The AGENDA for this presentation contains a review of relevant factors and data in the area of online learning, but focuses on different Autodesk initiatives in the area of online learning and a demonstration of a synchronous delivery model using Envoy Global services.

Customers invest in training to provide their employees the skills to better perform in their jobs. As Elliot Masie puts it, "It is not human resource development, it is a business process and productivity investment."

There is a shift from "use" of software to workplace competencies, (which is really what matters). Many companies are either eliminating or thinning out their internal training staff. It is more fiscally responsible to spend their budget on realistic, as-you-need-it training instead of supporting a staff of trainers.

Human capital is becoming more important to the business competitive advantage. A company can spend considerable funds retraining employees because of lack of skilled employees in the marketplace.

Autodesk is also looking for a way to deliver a consistent message.

Cost can be a barrier. Not only does the training itself cost, travel, accommodations, but mostly time away from work. These added together are certainly significant.

We must not forget that as a global company, it is important to assure that all the geographies can also benefit from the learning.

One should take market research data and analysis with a grain of salt. The important thing to notice is the trend in regards to the

• general internet usage,
• web-delivered learning projections,
• as well as technology-mediated education in general.

The art of estimating how many are online throughout the world is an inexact one at best. Surveys abound, using all sorts of measurement parameters. However, from observing many of the published surveys over the last two years, here is an ‘educated guess’ as to how many are online worldwide as of September 1998.

We picked strong reliable market research organizations to show what the perceived trends are from several data sources.

As the slide indicates:

• Phenomenal growth in on-line population
• Total world usage is 147 million

In the US, one in three workplace PCs and one in two home PCs access the internet. 45 million PCs accessed the internet in the first q of 98 a rise of 43% from the same period last year. Source: NUA June 1998

Many companies have invested in company-wide distributed learning over their "intranets" and have reported success in regards to effective learning and overall cost reduction. Because of current bandwidth issues, the intranet is an ideal environment for delivering innovative models using rich media. Additionally, companies are extending their reach to their partners over the "extranet", as in the case of Fujitsu PC who trains their technicians using streaming video.

There are many companies cropping up that offer online learning to the general public over the "internet", and are gaining popularity. WBT like ZD Education's, ZDU, UOL Publishing and Digital Think (as examples) have reported successes. It is still difficult, however, to judge overall learning effectiveness as there is still no hard data to support.

 Although WBT is still young, an IDC report, "distance learning via the web will be the fastest growing segment of technology-based training this year," with the number of business units using internet-based training jumping from 3.2 percent in 1996 to 7 percent in 1997. At an annual compound growth rate of 147 percent, analysts predict that the market for online training will reach $1.7 billion by the year 2000.

The telephone is still the most widely used communications tool. Alexander Graham Bell, however, had different intentions. The purpose of the telephone was to broadcast news and symphonies. It took a lot of convincing and presentation of undeniable evidence before Mr. Bell accepted that the strength of the telephone is as a communication tool.

Similarly, we need to look at the web's strengths to determine the best way to use it in a learning application.

Taking the factors that are driving web training, our customers and their needs, their individual learning styles, the tools and technologies available and the internet brings a real challenge. The challenge is evaluating and deciding how we can take all the data and develop programs that will serve our customers best. How do we use this exciting new opportunity presented to us to raise the performance levels of our customers today.

Since 1998 we have been looking into alternative ways to deliver Autodesk product knowledge to our partners and customers. Our first endeavor was a partnership with UOL Publishing in building an Autodesk Virtual Campus. Today we have quite a few Autodesk-related courses on this site. Additionally, another partner, OpenCAD has actively offered courses over the web and CD to 3D Studio Max users. Both sites are on demand (asynchronous). UOL offers self-publishing educational environment. Authors can submit content through a WYSIWIG publisher and also offers assessment features and can handle any file that can be viewed through a browser. UOL also offers online registration and payment with a secure server, and also manages and tracks student progress as well as content. OpenCAD's strength is the use of a search engine to find topics within a courses or courses and also pushes information about new lessons on a regular basis to its customers. OpenCAD gives learners the ability to download data sets to be used in a particular lesson. Currently neither offers interactive learning.

