e-learning market had better get ready for another shake of the tree.

Open Elms
docebo

Photosynth Demo

2007-06-12T21:12:00.000Z

Video from this years TED conference of a demo of Photosynth.

Using photos of oft-snapped subjects (like Notre Dame) scraped from around the Web, Photosynth (based on Seadragon technology) creates breathtaking multidimensional spaces with zoom and navigation features that outstrip all expectation.

Great stuff.

Pearson Bulks Up e-Learning Business

2007-05-24T12:59:00.000Z

Pearson have spent nearly $1.5 bn in the past month increasing its' presence in the e-Learning market.

The first deal was to buy Harcourt Education from Reed Elsevier, who announced in February that the education market didn't offer the growth opportunities seen within Science and Medical, Legal and Business markets.

The second deal was struck with eCollege for a net cost of $477m.

eCollege works with its partner educational institutions to design, build and support online degree, certificate, diploma and professional development programs, providing a full range of on-demand software services including course management, virtual campuses, and assessment, reporting and retention monitoring tools. They also provides a suite of support services which include hosting, help desk, course development, technical consulting, instructional design and faculty training.

Pearson are already big in education, though they are probably not recognised for their e-Learning expertise, these deals will certainly help to raise their e-learning profile.

ThirdForce Acquisition: Three Announcements in One

2007-05-22T10:29:00.000Z

In just under two weeks from their initial statement that they were looking at a deal to buy MindLeaders, ThirdForce have confirmed their acquisition in a deal worth up to $18m.

The deal gets ThirdForce several e-learning tools including MindLeaders PluS and Instant Mentor, as well as a catalogue of over 2000 interactive courses, whilst figures from ThirdForce show MindLeaders had $17.4m in revenues and a customer base of 850 organisations.

This is the fourth acquisition from ThirdForce in four years, with Creative Learning Media being snapped up in 2006, with Electric Paper Company and AV Edge having being bought in 2003.

The stockmarket statement is interesting as it shows the deal involves an initial payment of $15.3m in cash and shares with the remainder being payable in 21 months.

But to satisfy the initial $7.65m (€5.7m) cash element of the transaction, ThirdForce will raise a minimum of €10m (and up to €12.2m) via a share placing, with additional monies being used to finance costs associated with the deal and to provide working capital for the enlarged Group.

That's potentially €6.5m included within a merger announcement for working capital.

Also included within the merger announcement is the statement that “certain existing shareholders holding 20.79% of the existing share capital are also seeking to place their shares at the placing price.”

So in addition to the merger, and a funding raising for working capital, we have some existing shareholders taking the opportunity cash in their investments. A quick flick through the latest annual report, and a little deduction suggests it may be Gillian and Hugh Skinner who are selling up. Gillian and Hugh were the founders of ElectricPaper, one of the 2003 acquisitions for ThirdForce.

The full merger announcement is available from financialexpress.

Encyclopedia of Life

2007-05-14T10:12:00.000Z

Read about it, and then watch the video.

Official Words from Learning Light

2007-05-14T09:20:00.000Z

PRESS INFORMATION ISSUED ON BEHALF OF:

Learning Light

Sheffield Technology Parks, Cooper Buildings,

Arundel Street, Sheffield, S1 2NS, UK
Tel +44 (0)114 201 5703; Web www.learninglight.com

11th May 2007

Press statement on behalf of Learning Light

In response to press queries, Learning Light (LL), a non-profit organisation seeking to establish itself as a centre of excellence in the use of learning technologies in the workplace, has issued the following statement:

Learning Light Limited held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 22nd February 2007. In accordance with the company’s constitution all directors duly resigned. The next agenda item was the election of the Chair of the Board. Of course, this should have been dealt with after the election of the new Board. None of the directors had spotted this error in the agenda listing and it wasn’t until the process of electing the Chair happened that it became apparent that there had been a technical error.

As a consequence, the Board decided to declare the AGM null and void and reconvene another AGM to give the then current board, who had all resigned, another opportunity to stand for election and also re-elect the Chair.

A number of the board members (including Donald Clark) who had resigned during the initial AGM decided not to stand for re-election at the ’second’ AGM. At the second AGM the members of Learning Light elected the current Board members.

Two new directors appointed were David Kay, of learning and skills sector specialists Sero Consulting, and Nigel Tomlinson, who has been Chief Executive Officer of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce & Industry Group since 1997. Mr Tomlinson was also appointed Chair of Learning Light, in succession to Ms Lorna Cocking.

In terms of its commercial operations, Learning Light is continuing to move forward and is experiencing growth in providing a range of business support services.

In addition, Learning Light is continuing to enrol members. At present, more than 500 people have access to the members-only portal which offers access to a wealth of information in the form of easy-to-use Quick Guides, Knowledge Nuggets, case studies and articles on topics related to e-learning and human capital management. This information-rich repository includes access to a wide network of peers as well as the latest insights from leading e-learning gurus.

In addition, some 5,850 people are subscribing to LL’s regular newsletter.

Learning Light Mystery

2007-05-07T19:49:00.000Z

It's been a few days since Donald Clark broke the story, but nothing seems to have been followed up yet.

Learning Light (the Yorkshire based e-Learning organisation which has gained access to a big public sector funded budget, yet still does not look as though they have produced anything of substance yet), has seemingly lost its Board after an attempted coup to remove the Chair.

Another example that the more public funds model does indeed lead to less e-Learning (or perhaps that is less creativity in e-Learning).

JISC e-Learning Capital Programme

2007-05-01T09:16:00.000Z

JISC have published the presentations made at the induction meeting of the Capitals Programme Project.

Numerous powerpoints with background to the project, including this overview:
e-Learning Framework and Tools (Toolkits and demonstrators) - July 08
e-Learning and pedagogy – D4L and Learning Experience - March 09
Innovative use of technologies in learning and teaching (mobile, gaming and learning spaces) – July 08
Scottish Transformation Programme - July 07
Distributed e-Learning Regional Pilots
Digital Libraries in the Classroom + X4L - July 07
Collaboration projects
HE in FE
Domain Models and technical development
User owned technologies (PLE)
Subject communities HE Academy
Virtual e-Learning Centre, e-Learning Research

Further details about the Capitals Project are available here.

PLEase

2007-04-26T13:04:00.000Z

Jay Cross dicsusses personal learning environments.

RSS in Plain English

2007-04-26T10:48:00.000Z

video on what rss is and how to get using it:

http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english

eLearning Alliance AGM

2007-04-26T09:27:00.000Z

This years AGM for the eLearning Alliance will take place after the networking meeting on 29th May.

