Monthly Email Newsletter
September 2005
IN THIS ISSUE:
I. Message from the Editor
II. Articles:
*** FEATURED INDUSTRY: Online Education
1. Feature Article: Online Workforce Training
2. Useful
Links (Online Education)
*** FEATURED LANGUAGE: Italian
3. Italy Quick-Glance
4.
Useful Links (Italian)
III. In Our Next Issue
IV. Your Feedback
V. How to Subscribe
I. MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR
E-learning makes training more accessible and has great payoffs for both the
corporate world and the individual. The use of technology to educate is also
widely acclaimed for its reduction in the cost of employee training and
development. Sorting through the functionality of e-learning tools is a complex
process. Adding to the confusion is determining the needs of your organization
and how a tool can support those needs. This month, the Global Communicator
takes a look at online workforce training; specifically, its uses, benefits and
detractors, key services to consider when implementing an e-learning program,
as well as some of the key providers.
Our featured language in this issue is Italian. Spoken by more than 66 million,
this Romance language has a variety of regional dialects. The majority of
Italian speakers reside in peninsular Italy (including the Republic of San Marino). With almost 60 million consumers and the fourth largest GDP in Europe, the Italian market offers ample opportunities for an expanding business.
Since this
newsletter is meant to create a virtual community where we share the latest
news and advice, we invite you to submit your suggestions, story ideas,
statistics, and website tips to
mailto:newsletter@globallanguages.com.
-- Inna Kassatkina, Editor
mailto:editor@globallanguages.com
II.
ARTICLES
*** FEATURED INDUSTRY: Online Education
1. FEATURED ARTICLE: ONLINE WORKFORCE TRAINING
Any time a
major corporation, government agency, or other organization conducts training
they are making a substantial investment in their employees. The goal for
individuals and corporations is generally the same - to use education and
training time effectively and come away with new knowledge and skills to apply
in careers.
Corporate
online education, or e-learning, is workforce development that is designed,
delivered, enabled, or mediated by electronic technology for the explicit
purpose of training and development in organizations.
E-learning
makes training more accessible and has great payoffs for both the corporate
world and the individual. The anytime, anywhere delivery of e-learning is
appealing to companies as it allows employees to access the training at the
most convenient times, eliminates the need for a traditional classroom, and
brings business objectives to the desktop. The use of technology to educate is
also widely acclaimed for its reduction in the cost of training, i.e. through a
reduction in travel costs, tuition, materials, and time away from the office or
job. It can also be used to educate customers about new products and services,
to train vendors and suppliers, and to coordinate supply chain management. All
of these factors combine to improve productivity and the bottom line.
Of course,
e-learning is not all sunshine and roses. Leading industry researcher and
author of Web-Based Training, Bettina Brown, reveals several of the negatives
experienced by organizations including:
1)Trainees can be frustrated by "disconnectedness" and unreliable communication
2)
Nonverbal communication is almost entirely absent
3) Some companies' limitations in bandwidth,
formats and browsers make full implementation very difficult
4)
Some managers and employees have been resistant to change
Large,
leading-edge firms are more likely to employ learning technologies because of
the availability of resources and the potential economies of scale. However,
e-learning also presents potential advantages to smaller and remote firms and
to firms with multiple, scattered locations. Such organizations might not
otherwise train their staff because of the logistical problems of bringing the
training to the employees, or the employees to the training.
GETTING STARTED:
To
determine the services that your company needs, begin by developing an
e-learning strategy. Start by looking at e-learning implementations at other
companies, including their successes and failures. *Be sure to find out whether
other groups within your organization have used e-learning.
The
American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) details a number of
services your company may need to implement an e-learning strategy effectively,
including:
1)
Learning Management System (LMS): Frequently referred to as the backbone of
e-learning, an LMS is enterprise-wide software that integrates with the HR
system to track employee records, web-based training and classroom-delivered
courses, and online course enrollments. Its user interface allows learners to
review, register, and launch online courses.
2)
Off-the-shelf courseware: Web-based courses are delivered over the Internet or
an intranet, accessed via a browser. Features may include note taking, screen
prints, pre- and post-assessments, job aids, glossaries, simulations,
continuing education credits, and continuing education filing and license
support services.
3)
Custom web-based courses: Custom course development is one of the more
difficult services to select because your company must assess the instructional
design, graphical skills, and technical capabilities of the supplier.
4)
Synchronous, collaborative learning tools: While synchronous learning can occur
using such simple tools as chat and teleconferencing, a new generation of tools
bundles online chat, video and audio conferencing, application sharing, and
more.
5)
Advisory or information services: Information services can be industry
specific, or they can provide general business information. These include news
services, e-newsletters, discussion forums, and more.
6)
Coaching and mentoring services: These services often are aimed at an IT
audience, helping technical professionals pass certification examinations.
However, online coaching services for general business are emerging, such as
Coaching.com.
7)
Knowledge management tools: These tools are internal enterprise-wide tools that
collect, store, and distribute information within a business or other
organization.
8)
Competency management tools: These tools are used to identify skills and
knowledge available within an organization and can exist as stand-alone tools
or as components of HR systems or LMSs.
9)
Library software: These tools can manage circulation, print overdue notices,
import and export data, and allow you to publish a catalog to the Internet or
an intranet. Your LMS may have similar functionality, or you may need a
stand-alone system from a supplier, such as Sagebrush or SIRSI.
Sorting
through the functionality of e-learning tools is a complex process. Adding to
the confusion is determining the needs of your organization and how a tool can
support those needs. Although highly integrated solutions may require less
management and implementation time, choosing an integrated solution can mean
compromising on features.
