164 - People on The Move: Curtis Uehlein to CEO at Provant & Michael Saylor Donates $100 Million for Free On-Line University

1. Free B2B e-Learning Report from Thomas Weisel Partners: We are pleased
to provide a free copy of a 52 page analysis of the Business to Business
e-Learning Industry, prepared by Fred McCrea, R. Keith Gay and Rusty Bacon
of Thomas Weisel Partners. You can read or print the report at our website:
http://www.masie.com/b2breport.pdf

2. Thank You!!! Condolences and Digital Mourning: I cannot tell you how
much I and my family appreciated the 1,700 email messages from Trends
Readers after the passing of my mom. It was so warming to read your notes
and I noticed how many of us have recently dealt with the passages of our
parents. When it was time to plan Dorothy's funeral, we were faced with
another dilemma of the mobile age. Her best friends are 102 and 89 and live
in Miami. Her brother is 84 and not in good health. How could they
participate in mom's funeral in Saratoga Springs? We decided to use a
Digital Collaboration set of technologies to hook 37 of her friends into the
funeral via a telephone conference call. They were so touched and moved to
hear the words and songs of the funeral. We also discreetly captured the
funeral on video and posted a few edited segments on the web so her friends
could see and hear. MSNBC did a very touching story on the process and a
tribute to my mom. It was an example of how the technology is powerful if
it can be used to link people and enrich their human experiences. The MSNBC
story is at http://www.masie.com/mom/

3. Sam Donaldson to Report on e-Commerce at e-Learning Business Conference:
We are honored to have Sam Donaldson as a keynote speaker at next week's
Business of On-Line & E-Learning Conference in Seattle, Washington. Sam
will be talking about his own ventures into becoming an on-line content
provider (www.abcnews.com) and the way in which we might use the news
gathering process as a learning example for the training industry. If you
are provider or vendor in the industry, there are only 10 seats left.
Register on-line at http://www.masie.com

4. People on The Move: Curtis Uehlein to CEO at Provant: Yesterday, Provant
(http://www.provant.com) announced that Curtis M. Uehlein would take the
role CEO, in addition to his current role as President and COO. They also
appointed Reg Murphy, an outside board member, as Chairman of the Board.

5. Michael Saylor Donates $100 Million for Free On-Line University:
Computer software billionaire Michael Saylor is donating $100 million to
start an online university he says will offer a free "Ivy League" education
to anyone. "Done right, this will impact the lives of millions of people
forever," Saylor told The Washington Post in an interview. "Done wrong, it's
just noise in a can. Saylor, 35, is chief executive of Microstrategy, a
software company based in suburban Vienna, Va. His personal wealth actually
dropped in the last few days, as the company lost ground on Wall Street.
The news story is available at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9402-2000Mar14.html

MASIE Center News:
Our e-Learning Briefing in Washington, DC in April has 35 available spots.
It is a 2 day, vendor neutral look at the world of on-line and e-learning
products, approaches and strategies. Complete agenda and on-line
registration at http://www.masie.com

Learning Decisions Interactive Newsletter: Only $195 for a year with
monthly in-depth research. http://www.learningdecisions.com



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Digital Collaboration Conference Launched by ASTD & The MASIE Center

TO: Training, Learning and Technology Colleagues
FROM: Elliott Masie, The MASIE Center
RE: Digital Collaboration Conference Launched by ASTD & The MASIE Center

I am pleased to announce that ASTD & The MASIE Center are partnering to
launch a new conference and even a new professional field:

Digital Collaboration Conference
May 22 to 24, 2000 - Dallas, Texas
Held in Conjunction with ASTD International Conference

I will be hosting and facilitating this exciting 2 1/2 day event totally
focused on how organizations will be building and managing Digital
Collaboration capabilities. We will address issues like:

* Who will "own" the digital meeting capabilities in organizations and how
will we create the new customs of meeting electronically?
* How can organizations guide the use of e-mail to be a tool for
productivity and communication rather than a burden to workers?
* What are the best ways to link far flung offices to share culture and work
jointly?

This event will focus on the HOW and PROCESS side of Digital Collaboration.
We will take the first in-depth look at how major organizations can and must
develop strategies to focus these powerful tools for performance and
effectiveness.

You will join the senior executives from our TechLearn Collaborative and
other major organizations as we conduct in-depth briefings, share in
non-commericial demonstrations and explore the PEOPLE side of these emerging
TECHNOLOGIES.

Complete details and registration information is located at:

www.masie.com/digcollab

PLEASE CLICK ON THE DIGITAL COLLABORATION LINK for on-line information and
registration. The size of the group will be limited to 350 attendees and
includes attendance at the full ASTD Conference as well.

We are so excited about this new effort. In years to come, organizations
will take it for granted that they have well focused digital collaboration
strategies... join us as we launch the thinking and dialogue needed to
harness the ability to work over time and distance.

Yours in learning and collaboration..