The meeting itself includes a presentation from Dr Janet MacDonald about recent eLearning iniatitives at the OU, which should be worthy of the journey by itself.

A number of new Directors have joined the Board during the year, and this will be the first opportunity for the membership to have a vote on them.

Serious Business: Web 2.0 Goes Corporate

2007-04-24T10:45:00.000Z

In January 2007 a research programme conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by FAST gauged the relevance of Web 2.0 to large corporations throughout the world and across a wide range of industries. The research, which consisted of an online survey plus follow-up interviews with senior executives at large public corporations, found that Web 2.0 now has significant implications for big business across a wide range industry sectors.

Download the report here.

Securing Scottish Success

2007-04-23T12:59:00.000Z

Title of the eLearning Alliance Conference from Friday. Though it was more of an alarm call to the education sector instead of challenging the public and private sectors to extend beyong the bounds of their organisations.

Speakers John Connell and Steve Molyneux both had a similar message, the education sector is not using the technology the way they could be, whilst other nations are more serious about the opportunities.

John has included a summary on his blog.

Rather disappointingly, that whilst this was aimed towards an educational audience, there seems to be a worrying lack of progress being made with e-Learning in education, with the focus on automation and not innovation.

And in Scotland (at least), this is little different from the public or private sector, where the emphasis seems to be about boasting about not very successful projects, which have little impact on anything.

I am now more worried than ever about the prospects for e-Learning. There are no projects taking place which will radically transform the learning proposition - we are doomed to continue doing what we have been doing for the past century or so.

Interactive University to Close Down

2007-04-17T08:12:00.000Z

According to the Scotsman, the Edinburgh based Interactive University is to close down.

The University was set up to sell on-line versions of the Scottish education system to a hungry world audience, but unfortunately (and like many other high profile and big budget public sector e-Learning projects) it has failed.

Originally set up with Scottish Enterprise funding (along with eLearning International, eLearningScotland and eLearning Alliance), it was one of the keys to making Scotland a powerhouse in world e-Learning. Unfortunately, despite many, many millions of pounds of funding the only one of these projects that is still in existence is the Alliance.

And the sad fact is that there is little discernable return from any of this investment. Scotland has no world powerhouse in e-Learning, in fact the internal market is almost non-existent being reliant on public secotr contracts with English and American based supply companies the dominant forces.

This weeks conference (Securing Scottish Success) from the eLearning Alliance may indeed now be the last major e-Learning event run in Scotland - I await to see what turnout there is for the Conference.

HMIE Report - ICT in education and learning

2007-04-10T14:25:00.000Z

From Anderson High School

In preparing Improving Scottish Education: ICT in learning and teaching, HM Inspectors visited pre-school centres, primary, secondary and special schools, colleges, and community learning and development centres, as well as a number of education authorities.

The report finds that Scottish education has made great progress in building capacity for the increased use of information and communications technology (ICT), with ICT increasingly seen as a natural part of good learning and teaching. It also spotlights some significant investments in ICT, including Glow, the national intranet for Scottish schools; improvements in infrastructure and bandwidth; and the supply of more equipment and software. Together these investments have provided Scottish education with great potential to enhance and enrich learning and teaching. The report also notes that learner and teacher confidence and competence in the use of ICT have both increased.

eLearning Alliance Conference

2007-03-21T16:21:00.000Z

It's been a few years, but the eLearning Alliance are again holding a major Conference.

The event is taking place in the Beardmore Hotel in Glasgow on 20th April, and this years theme is Global eLearning - Securing Scottish Success.

The main speakers are John Connell and Prof. Stephen Molyneux covering the topics of "Re-Framing Education for the 21st Century" and "Are VLEs suitable for 21st Century Learning"

Learning and Teaching Scotland are the main sponsors, and there are a couple of sponsor packages still available if anyone is interested.

In all honesty, I don't quite see how the two keynote speakers will help in achieving the lofty title associated with Conference.

The introduction to Prof. Molyneuxs keynote suggests to me that there may be some red faces in room if he is to ask who has invested heavily in VLEs over the past few years. In my experience, many organisations seem to think that buying a VLE or LMS is all that is needed to say that they are into e-Learning in a big way. I get the impression that he may be about to burst a few bubbles.

Cisco to buy WebEx

2007-03-19T12:00:00.000Z

Cisco have agreed to buy web conferencing tools provider WebEx in a deal worth $2.9bn.

It another example of the consolidation that is occuring within the e-Learning space, and perhaps helps to demonstrate how popular some of the tools which we use for e-Learning are now becoming.

Further details.

eLearning Tools Workshop

2007-03-13T13:35:00.000Z

Todays eLearning Tools Workshop from EPD may have come to a close, but today only represents the beginning of a bigger journey into the opportunities we have to repackage our learning.

Thanks to Sandy, Amanda, Judy, Julie and Kenneth for their input, and I hope that you have taken away thoughts and ideas which will add value back in the office.

As a reminder, the main topics covered were:
eLearning – Past & Present
The Virtual Classroom
Moodle
Blogs & Wikis
Social Networking
Audio & video
Games and eLearning
Closing thoughts - SCORM, Rapid eLearning, mLearning

Due to our technical issue (very intermittent wireless connection), it wasn't delivered in this order, but remember that all the links are included in the workshop wiki.

Tomorrow, I will go through the notes from the workshop and update the wiki to reflect our discussions and the ideas generated. And don't forget, that you can also update the wiki with the password provided in the e-mail.

In the meantime, if there are any questions or comments you have stemming from the workshop, you can note them in the comments section to this post, or drop me an e-mail.

Fake professor in Wikipedia storm

2007-03-06T17:21:00.000Z

A problem with the twin pillars of trust and tolerance

Invitation to Tender - Improvement Service

2007-03-06T14:13:00.000Z

The Improvement Service is looking for an LMS which will be used across the 32 Councils in Scotland to help manage the new customer serice qualification, competency framework and training which they are developing.

Further details here.

The Business of Open Source

2007-03-06T11:14:00.000Z

Having read Daves original post, Stephens reply and Daves reply to the reply about making money from developing open source software, I get the feeling that we have an argument here about the same topic but from different angles.

Most of us probably agree that there is little money to be made directly in developing open source software , however there maybe money to be made in supporting open source software. Looking at the recent history, Dave and Ben have realised this and set up Curverider as their option for making some money from supporting an open source social network software (ELGG in this instance).

They are two seperate things, and Dave and Ben will need to decide what gets the priority.

From where I sit, the balance of their efforts look to be tipped in favour of the ELGG community, but from reading Daves post it shouldn't be. Their 9 – 5 job should be Curverider, and selling its' wares. After hours stuff (their hobby) is then developing ELGG.