As in most
industries, technology and suppliers change rapidly. Is the supplier a
long-term player in the corporate learning marketplace? Is the technology
viable, or will you make an investment in tools that require updating? The
ASTD recommends looking for a solution that doesn't tie its success to the
solution offered by any one supplier. By building strategic relationships with
proven suppliers and technologies, as well as with internal sponsors and
technology support, you have a better chance implementing a successful
e-learning program.
Please
refer to the next section, "Useful Links," for a list of a few of the leading
e-learning service providers as defined by FORBES magazine.
For
questions about customizing global e-learning initiatives for your internal and
external customers in foreign languages, please contact GLS at mailto:info@globallanguages.com.
References:
-Brown,
Bettina Lankard. Web-Based Training. ERIC Digest no. 218. Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult Career and Vocational Education, 2000.
- Ekos Research
Associates, & Lyndsay Green & Associates (1999). The Impact of
Technologies on Learning in the Workplace: Final Report.
- American Society of
Training and Development (ASTD)
2. USEFUL LINKS
E-LEARNING PROVIDERS:
http://www.keepsmart.com
http://www.saba.com
http://www.centra.com/
http://www.newhorizons.com/
http://www.digitalthink.com/
U.S. ONLINE EDUCATION E-NEWSLETTERS:
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/01587919.asp
http://www.edpath.com/archives/
INTERNATIONAL ONLINE EDUCATION E-NEWSLETTERS:
http://www.ub.es/multimedia/iem/
http://www.ipenz.org.nz/ipenz/
http://www.eurodl.org/
*** FEATURED LANGUAGE: Italian
3. ITALY QUICK-GLANCE
Italian Republic consists of Municipalities,
Provinces, Metropolitan Areas and Regions. Italy has twenty Regions, five of
which have a special status (Valle d'Aosta, Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia
Giulia, Sicilia and Sardegna). The Regions are subdivided into 103 Provinces
and 8101 Municipalities.
There are
nearly 60 million people who call Italy home. Italy has the fifth-highest
population density in Europe at 196 persons per square kilometer. Although
Roman Catholicism is the majority religion (85 percent of native-born citizens
are nominally Catholic), there are Protestant and Jewish communities and a
growing Muslim immigrant community.
LANGUAGE AND DIALECTS:
1)
Language
Italian
(Italiano) is a Romance language currently spoken by some 66 million people, of
whom the vast majority live in peninsular Italy (including the Republic of San Marino). France, including Corsica, has about 260,000 Italian speakers
and Switzerland more than 500,000 (the canton of Ticino). For a large portion
of these speakers, standard Italian is not the language of the home, where
dialectal forms are used. It is estimated that there are some 700,000 speakers
in Brazil and 600,000 in Argentina.
2)
Dialects
The
northern dialects include the Gallo-Italian dialects (Piedmontese, Lombard, Ligurian, Emilian-Romagnol); as the influence of a Celtic substratum is
discernible, some linguists consider them separate languages pertaining to the
Gallo-Romance subgroup. The other northern group of dialects, spoken in
northeastern Italy, is called Venetan (including Venetian, Veronese, Trevisan,
and Paduan dialects, etc.). Istrian, which is spoken on the peninsula now
divided between Croatia and Slovenia, with a tiny portion belonging to Italy, is sometimes considered yet another northern Italian dialect, or an independent language
of the Balkano-Romance subgroup. The Tuscan dialects (including those of
Corsica) are often held to form a linguistic group of their own, while in the
south and east three broad dialect areas are grouped loosely together: (1) the
dialects of the Marche (Marchigiano), Umbria, and Rome; (2) Abruzzian, Apulian,
Neapolitan, Campanian, and Lucanian; and (3) Calabrian and Sicilian, which are
believed by some to be influenced by the Greek once spoken there (which still
survives in isolated pockets on the extreme southern portion of the peninsula).
DOING BUSINESS IN ITALY:
Italy is a member of the European Union
(EU), and as such, business conducted in Italy must follow the laws,
directives, and policies of the EU. If you want a source of comprehensive information,
visit Baker & McKenzie's website (http://www.bakernet.com/ecommerce)
which provides information about EU directives related to e-commerce. Some of
the topics covered include copyrights, data protection, electronic signatures,
privacy protection, distance consumer contracts, and software protection. You
can also sign up for its weekly Global E-Law Alert Newsletter.
The Italy-America
Chamber of Commerce (IACC) in New York City offers its
members a
great newsletter packed with information about import/export issues,
e-commerce, office locators, business incubators, procurement, human resources,
and more. The IACC also has a special matchmaking program to match up
importers, distributors or wholesalers between Italian-based and USA-based
companies (http://www.italchamber.org/ ).
If your
company is thinking of setting up a local subsidiary, establishing a new
business in Italy, or buying an Italian-based company, then you should visit
the Italian Trade Commission website (http://www.investinitaly.com)
for guidelines covering Italian business entities and the taxes they are
expected to pay.
References:
http://www.economicexpert.com
4. USEFUL LINKS
Local
newspapers can be great sources of information about political, economic, and
social issues that are important to Italian people. Business articles will also
help you to identify new business contacts, refine your marketing methods, and
assess whether economy is strong enough and the timing is right to launch your
new business expansion abroad.
NEWSPAPERS AND ONLINE NEWS RESOURCES:
http://www.repubblica.it/
http://www.lastampa.it/redazione/default.asp
http://www.ansa.it/
http://www.diario.it/
CULTURE:
http://www.economicexpert.com
http://www.italiantourism.com/
http://www.investinitaly.com
III. IN OUR NEXT ISSUE
***** FEATURED TOPIC: Finance - Collateralized Debt Obligations
***** FEATURED LANGUAGE: Japanese
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