| Corporate and academic approaches to online learning are parallel knowledge universes with few interactions. Each approach has evolved to a level of maturity that has generated practical knowledge about online learning that should be shared for the benefit of both.
Whether
we call the phenomenon "online learning" or "e-learning," our hypothesis is that the Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) can meld its accumulated knowledge with corporate knowledge to improve the quality of learning in both sectors. Based on this hypothesis, Sloan-C is sponsoring a workshop at the annual American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) International Conference and Exposition in San Diego on May 20, 2003. More than 12,000 ASTD members are likely to attend, thus enabling Sloan-C to collaborate with a large segment of the training and development world. The program's
five themes explore the potential of connecting
the two worlds:
- The ALN approach
to online learning is being successfully
applied in industry-specific and for-credit learning.
- Industry-specific
and management executive programs are being
offered online, and we are just at the beginning
of understanding
the best uses of ALN in these programs.
The workshop will investigate how to move forward
in these areas.
- The workshop
will highlight exemplary corporate online training
programs.
- Discussions
will determine ways the two worlds can work together
to leverage each other's knowledge.
- Sloan-C is
the most efficient and the most credible community
for information-sharing
in the field of online education. Industries
can participate and become members at no cost,
helping
to guide the most significant educational
developments ever.
The ASTD International Conference
The American Society for Training and Development is the world's leading association of workplace learning and performance professionals. Formed in 1944 as the American Society of Training Directors, ASTED is now a global force and sought after voice on critical issues of workforce development. With 70,000 members from over 100 countries and 15,000 organizations including multi-national corporations, mid- and small-size businesses, government and universities, ASTD is globally recognized for its research, publications, conferences, and network of thought leaders and practitioners. ASTD's major conference, the annual International Conference and Exposition, regularly draws over 12,000 practitioners from around the globe. Because of its size and international scope, ASTD is the ideal partner for Sloan-C. ASTD offers Sloan-C members this venue for combining academic and corporate worlds of online learning.
Implementation of Sloan-C workshop at the ASTD Conference
The
workshop agenda for "Corporate and Higher Education Alliances for E-learning" at
the ASTD on May 20, 2003 is shown on the Sloan-C
website (http://www.sloan-c.org/conference/index.asp).
Jeanne Meister, formerly President and CEO of Corporate
University Xchange, and author of Corporate
Universities: Lessons in Building a World-Class
Workforce, is
working with Sloan-C to create an exciting program.
Featuring speakers from academic institutions and
corporations, the program will report on proven
and start-up results in areas such as energy, transportation,
healthcare, automotive, telecommunications, and
technology. The program includes an open session
in the morning, and an afternoon session with (1)
a presentation of needs for industry-specific executive
education online and (2) a more targeted discussion
among corporate and academic leaders to determine
how Sloan-C can best expand academic community
to corporations with a quality track record for
developing and delivering quality online learning.
Join us at ASTD on May 20:
http://www.sloan-c.org/conference/index.asp |
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