It looks to be a typical (certainly from a British point of view) mistake of the hobbyist turn entrepreneur, and one which I have had to come to terms with myself. Community based activity is nice, but you don't generate money from it. Business activity is hard work and often requires hard decisions to be made, and when you are a small business, you get limited tome to spend on your hobbies.

Shift Happens

2007-02-27T11:04:00.000Z

Sometimes size does matter.

Interesting video, though I'm not sure how accurate the facts are, but I suppose it helps to give a wake-up call about how the world is changing.

Just how are the traditional education systems going to cope with this level of change?

At some point, they will need to embrace e-learning technologies. The question is whether they will embrace them from a position of strength, or if they will be overtaken by events.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

2007-02-23T13:54:00.000Z

As Bob Dylan once said – The Times They Are A-Changin', and this is just as true in the realm of training, development and education as it is in any other forum of society today.

If you follow the comment within our newsletter, you probably realise that at Just Learn we have some concerns about the sustainability of the market models currently used within e-learning. We do see the technology as providing opportunities to revolutionise the way we do training, development and education, but far too often we see negativity shown towards these opportunities, and a hostility to changing the way training, development and education are delivered. Sure, there are examples of the technology in use, but this is tinkering at the edges.

In our view, traditional education and training delivery was developed for an era of mass production. But society and expectations have changed, and the traditional methods now focus on the wrong people. It is now the learners who should be the focus of attention and not the gatekeepers of knowledge.

In the last few weeks, we have had another high profile message delivered about the inertia in the training, development and education market, as Reed Publishing have said they are to sell their Harcourt Education division. The basic excuse being that progress in moving to the digital era in this division is too slow when compared to the other sectors they serve. This follows a similar excuse for Thomson selling their NETg division to Skillsoft.

At Just Learn, we sometimes feel we are hitting our heads against a wall in our effort to get this message out, so perhaps a different approach is needed. Perhaps we should be looking for something that will change the industry from within, instead of looking to the market to encourage change. Perhaps if we had an instructional model that focussed on the learner and not the mass production of “learning”, then the “marketing” will naturally fall into place.

For the past few generations; training, development and education has focussed on formal learning which takes place in centres of education. Whilst the formal education process will always exist, an ever increasing amount of todays learning now comes from less formal technology based processes - communities of practise, personal networks, Google, Wikipedia, YouTube, games environments, etc.

So the question is: Are the instructional theories used for mass producing training, development and education within a traditional environment still relevant in an on-line and connected environment, where mass communication and knowledge generation is “always on”?

George Siemens is one person who thinks that it's time for a re-think, so he has put forward an alternative theory – Connectivism. The momentum behind this theory took a major step forward recently as e-learning practitioners and professionals from around the world came together for a conference and debate. And, as an example of best practise in action, this event took place wholly on-line, and at no cost.

You had the usual conference regulars such as key note speakers, but we also had a dedicated virtual environment within Moodle which allowed us to follow-up on the speeches, as well as discuss topics relevant to participants.

George describes connectivism as “the integration of principles explored by chaos, network, and complexity & self-organization theories.” Which really means:
“Connectivism is driven by the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations. New information is continually being acquired. The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital. The ability to recognize when new information alters the landscape based on decisions made yesterday is also critical.“

The theory of connectivism has now overtaken George Siemens and is beginning to grow and evolve as the community takes it over (a little bit like learning in the real world). As the theory has evolved, so several principles have been established, these include:

Thinking and emotions influence each other. A theory of learning that only considers one dimension excludes a large part of how learning happens.
Learning has an end goal - namely the increased ability to "do something". This increased competence might be in a practical sense or in the ability to function more effectively in a knowledge era.
Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources. A learner can exponentially improve their own learning by plugging into an existing network.
Learning may reside in non-human appliances. Learning (in the sense that something is known, but not necessarily actuated) can rest in a community, a network, or a database.
The capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known. Knowing where to find information is more important than knowing information.
Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate learning. Connection making provides far greater returns on effort than simply seeking to understand a single concept.
Learning and knowledge rest in diversity of opinions.
Learning happens in many different ways. Courses, email, communities, conversations, web search, email lists, reading blogs, etc. Courses are not the primary conduit for learning.
Different approaches and personal skills are needed to learn effectively in today's society. For example, the ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning.
Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate impacting the decision.
Learning is a knowledge creation process...not only knowledge consumption. Learning tools and design methodologies should seek to capitalize on this trait of learning.

How people work and function is altered as the technology is used, but the field of education has been slow to recognise this, just as they have been slow to recognise the impact the tools are having on learning. So Connectivism is an attempt to provide insight into learning skills and the tasks the learner needs to flourish in the digital era.

If it becomes widely accepted, the theory will have radical implications for training, development and education departments. Learning new skills and knowledge is only part of what needs to be done, a far greater emphasis on developing techniques for learning and for developing networks of potential knowledge will be required as the speed which new knowledge is created and required increases.

The success of the conference should send a message to those who, so far, have seen limited value in using technology within the training, development and educational environment. The continued growth in the popularity of networked communications as well as delivery mediums such as wikipedia, YouTube and podcasts and the upcoming opportunities presented by games platforms (such as Second Life) all point to changing times for training, development and education, and as Bob told us, “Don't stand in the doorway, Don't block up the hall ... For the times they are a-changin'. “

You can read more about the Connectivism theory here, whilst you can still become part of the Connectivism conference and access all the presentations, discussions and feedback (with several debates still going on) here.

SQA Vision & Strategy for e-Assessment

2007-02-21T10:28:00.000Z

The SQA have updated their vision and strategy for e-Assessment.

Updated document here, further details here.

:e-LearningNow: Bookshop Launch

2007-02-20T14:55:00.000Z

Following the successfully launch of :e-LearningNow: and the subsequent development of the service, the project team are pleased to announce the successful integration of its' on-line bookshop.

In addition to free access to news, articles, events diary, resource centre and suppliers directory, :e-LearningNow: has added to the list of features which it's users have access to with the launch of their on-line bookshop.

The aim of :e-LearningNow: is to provide one place where e-Learning practitioners can find the resources they need to successfully use information technology as part of their education, training & development strategy, and in adding the bookshop, :e-LearningNow: brings to its' users a range of recently published and popular books which are relevant to the profession.

At :e-LearningNow:, we have a passionate belief that e-Learning can revolutionise the way we deliver training and learning experiences, however we also see that there are still large numbers of people who are uncomfortable with the idea of technology replacing the personal touch. Traditional techniques and methods still represent the majority of activity within the education, training and development sectors, but the tools which information technology presents practitioners, are creating opportunities to explore alternative ways of doing things.

