ELearning! Magazine
 —LEARNING EXECUTIVES HONOR 25 COMPANIES & 42 PRODUCTS FOR EXCELLENCE
BY CATHERINE UPTON In its 2nd year, the Best of Elearning! Awards received hundreds of product and company nominations from e-learning professionals and executives worldwide. Because 49% of users rely on advice from peers when sourcing e-learning solutions and services, Elearning! Magazine is committed to sharing these results annually. Which vendors are best in class for 2006? What do buyers really think? Which best solve the users’ key business problems? This is what they told us.
BEST LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS/ LCMS
Honorable Mention:
Saba Enterprise 5
Plateau LMS
SumTotal Systems TotalLMS
EEDO ForceTen LCMS
What They Say:
>> Saba Enterprise 5
- Robust system with features we needed.
- Customized solution to our business needs. Good training and support.
- With Saba, we addressed all of our business needs, while increasing our organization’s overall productivity and performance.
>> Plateau LMS
- Fast, consistent and efficient training delivery system.
- Intuitive learning system that employees mastered quickly.
- Helped us meet our growing compliance demands.
- Great people to work with.
>> SumTotal Systems TotalLMS
- Truly integrates all elements into one learning system.
- System most mirrored our business processes and systems.
- We are able to wipe away geography as a barrier to training.
- They custom tailored a solution to our specific needs, and we recouped our investment after one year.
>> EEDO ForceTen LCMS
- Its robust features and ease of use has
been a boom to our e-learning pro-
gram.
- Great functionality and priced right.
- Very flexible,multifunctional,complete
package.
Contact Info:
SABA
2400 Bridge Parkway
Redwood Shores, CA 94065
T: 650-581-2500 / F: 650-696-1773
www.saba.com
Plateau
4401 Wilson Blvd, #400
Arlington, VA 22203
T: 703-678-0000
F: 703-678-0001
E: info@plateau.com
www.plateau.com
SumTotal Systems
1808 No. Shoreline Blvd.
Mountain View, CA 94043
T: 650-934-9500 /
F: 650-962-9411
www.sumtotalsystems.com
EEDOKnowledgeware
76 Northeastern Blvd,#29A
Nashua,NH 03062
T: 888 thinkEEDO/F: 603-595-7932
www.eddo.com BEST HOSTED LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Winner:
GeoLearning
GeoMaestro
Honorable Mention:
Learn.com LearnCenter
NetDimensions EKP
What They Say:
I was able to create content quickly and easily using commercially available tools. They helped me select content to get started, and the site was up and operational within a week of signing the contract. I continue to be impressed. Tech support is amazing. Continuous improvements & developments in response to customer’s needs. Hosted is the way to go, and Geo has mastered it.
Product Description:
An Internet-hosted human capital management and performance platform that enables organizations to capture, create, manage and share knowledge to improve workforce productivity, accelerate critical business processes, and drive organizational performance. The system centralizes and automates the entire learning management process, making the administration
enterprise learning and development
effective and efficient.
Specifications: Software as
hosted delivery model. Standards compliance:
AICC, SCORM, XML
Section 508. Comprehensive, integrated
platform. 100% Web-
client architecture. Customizable
and flexible business rules. Product sheet:
http://www.geolearning.com/main/docs/pdf/GeoMaestro.pdf
Contact Info:
GeoLearning
4600 Westown Parkway, #301
West Des Moines, IA 50266
T: 800-970-9903 or 515-222-
F: 515-222-5920
info@geolearning.com
www.geolearning.com
BEST IT CONTENT
Winner:
NIIT (element K) IT Skills Library
Honorable mention:
Learn.com LearnCenter Tech Library
Skillsoft IT Skills
What They Say:
By far, element K has the most comprehensive IT library on the market. The best technical courseware, coupled with excellent sales & customer support staff. Courseware is very comprehensive and gives more than enough information. Like the product, like the people. element K & NIIT are a force.
Product Description:
This training ensures your IT department stays current on new technologies and can protect your business from security threats. When faced with the challenge of selecting and implementing a training program, element K provides the right library of courses, eBooks, and practice labs that are relevant to your organization. Content is engaging and immediately applicable to one’s job and offers a “Google”-like search for current technical information. Training is authorized from leading IT companies like Microsoft, Cisco, Novell, IBM, and Adobe; and courses clearly map to popular certifications in support of the latest technologies.
Product information:
http://www.elementk.com/index.asp?orgid= 399&storyTypeID=&sid=&menuID=385&
Contact Info:
Element K
500 Canal View Blvd.
Rochester, NY 14623
T: 585-240-7500
F: 585-240-7760
www.elementk.com
BEST LEADERSHIP TRAINING
Winner:
Ken Blanchard Situational Leadership Series
Honorable Mention:
Skillsoft Books 24x7 ExecSuite
Richardson Sales Training Series
LearnCenter Leadership Library
What They Say:
Great courses & personal follow up activities. High quality, intuitive training. We looked at a lot of leadership programs, we wanted one that fit our culture and style. This one fit the bill. The consistent language used in the training program allowed our employees to become better communicators and work together more effectively.