Elliott Masie
The MASIE Center

Survey: Blending Classroom & e-Learning

TO: Training and Technology Colleagues
FROM: Elliott Masie, The MASIE Center

Please take 2 minutes to complete our latest TechLearn Trends Survey:
Blending Classroom & e-Learning. How will we ADD e-learning elements to
traditional classroom offerings.

Just go to http://www.masie.com/survey/ and fill out our 2 minute survey.
Results will be posted in two weeks.

Yours in learning,

Elliott

163 - Watch for Instant Messenger Capacity on Cell Phones: Continuous Presence

1. Fifty Interviews on Learning & Technology Free on TechLearn Site: We are
pleased to release a series of fifty video interviews with learning and
training managers. These 3 to 15 minute interviews were captured at
TechLearn 99. They focus on the results of Case Studies and Problem
Solution Sessions. You can stream this free resource, using the Windows
Media Player, at http://www.masie.com/interviews

(Please save the dates for TechLearn 2000: November 12 to 15, 2000 in
Orlando, Florida)

2. Watch for Instant Messenger Capacity on Cell Phones: Continuous Presence:
The concept of continuous presence is growing into the world of cell and
mobile phones. In the next three to six months watch for a new capability
of running instant messenger software like ICQ or AOL's IM, between cell
phones and PC's. Trainers and learners could be continuously connected for
field based coaching and support. Add to it a big push to integrate speech
recognition into cell phones and we have an interesting new capacity.

3. Learning Quotation: From the Treasury Department

"My name is Melanie Leschnik and I am the training manager for the
Department of Treasury Headquarters in Washington, D.C.. I use the
following quote on our intranet training site"

"An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest."
-- Ben Franklin

4. e-Learning Briefing in Washington DC 75% Filled: There are only a few
dozen spots left in the Washington, DC edition of our e-Learning Briefing.
We already have representatives of a wide range of government and corporate
training departments from both the US and overseas. For complete info, go
to http://www.masie.com This event includes 2 on-line follow-up sessions.

Upcoming MASIE Center Events and Services:
* The Business of On-Line and E-Learning: Seattle WA - March 27 and 28th
* e-Learning 2000 Europe - Dublin Ireland - July 2000
* The Learning Decisions Interactive Newsletter - Only $195 Per Year
Complete details at http://www.masie.com

162 - MASIE Research on Learning Portals: Rate of Adoption; Taking Notes On-Line; Key Business Issues as Hurdles for e-Learning

1. New Report on e-Learning Marketplace By WR Hambrecht & Co: Here is an
extensive report on the investment dimensions of the e-Learning Marketplace
that has been produced by WR Hambrecht & Co. The entire report is available
on-line at http://www.wrhambrecht.com/research/coverage/elearning/ir/ir_explore.html

2. MASIE Research on Learning Portals: Rate of Adoption: The recent
Learning Decisions Interactive Newsletter survey provides insight into the
concept of learning portals. We surveyed 1,902 learning professionals on
their plans to implement a learning portal. (Portals are public or internal
sites that serve as single points of access for learning.)

The data indicates that 22% of organizations are in the process of building
a learning portal and 32% are investigating the concept.

One part of the study asked people to indicate the importance of eight
learning portal capabilities, they following ranked Top 3:
#1 Pointing workers to a single site for all learning and training
resources.
#2 Creating an on-line community with access to subject matter experts and
peers to assist in the learning process.
#3 Increasing the quantity and range of learning offerings by consolidating
offers from a wide range of vendors.

The complete results and analysis of the data, is being distributed to all
Learning Decisions Interactive Newsletter subscribers. If you would like to
subscribe, just go to www.learningdecisions.com.

3. Learning Quotation

"No great thing is created suddenly"
-Epictetus

4. Taking Notes On-Line: One of the curiosities I have is how people are
going to take notes during e-Learning experiences. Will we have the
equivalent of a digital yellow highlighter? Will we have the ability to cut
and paste key elements into a personal notebook? We are interested in
hearing your ideas about notetaking and e-learning. Please send me an email
to emasie@masie.com and we will summarize in a future TRENDS.

5. Key Business Issues as Hurdles for e-Learning: We are pleased to add
these items to our upcoming Business of On-Line and E-Learning Conference to
be held in Seattle at the end of March:
* What are the key hurdles that may slow corporate adoptions of e-Learning?
* Where are the major supporters and dissenters?
* What business issues must be addressed when developing an e-Learning
Strategy or Proposal?

There are only 45 seats left in this program, for vendors and suppliers in
the learning and technology arena. Go to http://www.masie.com for agenda
and registration:

MASIE Center Services and Events:
* e-Learning Briefing - April in Washington, DC
* e-Learning Europe 2000 - Dublin, Ireland in July
* Business of On-Line and e-Learning Conference - March in Seattle, WA
* TechLearn 2000 - Orlando in November
* Learning Decisions Interactive Newsletter
* Elliott Masie Keynote Speeches and Briefings
Details at www.masie.com or call 800-98-MASIE