About :e-LearningNow:
The :e-LearningNow: project was started in 2006 to create a central site where key knowledge and information about the use of e-Learning is stored and freely available for those people who have an interest in its' use and application.

Signing up as a registered member of :e-LearningNow: is free, and gives the member the opportunity to contribute content to the site.

:e-LearningNow: is a brand name of Just Learn

The problem with Technology

2007-02-20T11:36:00.000Z

This video just about sums it up

Still No Got It - Reed Sells Harcourt

2007-02-15T10:49:00.000Z

Despite announcing a 4% increase in revenue to £5,398m and a net profit up 34% to £625m, Reed Elsevier are to split the Company up by selling Harcourt Education.

The overall Group performed well, but Harcourt Education has seen revenue fall from £901m to £889, with operating profits falling from £161m to £129m.

As Thomson pointed out last year with their proposed sale of NETg, the education side of the business is failng to keep pace with the other divisions.

"Following a detailed review, Reed Elsevier is to sharpen its strategic focus to best capitalise on growing digital opportunities in its key markets of Science and Medical, Legal and Business."

"Sale of the Education division is planned; its business dynamics and strategy have increasingly differed from the other three divisions as Elsevier, LexisNexis and Reed Business accelerate their online information and workflow solution strategies."

It's not the exact words that Thomson used, but the sentiment is the same. The education side of the business is just not keeping up with the other divisions who are welcoming digital content with open arms.

According to Bloomberg, Reed bought Harcourt in 2000 for $5.65bn, with the college textbook business being sold to Thomson for $2bn. Todays business is estimated to be worth $3bn.

REdd CEO, Crispin Davies, claimed that:
"The strategy for Harcourt is different from the rest of the business." "The other units are going in a different direction and at a different pace".

But perhaps these few paragraphs from Davies sums up the world of education, training and development:
"2006 saw important progress in the development of Reed Elsevier's business. There is momentum behind our digital revenues driven by a widening range of innovative online information products, increasingly embedded in customer workflows. The planned sale of our Harcourt Education division announced today sharpens our strategic focus and concentrates our resources on the digital opportunities across an increasingly synergistic portfolio.

The 2006 financial results were encouraging, with revenue growth in line with our expectations and improved underlying margins. Strong cash generation and higher returns on invested capital have also been delivered. Recent acquisitions in e-health, legal solutions, risk management and business to business online are accelerating our digital progress and delivering increasing returns.

Going into 2007, market conditions are generally favourable. Our strategy is clear, the business well focused, and we are leveraging our resources to good effect. The digital horizon is expanding and Reed Elsevier is well placed."

Looking at it from the reverse point of view. I can extract: There is little momentum behind digital revenues in our education markets, with little embedding of innovative on-line products in customer workflows. We're selling Harcourt so we can concentrate our efforts on areas where the opportunities are greatest (digital) and returns highest. The digital horizon is expanding, but the education market is not part of it.

So where does this leave the educational publishing and e-learning markets.

It's a sad reflection that two of the biggest publishing companies in the world are withdrawing from the education side of the business because the digital revenues generated are not worth the effort.

At some point, the training and education markets will have to "get it". Educational costs are high and increasing, and there are huge numbers of the population who are disaffected with what's on offer. But still the establishment keep on churning out what they have always churned out. At some point, reality will hit. Someone, at some point, will have the bottle to say they can no longer afford the true cost (financial and social) of traditional education, and that a new model for the repackaging of learning must be developed. But who will do it, as Thomson and Reed have both accepted that they have failed in that task.

A New Theme Appearing - SME

2007-02-14T11:43:00.000Z

Whilst I've spent the past couple of days in the vain attempt of getting up to speed with all that's happened over at the Connectivism Conference (if you've not done so already, you got to visit - there is masses of stuff), I find two e-mails from different organisations are pushing the same theme - managing / loving your subject matter expert.

For both The eLearning Guild and Kineo the relationship between subject matter expert and e-learning course designer is a strained one that will cause tension through-out your project.

But is this unique to e-learning, or have e-learning people just not grasped the fact that they are only part of the bigger picture (and in most cases), they are only a tiny cog in the business of doing business.

Whilst the e-learning project is of prime important to the designer, for the majority of subject matter experts, an e-learning project isn't what earns them their daily crust. Understand this, and the designers relationship automatically improves.

Video - Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us

2007-02-07T14:24:00.000Z

Interesting video on how the web has changed and what web 2.0 might now mean.

Invitation to Tender

2007-01-29T14:45:00.000Z

learndirect scotland are looking for developers to produce online educational resources to be delivered through the Saba skillnet learner management system.

The project is due to start in March 2007.

Further details here.

If you have any experience of developing e-learning content with learndirect scotland or of the Saba skillnet LMS, then share them with us by posting a comment.

Kineo’s E-learning Crystal Ball

2007-01-25T16:10:00.000Z

Kineo - "If you want to live in the future, you have to make it up, right? So we asked some of the industry’s big thinkers to peer through the looking glass to paint us a picture of where e-learning is headed in 2007. "

Innovating e-Learning

2007-01-23T09:57:00.000Z

JISC have just published a series of eBooks based around their Innovating e-Learning Conference which they ran last March.

The conference had three themes:

Designing for learning
Learner experiences with e-learning
Innovating e-learning practice

The downloads not only include the presentations from the individual sessions but also the linked papers as well as summaries of the discussions which followed.

Futuremedia Consolidates its' e-Learning Brands

2006-12-12T15:16:00.000Z

The re(re)-invention of Futuremedia continues with the consolidation of their two e-Learning brands (Futuremedia and ebc).

ebc was acquired in the early part of 2006, and this exercise will be about rationalising the business, with ebc staff being moved to the Brighton headquarters, whilst ebc chief executive officer (Graham Mackie) is leaving the company to pursue other interests.

Andrea Mills has been appointed Managing Director of Futuremedias learning businesses.

Full story

eLearning Networks New Committee

2006-12-12T09:56:00.000Z

We're guessing that things have been up in the air a bit this year for the eLearning Network.

First, chairperson and long time rock of the organisation, Vaughan Waller left to join Learning Light as their membership manager, and then Learning Light had the temerity to launch a "merger" of the two organisations in the immediate aftermath.