Product Description:
Situational Self Leadership (SSL) is designed for individuals at all levels who want to make the transition from being responsive to being responsible, and to take initiative in idea generation, innovation, and problem solving.
SSL offers three design options that includes up to 37 accelerated learning activities. The Magic of Situational Self Leadership two-day classroom uses all 37 activities. Second, the Ninth House® selfstudy with virtual launch and one-day classroom follow-up experience. Third, the Touch of Magic one-day classroom workshop design with modular skill building follow-up.
Product information:
http://www.kenblanchard.com/img/pub/p df_ssl_overview.pdf
Contact Info:
Ken Blanchard Companies
125 State Place
Escondido, CA 92029
T: 800-728-6000 or 760-839-8070
F: 760-489-8407
www.kenblanchard.com
BEST SOFT SKILLS CONTENT
Winner:
SkillSoft Business Skills Library
Honorable Mention:
American Management Association
Learn.com Business Library
Richardson Quick Skills
What They Say:
Relevant topics, good content. Excellent course design. Good breadth and depth of topics. Interactive, good role plays, and easy to use. Good content and easy access using SkillPort. After using it for a year,we increased our users and now consider SkillSoft a major resource for our training needs.
Product Description:
SkillSoft’s Business Skills Course Collection is the largest collection of business skills courses available. Resources include:
Online Courses — Thousands of hours of interactive instruction provide broad support for skill development in the business areas you need.
SkillSims — Rich, multi-path simulations complement learning with realistic scenario-based practice.
Blended Learning Toolkits — A variety of tools and activities enable learners to leverage new knowledge and skills in the workplace.
PMI® Mentoring — Certified PMP®s are available live, 24x7 to support your project managers seeking certification by PMI®.
PMI® TestPrep Exam — Practice PMP® certification exam for project managers seeking certification by PMI®.
Product brochure:
http://www.skillsoft.com/infocenter/broch ures/documents/BusinessSkills_Broch.pdf
Contact Info:
SkillSoft
107 Northeastern Blvd.
Nashua, NH 03062
T: 603-324-3000 or
87-SkillSoft (877-545-5763)
E-mail: isr@skillsoft.com
www.skillsoft.com
BEST COMPLIANCE CONTENT
Honorable Mention:
Brightline Ethics & Compliance Training
SkillSoft Legal Compliance
Redhawk Ethics Training
What They Say:
>> Brightline
Clear, easy to navigate. Most informative & entertaining course I’ve take. 90% of our employees said the training was worthwhile.
>> SkillSoft
Excellent course design, Good legal content, Reliable, made it through our legal department review.
>> RedHawk:
Full compliment of compliance courses. Provides an excellent weekly Ethics Alert newsletter. Good multiple language options.
Contact Info:
Brightline Compliance
1015 18th Street NW, #204
Washington, DC 20036
T: 800-331-7965 or 202-639-9500
F: 202-318-3073
E: info@brightlinecompliance.com
www.brightlinecomplaince.com
SkillSoft
107 Northeastern Blvd.
Nashua, NH 03062
T: 603-324-3000 or
87-SkillSoft (877-545-5763)
E: isr@skillsoft.com
www.skillsoft.com
RedHawk Compliance
Victoria Plaza
615 Hope Road, #2B
Eatontown, NJ 07724
T: 732-440-1600
F: 732-440-1601
E: info@ethicscoach.com
http://www.ethicscoach.com/online/index.htm
BEST VIRTUAL CLASSROOM
Winner:
WebEx Training Center
Honorable Mention:
Saba Centra Symposium
SkillSoft Dialogue
Microsoft Live Meeting
What They Say:
- Simple, painless and integrates easily into LMS.
- Outstanding customer support. Easiest to use. Stable system.
- We’ve had great success with this solution.
Product Description:
Make training more accessible with webbased self-service session, registration and API interfaces with existing enterprise system. Deliver engaging, interactive presentations, share multiple documents and whiteboards. Annotation tools to highlight key points. See a live trainer during session with web camera or recorder. Collaborate across multiple locations. Connect learners to lab PCs, simulations or applications and conduct live labs or later session. Remote monitoring of learners. Organize breakout sessions with multiple, simultaneous small groups. Built in Q&A, polling and pointers provide feedback. Use advanced testing and grading functions to test comprehension. Online recordings & playbacks for reuse, repurpose or review. Rapid authoring and access available in integrated solution.
Product data:
http://www.webex.com/solutions/e-learning-svc.html
Contact Info:
WebEx Communications
3979 Freedom Circle
Santa Clara, CA 95054
T: 877-509-3239 or 408-435-7000
F: 408-496-4353
www.webex.com
BEST WEB SEMINAR SOLUTION
Winner:
WebEx Meeting Center
Honorable Mention:
iLinc Conferencing
Citrix GoToMeeting
Communique Conferencing
What They Say:
- Good customer service. Good tools to use internationally.
- I have used WebEx extensively in distance training programs.
- We’ve had great success with this solution. Simple. Painless.