Concurrently, another pilot was beginning on the use of Envoy (formerly Envoy Global) services. Your company is global, your customers are everywhere, but you can't be everywhere at once.

Using their voice and data conferencing solutions and latest Internet technology, we wanted to see how we could extend the reach of our limited number of training managers and Autodesk Technical Specialists. Envoy, like Centra provides tools for learners to be able to communicate to with the instructor, such as hand raising and private email messaging or chat.

First and foremost with all these pilots, we evaluate based on our current customer web access, minimum configuration and necessary bandwidth. When we feel the technology will work, we then work on the instructional model. Several tests were made with Envoy to check the speed of the application sharing function.

The first pilot is an Introduction to AutoCAD Release 14 review. Students who had recently taken an instructor-led course at Autodesk were offered the opportunity to review the class online with a live instructor. This pilot is still in progress.

The next pilot using Envoy will be an online R14 course.

Autodesk has also been redesigning the Technical Assistance area. The concept was first introduced when AutoCAD Release 14 was launched, but has yet undergone major enhancements. The idea behind Technical Assistance is performance support. This is one place where you can find answers to your work problems, whether it be resolved by a technical document or learning content. A user, after all, cannot really distinguish between learning content or technical support content. In the Autodesk Technical Assistance site you can:

Autodesk also introduced Autodesk Learning Assistance with the launch of AutoCAD Release 14 and AutoCAD LT 97.

Autodesk Learning Assistance™ is an interactive training tool designed to help you become more proficient with Autodesk products. Autodesk Learning Assistance provides a large number of interactive lessons demonstrating specific commands and techniques. By using this resource as a training and support tool, you can master Autodesk products more quickly.

Other Uses

• On-the-Job Performance Support
• Classroom Training Tool
• Marketing Tool for resellers

Benefits

• Shorten the learning curve
• On the job performance boost
• View a multimedia lesson in under five minutes
• AutoCAD practice supported with sample files and lesson steps

Another model being used by Autodesk for product launches and reseller training is Eloquent.

Eloquent Speaker! is a scalable content option that allows for desktop delivery of executive speeches on demand. Speaker! events include streaming audio and video of the speaker's talk, and an optional full text transcript. Eloquent Narrator! is a scalable content option that has rapid turnaround with minimal bandwidth requirements. Narrator's "illustrated audio" is ideal for deployment via the Eloquent server over corporate intranets or the Internet. Eloquent Demonstrator! employs the latest presentation datatype - ScreenTracks - to enable Eloquent events to include software demonstrations as an integral part of the presentation. Eloquent Presenter! Server allows companies to deliver, manage and track large, searchable knowledge libraries of Eloquent talks. The Presenter! server streams audio, video, graphics, text and other presentation datatypes over the internet and intranet for anytime, anywhere learning. Detailed management and measurement capabilities enable companies to track usage, test for learning, and receive detailed user feedback.

Currently Autodesk is only using the CD distribution model, but plans to deliver some content to resellers over the company's extranet (AutoAccess).

Certainly having learning at your fingertips anytime, any day and anywhere -just when you want it, just when you need it, is an attractive proposition. Learning online should not just be taking the traditional instructor-centered paradigm and broadcast it over the Internet. The Internet will do an excellent job in extending the access of courses to millions who would not have been able to otherwise. And I will dispute what some say, "the only kind of learning in a virtual environment is virtual learning." Although as I mentioned there is yet no hard data specific to WBT learner effectiveness, there is approximately 50 years of research showing that individuals learn as well or better via distance education as they do in an ILT setting.

Online learning should be an enriched learning environment that integrates the networked delivery of multimedia learning materials with asynchronous and synchronous conversations within learning communities of students, content and mentors.