However, the Network looks as though they have gotten over this short-term blip, and at their recent AGM appointed a new committee. Those with special responsibilities include:
Phil Green - Chairman
Geoff Berridge - Treasurer
Neil Lasher - Membership Secretary
Howard Hills - Awards Co-ordinator
Mike Alcock - Marketing Communications Manager

Further details are available at :e-LearningNow:

The Futures Bright, the Futures - SkillSoft

2006-12-11T15:22:00.000Z

Skillsoft have increased Q3 revenue by 6% to $57.1m with net income at $7m. Confidence for the full year is shown with an increase in revenue expectations, but the prospective deal with NETg is what will be the biggest influence on the future.

Further deals may also be in the offing, with Chuck Moran saying that they will “aggressively review opportunities to add new product lines or technologies that would also contribute to our revenue growth in the future”.

Full revenue details in the press release.

Online Games at the OU

2006-12-07T14:15:00.000Z

Tony Hirst brings us a list of on-line games which the OU are currently using within their courses.

Mini Manifestos

2006-11-30T09:52:00.000Z

I like this idea from Gaping Void - the mini manifesto - Powerful ideas that could be easily summed up in 500 words or less.

There's a list of those already submitted here, however the Classroom 2.0 manifesto from Clarence Fisher strikes a chord.

I wonder how many other e-Learning practitioners could summarise their key ideas in 500 words or less?

CappuccinoU (and the classroom)

2006-11-27T15:56:00.000Z

Harold links to a short eBook about how technology is changing the way some people learn, whilst Donald comments on the recent words from the new Chair of BECTA. Basically, he says that the majority of our teachers attempts to make use technology and the opportunties it presents have (at best) been feeble.

The Search is On: Where's e-Learnings' Pizzazz

2006-11-23T13:31:00.000Z

Following Bens article, I am now wondering about what would help us to create “a scene” for e-Learning.

I think the majority of people involved in training and education understand that e-Learning has a significant role to play. There are those who think the role will be purely administrative as true learning can only be delivered in a one on one situation. There are others who use it to deliver content, in a format that replicates the traditional model of content delivery, and there are those who think that the tools can be used to develop new methods of learning based around a social / networked approach.

But whatever you think e-Learning tools and technologies can be used for, the comments I have had over the years is that the e-Learning community is missing something. Sure our market participants provide us with tools and products, whilst our member organisations set up workshops, information sessions and networking opportunities, but as Ben questions: where is the culture of innovation and the open market of ideas?

If you know where to look, we have plenty of data and information. But where is the meaningful networking, the sharing, the discussion, debate and dialogue - all the stuff that makes a community vibrant.

So for me, Ben is the catalyst for a search for what is missing within the e-Learning community. He's started the discussion, and identified two elements currently missing for the e-Learning community. Are any other community members willing to stick their neck out, and list a couple of things they would like to see improved within the realm of e-Learning?

Let us know what's missing by leaving a comment below:

The e-Learning Scene

2006-11-22T12:45:00.000Z

Ben Werdmuller of elgg asks where "the scene" in the UK is for small innovative software companies. His conclusion is that it doesn't exist.

I fear the same is also true for e-Learning.

Despite us having organisations such as eLearning Alliance, Learning Light and the e-Learning Network, I'm afraid there is little evidence that they have encouraged the development of vibrant atmosphere which users, developers and potential investors feel they must be invovled in.

:e-LearningNow: was started so we could fill what we perceived as significant gaps in the knowledge and information side of implementing and using e-Learning. Perhaps we need to think about creating a bit more of a networking and social aspect to the site. Would be interested to hear from people who think this type of development would be of use.

But in saying that, I don't know how you go about creating a "scene" for e-Learning - suggestions welcome.

World of Learning Award Winners

2006-11-22T12:09:00.000Z

Bespoke solution of the year goes to TNA Ltd. for a fire safety "3D game based" product they produced for BSkyB.

Now I've not seen the full version, but reading the description and viewing a few screen shots, Karen, I hope you still have a copy of the Health & safety training James produced nearly 10 years ago.

Sure we didn't have Flash to use - just loads of graphics and some coding in ToolBook, but I think we could be up for a prize next year.

Full list of awards

Chill Again, George

2006-11-22T11:54:00.000Z

The "Chill Out George" post is not a criticism of connectivism - it is a comment about the discussion you got entangled in with Prof. dr. ir. Pløn W. Verhagen.

Traditional education is failing a huge percentage of our population - whether it be by delivering mass produced mediocre experiences or it is by exclusion (for whatever reason).

Technology provides us with opporotunities to make drastic changes to the "way we do education", but the majority of traditional education establishments see it as a threat. We therefore need a new approach (or theory if you prefer) - connectivism could be that new approach, or it might not be.

Chill Out George

2006-11-16T09:59:00.000Z

George Siemens and Stephen Downes are doing some good work in putting forward their ideas about how we can adapt our ideas of education with the development of e-learning technologies - it's about networks, sharing knowledge and discussion.

Now Pløn Verhagen has produced a critique of Georges' 2004 Connectivism article, which basically says that Connectivism cannot be viewed as a credible theory because "A theory should explain phenomena and those explanations should be verifiable".

The conclusion of the critique is:
"Lacking that, what is left for us to do is 'unsubstantiated philosophising', preferably over a glass of wine before dinner. Perhaps someone can come up with a cunning plan; otherwise I think that we should forget about connectivism."

Now is that a starter for a conversation, or a conversation stopper?

Whatever, George has replied with this "meandering article". I'd like to say I've read it all, but my brain is starting to hurt. So let's skip to the conclusion:
"For many, the debate of changed modes of learning does not require an explicit statement. They sense it in their work, how they communicate, and how they learn. These individuals are not focused on what, if anything, has changed theoretically. They are asking different questions than we are attempting to answer with dated theories."

The great opportunity for the use of technology in training and education, is that we can move away from the silos of mass produced education establishments, and towards learning environments which give individuals access to opportunities which they can own - it's about connecting, it's about discussing, it's about seeing what's out there.

The ordinary punter in the street doesn't care if we classify connectivism as a theory or not. Perhaps it is important for Georges' own self worth and his acceptance within the traditional education community, but from an ordinary e-learning practitioners point of view, this type of debate is one reason why the traditional model of education has failed to keep up with the changes in society - it doesn't talk about the learners, or the needs of the learners, it talks about the gate keepers of education and the needs of the gate keepers of education.

The Acid Test for e-Learning

2006-11-14T10:49:00.000Z

Is the current phase of consolidations within the e-Learning market sustainable?

Well, to be honest, looking at the balance sheets and trying to assess the long term impact these deals are having, I do have to wonder.

More at :e-LearningNow:

Blackboard Indigestion

2006-11-08T17:25:00.000Z

Blackboard have reported Q3 revenue up 40% to $50m. A substantial part of this growth has come from their acquisition of WebCT which completed earlier in the year.