Product Description:
Powerful online meeting features on your desktop. Integrate live audio, video or data. Share presentations, applications and conduct web tours with the interactivity of a live demo or meeting. Start a meeting from any application or context with click of one button from desktop, browser or MS Outlook. Use powerful annotation tools to emphasize your ideas. Record, edit and playback sessions anytime.
Product information:
http://www.webex.com/solutions/mc_features.html
Contact Info:
WebEx Communications
3979 Freedom Circle
Santa Clara, CA 95054
T: 877-509-3239 or 408-435-7000
F: 408-496-4353
www.webex.com
BEST OVERALL COLLABORATION
Winner:
Adobe Connect
Honorable Mention:
Skype
WebEx Training Center
What They Say:
- It rocks! Nothing can touch this product.
- High quality look & feel. Easy to use. Multiuses, rich media.
- Well worth the money.
Product Description:
Always-available personal meeting rooms, Apple Macintosh support, application and desktop sharing (with remote control), attendee management, audio conference call control, collaboration builder SDK, document viewing, file sharing, instant meeting, Internet audio broadcasting, meeting management, recording, reports, room layouts & templates, Microsoft Outlook integration, moderated Q&As, multiple presenters, multipoint video conferencing, participant permissions, polling, PowerPoint viewing, preparing presenter mode, rich content support, whiteboarding and annotation tools.
Product information:
http://www.adobe.com/products/breeze/index.html
Contact Info:
Adobe
151 Almaden Blvd.
San Jose, CA 95110-2704
T: 408-536-8500 or 888-649-2990
F: 408-537-8500
www.adobe.com
BEST PRESENTATION TOOL
Winner:
Articulate Presenter Pro
Honorable Mention:
Adobe Captivate Microsoft PowerPoint Wildform Wildpresenter Pro What They Say:
- Fabulous. Can do something basic with SME or have developer create something flashy.
- Integrates with LMS with no headaches.
- Combines ease of development with real interactivity. No technical know-how required to get result. Reliable. Quality presentations.
- Robust feature set. Searchable content.
- Easy to WOW your audience.
Product Description:
Create engaging Flash presentations and e-learning courses in minutes. Rapid authoring features within PowerPoint, 165+ animation support, voice sync, multi-level navigation, slide-level, manager or presenter views. Flash-based playback, searchable, shortcuts, crossplatform and browser playbacks, audio recording & editing, unique navigation settings, multiple publishing optionsweb, LMS & online. SCORM/AICC compliant, quizzes, Q&A and games.
Product Info:
http://www.articulate.com/presenter.html
Contact Info:
Articulate
244 5th Avenue, #2960
New York, NY 10001
T: 800-861-4880
www.articulate.com
BEST AUTHORING TOOL
Winners:
Articulate Presenter Pro & Trivantis Lectora
Honorable Mentions:
Adobe Authorware
Articulate Rapid E-Learning Studio
Learn.com CourseMaker
What they say:
>> Articulate Presenter Pro:
- Fast and simple to use since it uses PowerPoint interface. Rapid e-learning production at its best.
- Very effective for interactive rich media content.
- Works well and affordable.Makes my job easy!
>> Trivantis Lectora
Tool has low ramp up time, yet allows you to create advanced actions, variables, learning paths, etc. Easy to use, yet powerful. Very intuitive. Flexible in creation of output formats for CD, Web or LMS. Robust yet streamlined to keep development time to a minimum.
Contact Info:
Articulate
244 5th Avenue, #2960
New York, NY 10001
T: 800-861-4880
www.articulate.com
Trivantis
311 Elm Street, #200
Cincinnati, OH 45202
T: 877-929-0188
F: 513-929-0188
Sales@trivantis.com
www.trivantis.com
BEST SIMULATION SOLUTION
Winner:
Adobe Captivate
Honorable Mentions:
Adobe Authorware
What They Say:
- Simulations made easy-right out of the box.
- Head and shoulders above the competition. Did a great job improving an already awesome product. Easy to get started, easy to make and deploy.
- Simulations shouldn’t be this easy, but they are.
- Beyond demos, you can do assessments & training modules.
- Straightforward & flexible design tool with masses of options for useful interactivity.
Product Description:
Adobe Captivate software enables anyone to rapidly create powerful and engaging simulations, software demonstrations, and scenario-based training without programming knowledge or multimedia skills.
Record easily by capturing anything displayed on the screen including webbased applications with/without audio narration. Include interactivity without programming. Publish to many formats, Flash file for online viewing, executable CDRom, or Word document. Develop content quickly and save time recording, editing, and integrating using multiple automated features. Integrates with LMS, Adobe Connect, Authorware and Questionmark Perception. Easily add interactivity or rich media anywhere in project.
Product data sheet:
http://www.adobe.com/products/captivate/
Contact Info:
Adobe
151 Almaden Blvd.
San Jose, CA 95110-2704
T: 408-536-8500 or 888-649-2990
F: 408-537-8500
www.adobe.com --
To learn more about the Best of Elearning!, visit: www.elearning.b2bmediaco.com
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