Revenue may well be up 40%, but the massive 89% increase in operating expenses has wiped out a profit of $7m from the same period last year and replaced it with a loss of $4.8m.

Much of the increase in cost is directly attributal to the WebCT acquisition - further costs will be booked in the 4th quarter.

As we saw with the SkillSoft acquisition of SmartForce, and we will no doubt see with the SkillSoft acquisition of NetG, the indigestion from such transactions can be long lasting and very distracting.

Blackboard are sitting on $37m of cash and cash equivalents, so current losses and further acquisition related costs are covered for a while. However, the balance sheet now also shows a hefty increase in goodwill and intangibles to $164m - a great of amortisation to come perhaps.

Further details from Blackboard

SkillSoft to Buy NETg

2006-10-27T10:07:00.000Z

In June of this year, Richard Harrington (Chief Executive of Thomson) intimated that they may sell their education division at some point over the next two years. Well we didn't have to wait that long, as this week, it has been announced that SkillSoft are buying NETg from Thomson for $285m.

Whilst each organisation will bring their own unique offering to the table, from the outside there looks to be considerable overlap across the two organisations. This is reinforced in the letter to NETg customers from company President, Clint Everton, when he states that “By eliminating duplication, the transaction will free up significant resources”. This can mean only one thing - there are large cost savings to be made.

Not only do we anticipate that the new Company will make savings on the Sales side, but also by bringing together the two separate content platforms.

There will be no immediate effect upon customers of either Company, as the deal is not due to complete until the first half of 2007. However, for those customers who have contracts due for renewal in the next couple of months, you should now be thinking about what the longer term implications of this deal may be for you.

Bourne and Redtray to Merge

2006-10-17T14:44:00.000Z

The change in the UK e-Learning continues with Bourne Training announcing that they are to merge with REDTRAY.

REDTRAY already incorporates the BlueU and Knowledge=Power brands, and they claim to be one of the UKs fastest growing training companies .

Whilst continuing to trade independantly, this deal brings together an impressive client list, which will help the enlarged Group win further contracts in the future.

Nuvvo Up for Sale

2006-10-13T10:57:00.000Z

The Nuvvo eLearning Service you see here is up for sale.

Launched in autumn 2005, Nuvvo is an on-line learning environment that allows tutors toput courseware on-line and deliver it to hungry learners across the world.

It looks as though the success of Nuvvo has outgrown the resources of current owners and developers (Savvica) of the concept.

AdVal Bites the Dust - in 182 days

2006-09-15T12:35:00.000Z

From the announcement in their interim results that they had agreed terms for an acquisition that would help to strengthen the company, it has taken less than nine months for AdVal to “bite the dust”.

We pointed it out at the time, 30th December is an unusual time to announce such a significant move. An announcement to strengthen the Group would usually be accompanied by a fanfare, but as I remember this announcement came out late in the afternoon, the day before new years eve, a time when many people would have been in holiday mode.

At the same time, it was announced that to facilitate the deal, long term AdVal boss Dennis Quilter was standing down and three new directors would come join board when the deal was completed.

Within the month, AdVal confirmed they would be buying Maxim Learning Ltd (then owned by Root Capital), and a couple of weeks later the deal was signed giving Root Capital a stake of over 30% of the enlarged AdVal group.

At this time Simon Philips, Edward Mallinckrodt, Timothy Critchley joined the Board of AdVal, with Simon Philips and Edward Mallinckrodt also being the partners of Root Capital.

The deal itself was officially completed on March 16th .

A trading update in June highlighted that there had been several new contract wins, but slow progress on these and delays in existing contracts meant trading was significantly behind expectations. A further trading update at the end of July didn't provide any more positive news, and in fact things had got so bad that the Board had decided to seek buyers for the separate business units.

The Board had decided to sell the business off in three units with the division being made between the generic e-learning business, the bespoke e-learning business (which included the work of Maxim) and the online mentoring services provided by Livementor.

The proposed buyer of the bespoke business (read Maxim here) was identified as a linked business of Root Partners (who now owned 45% of AdVal).

Tagged on the end of this announcement was the statement that Tim Critchley, who joined the AdVal Board at the time of the original Root Partners deal was leaving to join Knowledgepool (another e-Learning company owned by Root).

And now, 258 days after the original statement highlighting the potential deal, and only 182 days after the deal was officially completed, the AdVal business has gone into administration. Root Partners have withdrawn their offer for the bespoke development business, whilst negotiations for the sale of Livementor have also been terminated. The deal for the generic operation has been completed.

So what does this leave after a furious period of corporate activity. It leaves the AdVal Group with insufficient funds to continue to trade, however they are a Group which includes the recognisable (at least in the UK) brands of AdVal Learning Solutions, Maxim and Livementor.

According to recent trading updates, they do have contracts on the books it just looks like they have no money to finance their completion. So depending on the worth of these contracts, existing shareholders may decided to invest further funds or the business may be sold to a third party for a knock down price. Alternatively, the AdVal brand may just disappear forever.

My guess is that something will be salvaged from the mess, there are at least two organisations interested in parts of the business, it will just depend if they can get them at the discount price they would expect for a business in adminstration.

Learning Trends 400

2006-09-14T15:07:00.000Z

Learning Trends from Elliott Masie has reached its' 400th issue, starting way back in 1997.

To celebrate he has published the Learning Trends 400, a 39 page pdf with contributions from Learning Trends readers.

And as an aside, you might also notice that Elliott has chosen to publish this under Creative Commons.

Beyond eLearning: practical insights from the USA

2006-09-13T13:22:00.000Z

This report presents the findings of the first DTI Global Watch Mission to the USA on eLearning.

Coordinated and led by the University of Abertay Dundee, the mission took place in May 2006, and extensive meetings and site visits were held in both Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area.

In addition, the mission also benefited from a large number of North American eLearning experts who travelled especially to meet with the mission participants in both of these locations.

As this was the first mission of its kind, the results help set a benchmark for future research.

eLearning is a complex and rapidly changing field, and as new approaches and technology change and affect the industry, it will be extremely important for UK eLearning professionals, and the UK industries supported by eLearning, to continuously update best practice in order to remain globally competitive.

Report

Building an e-Learning Business (and losing money)

2006-09-13T09:17:00.000Z

ThirdForce, the e-learning courseware and testing provider, reported half year revenues up 32% to €7,561k.

Operating profits before goodwill and amortisation were down to €144k, which is the result of a near 50% increase in operating expenses, reflecting the group's investment in new products and new markets.

The total loss for the six months was €1,067k compared to €531k for the same period in 2005.

Since its' formation in 2003, ThirdForce have been busily building its' business via acquisition, bringing together Rapid Technology, Electric Paper, AV Edge and then Creative Learning Media in September 2005.

The company's product range now inlcudes:
• ICT courseware and testing
• Online Assessment
• Adult Literacy
• Adult Numeracy
• Compliance in Food Safety and Health & Safety

Full details of the results from InvestEgate.

Huveaux buys Letts and Leckie & Leckie for £12.4 million

2006-09-05T10:21:00.000Z

Following their acquisition of e-Learning content producer Epic in August 2005, Huveaux are again on the acquisition trail, extending their offering in the learning and education market.

Huveaux's announcement that they have bought the Letts and the Leckie & Leckie brands from Granada Learning for £12.4m gives them a market leader position in the schools revision guides business.

Huveaux are already in this segment of the market via their Lonsdale brand, and all three brands will operate within the Learning Division giving a wider range to their product portfolio as well as giving economies of scale in areas such as printing and admin and offering opportunities to cross-sell the brands.

But perhaps more importantly, it gives Huveaux's digital strategy a major boost by bringing a great deal of expert content in-house, so giving Epic a new source of subject matter on which to base e-learning and digital content.

Full details of the offer from invetegate .

Shock: e-Learning Company Turns a Profit

2006-08-30T14:41:00.000Z

SkillSoft have increased turnover during the first half of this year by just over 3% to $110m when compared to last year.

On the face of it, net income has fallen substantially to $8.8m, though further investigation shows that last years figures included the benefit of $19.5m legal settlements.

Whilst not sounding overly exuberant about the future, SkillSoft have raised their earnings estimate for this year, showing that they more than a little pleased with progress made so far this year.

SkillSoft are sitting with significant amounts of cash on their balance sheet, and at some stage they will need to make this money work a little harder.

Full details of results.

Growth, But at a Cost

2006-08-30T12:49:00.000Z

Intelligo Systems have reported a 19% increase in revenue to £615,198 , with a net loss of £543,565 for the past financial year.

Admin expenses (excluding those linked to recent acquisitions) have increased by 79%, whilst cost of sales have risen by 16%.

The e-learning services on offer from Intelligo have moved on from the original rapid e-Learning development tools, and includes the licensing of the NetDimensions LMS, and now extends into outsourced content development, and it is in this area where Intelligo are looking to acquire further capacity.

Over the past two years, Intelligo have grown their turnover significantly - from £278k for year end 2004 to £615k this year. However, in this time they have seen losses extend from £67k to £543k. A quick look at their accounts shows that the percentage of costs of sales to turnover has remained similar over the period, but it is the rapid increase in “administrative expenses” which is making it difficult for the Group to make a profit.

Intelligo sound very positive about the future in this statement and have even made “significant investment” in increasing the size of their workforce. However the challenge must be to grow sales significantly without the associated increase in admin expenses.

Intelligo came to the market in June and November to raise £526,000 of fresh working capital, which looks as though it is going straight to paying the admin expenses. If they are successful in acquiring further content development capacity, then expect them to be back to the market for yet more money.

It's Good to Talk

2006-08-29T10:42:00.000Z

Following on from Googles announcement of a closer relationship with eBay for site advertising, it looks as though there may be further ties-up in the not too distant future.

Via the Google talkabout blog, Lewis Lin (a GoogleTalk Marketing Manager) has said they are working with Skype to explore interoperability between their two systems.

If this were to come off, it could blow big holes in the telecommunications market, and generate even further interest in VoIP.

Such a development would make online networking far easier, with the potential to bring e-learning to a wider audience.

BlackBoard Story Goes Mainstream

2006-08-28T14:55:00.000Z

To date, many of the words written about BlackBoards patent claims and the subsequent legal action have been restricted to a fairly close knit community of educationalists and e-learning practitioners. However, over the weekend, things look to have gone to a much larger, generic global audience.

The "Patent fight over online schooling" story is circulating the news agencies (read here), whilst "Who Invented e-Learning Computing" (read here) is starting to appear on a number of sites.

Our guess is that as the story becomes more universal, and teh negative impact become more widespread, the number of queries BlackBoard will undoubtely field, and potential share price impact of the negative story line, may encourage BlackBoard to rethink their strategy.

The Big BlackBoard Gamble

2006-08-21T13:10:00.000Z

With the large number of e-learning providers in the market, the past few years have seen much activity that has led to some rationalisation, but as with any evolving market there are always new ideas being brought forward and new products stemming from these ideas. This means that competition continues to intensify.

In addition to natural selection and the associated corporate failings, the merger/takeover route has been one of the primary tools of consolidation, however on 26th July, the playing field (at least in the learning management system segment) suddenly changed.

Get the full article at :e-LearningNow:.

Milestones, Not Millstones

2006-08-02T16:53:00.000Z

The current feature article on :e-LearningNow: is by Hanif Sazen of Saffron Interactive, and it describes the Milestones Planning approach to project management adopted by Saffron in their e-learning developments.

Root Capital Buys AdVal Learning Solutions

2006-07-31T08:42:00.000Z

Following several years of difficult trading, e-learning supplier AdVal have announced to the stock market that they are selling the majority of their businesses.

There are several transaction taking place, but the e-learning development businesses under the brands of AdVal Learning Solutions and Maxim are to be sold to Root Captial (45% shareholder of AdVal), whilst in seperate transactions the generic product business and the on-line mentoring service (Livementor) will be sold to unrelated third parties.

After several years in obscurity, the Maxim brand was brought back in to existence in October last year, when parent KnowledgePool re-established it. It was then sold to AdVal in April of this year, in a transaction that had many similarities to a reverse takeover. At this time, Dennis Quilter (who was instrumental for developing the AdVal business since 1989) stepped down from the Board.

Root Capital are the owners of KnowledgePool, so this announcement brings the Maxim brand back into the KnowledgePool stable with the addition of the AdVal e-learning bespoke development businesses.

After these transactions are completed, AdVals only trading activity will be their accredited generic product business.

Learning at the BBC

2006-07-27T09:23:00.000Z

An interview brought to us via Ambient Performance with Nigel Paine (Head of BBC Learning & Development).

The 24 minute video and slides looks at the use of podcasts, wikis and blogs from across the organisation.

You can go direct to the presentation by clicking on one of the links below:

Real Media: Play

Windows Media: Play

Revenue Growth by Acquisition

2006-07-19T11:26:00.000Z

Following their merger with Centra, SABA have been able to announce total revenue for the year of $71.2m (up 68%), whilst the net loss increased to $6.9m from $3.4m last year.

SABA relate almost $3.5m of the loss directly to costs arising from the Centra merger, with another $7.4m of previously expected revenue which SABA are now unable to recognise as a result of the “fair value adjustment” from prior acquisitions.

I don't claim to know anything about the impact of mergers on accounting regimes, but writing off over 10% of the combined group revenues due to an adjustment looks a little excessive – so perhaps someone with a little more insight into this side of things can help me out on this one.

SABA is much more than just an e-learning tools provider, and with previous deals bringing ThinQ and Centra under the same umbrella, they can now boast over 1,100 customers across the world, including the likes of Alcatel, BMW, Cisco Systems, DaimlerChrysler, Dell, Lockheed Martin, Procter & Gamble and the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy.

Whilst it's a crude measure, this equates to a revenue of almost $65,000 per customer, at a total cost to service them of around $70,000.

Over the past couple of years, SABA have been successful at growing revenue by acquisition, however this has yet to result in a profit, and we will need to see if they can grow the business organically.

Full revenue details available from the press release.

eLearning Network says No to Learning Light

2006-07-19T10:14:00.000Z

Following Vaughan Wallers move from the eLearning Network to take up the Membership Manager role at Learning Light, I'm guessing LL must have been pretty confident that the eLN would be reasonable amenable to the suggested merger of the two organisations.

However, it has been announced that “the Committee of the eLearning Network unanimously resolved not to accept the current proposal from Learning Light”.

With many membership based organisations similar to LL and eLN across the UK, it would probably be sensible for them to work more closely together, and with LL having a European funded budget then perhaps merging the activities would open up new opportunities for the likes of eLN.

But for whatever reason, eLN have decided that the offer on the table was not in their best interests.

Press release details.

Wasted Youth

2006-07-17T14:41:00.000Z

Comment from Donald Clark on an article run in The Sunday Times about the amount of time our kids spend "waiting" for something to happen in school.

:e-LearningNow: Successfully Launched

2006-07-02T07:42:00.000Z

On July 1st, :e LearningNow: (the UKs newest on-line community dedicated to the use of technology in training and learning) launched across the education, public and private sectors.

For several years now, professional educators and trainers have been using technology to deliver learning experiences often in an ad hoc and experimental fashion, where many of the lessons learned about its' use have been retained within a close knit community. But the time is now right to bring together this extensive experience, best-practice and research and disseminate it to a wider audience (specifically to those who are looking to use information technology to add value to their training and educational experiences).

Aims of :e LearningNow:

The aim of :e LearningNow: is to fill the gaps which currently exist between the sectors involved in delivering training and education. With :e LearningNow: acting as the bridge between the sectors, it will reach out to educationalists, public sector users, corporate users and to industry suppliers. This will result in :e LearningNow: being the UKs premier e-Learning destination.

The initial launch of :e LearningNow:, will see it being rolled out to thousands of education and training specialists across the UK, giving them the opportunity to contribute to its' content and future direction, as well as giving them the ability to learn from other e-Learning practitioners.

An Introductory Offer:

In recognising that :e LearningNow: is the UKs newest e-Learning resource and that we are working to establish our brand and our list of registered users, we are offering suppliers to the e-learning market a free listing within our Suppliers Directory.

The following categories are currently included within our Suppliers Directory:

Learner & Content Management
Courseware Resellers
Development Tools
Content Developers
Consultants

Register as a Member:

If you are interested in e-learning, and would like to keep up to date with the latest news, articles and resources within the industry, then you can sign up for free.

Further Activity in the Training Market

2006-06-30T08:47:00.000Z

ILX Group (the training provider who delivers by e-Learning supplemented with more traditional methods) continues on its' acquisition trial.

Having recently announced a profit of £1.7m on turnover up 76% to £6.9m (due in a large part to the acquisitions of Mount Lane Training and Customer Projects), the growth of ILX continues with the purchase of The Corporate Training Group.

For an initial consideration of £7m, the deal will significantly increase turnover and effectively double Group profits.

With a focus on providing financial training in the classroom environment, Corporate Training Group will provide a valuable diversification of income, whilst also giving huge cross-selling opportunities for their e-learning skills.

You can read the full announcement here.

Digital Natives in the News

2006-06-23T07:29:00.000Z

You know an idea is becoming mainstream when it is used in a variety of contexts, something which we can now say about Marc Prenskys idea of the Digital Native.

The Scotsman newspaper reports that a recent speech given by Maurice Saatchi included the following statements:

"people under 25 - a category he defined as "digital natives" - were now capable of absorbing a range of media simultaneously. The peer said that in the time a 30-second television advert ran on screen, a "digital native" might take a phone call, send a text and start downloading an MP3"

whilst

"Those over 25 were "digital immigrants", learning to speak the language,"

and

"The brain of the digital native is different - it's faster, it sifts more, it recalls less."

But in refering to digital natives, the advertising guru isn't talking about learning and e-learning, he is talking about the advertising world, and how it must grasp the fact that their industry must change if they are to be effect in this new era.

Read the full story here.

e-Learning Becoming Less Important ??

2006-06-21T09:27:00.000Z

ILX Group (the Company which interesting markets itself as a training provider who primarily delivers their content by e-Learning supplemented with traditional classroom courses and workshops) have reported significant growth in turnover and profit, driven both by acquisition and organic growth.

With turnover up 76% to £6.9 million, they also announced that they will be paying a dividend for the first time, after reporting a net profit of £1.7m.

During the year, ILX purchased Mount Lane Training and Customer Projects which have both enhanced the business the company generates from PRINCE2 and ITIL.

Having started life as an e-learning company, turnover generated via this medium increased by 26% to make up 47% of the business, however classroom based training is becoming increasingly important with growth of 165% seeing it generate 34% of the Group business compared to 22% last year.

Despite the growing importance of classroom training, the change in revenue sources will be due in part to the acquisitions which will have a one-off effect, in fact the Company still sees e-learning as a significant growth area.

Also included within their results, ILX has a breakdown of the sectors which generate the revenue, with 61% coming from the private sector. But the public sector is becoming increasingly important with a growth rate of 126%. Also of note is that income from “individuals” grew 61%, making up 9% of the Companys turnover. [note to self: further investigation is required here to determine the make up of the business from "individuals" and how you get people to spend money on their own learning and development].

The company says the focus for the first half of the coming year is to exploit opportunities for organic growth, but they also state that “further choice acquisitions” will help to bring a higher profile.

These results are in stark contrast to those we expect to see from Intelligo Holdings over the next few weeks. Both companies are growing strongly, with acquisitions featuring heavily. However, one is generating cash and profit, the other is losing money and having to raise new capital to fund their daily cash needs. I know which model I'd prefer to invest in.

Final results available here.