Introduction

In today’s world learning has become a lifelong event. This white paper has the capability to help individuals and companies understand why Technology Based Training“TBT” is a faster, more economical and more intelligent way to learn. We hope you will
try TBT and realize how audio, visual, pre-evaluations, skill testing and interactivity make learning more enjoyable and more effective. We believe that TBT can improve personal lives and corporate bottom lines through higher salaries, better jobs, improved business environments and increased bottom line revenues. TBT has the ability to improve our social, environmental, political and personal climates by creating an educated mass capable of making wiser decisions than we have made in the past.
“Knowledge is Power” Corey O’Neil

What CEO’s and Experts are saying about training:

“There is a direct link between education and income. People who have a better education have better jobs and get better pay.
Countries that have better education systems have stronger economies and are tougher competitors in the worldwide
marketplace. America is becoming a nation of educated and uneducated.” - Louis Y. Gerstner, Jr. Chairman and CEO IBM

“Those armed with the highest levels of knowledge and skills are in an advantageous position in the current economic climate. We are currently in a seller’s market – the skilled employed have the bargaining chips because of very low unemployment levels , especially for highly sought skills such as computer programming.” - Canaccord Capital, E-learning

“The new economy puts a premium on intellectual capital. However, the life of knowledge and human skills today is shorter than ever, increasing the pressure to remain at the forefront of education and training throughout a career. In the midst of globalization and technological revolution, four-year degrees are just the beginning of a forty-year continuing education. Life-long learning may be considered a buzzword today, but it is quickly becoming an imperative.” -WR HAMBRECHT + Co

"In your career, knowledge is like milk. It has a shelf life stamped right on the carton. The shelf life of a degree in engineering is about 3 years. If you're not replacing everything you know by then, your career is going to turn sour fast." --Louis Ross, Ford Motor Co., CTO to a group of engineering students

“TBT is simply the most intelligent way to accomplish the following goals:
- to improve current performance at work
- to advance career and/or increase salary by learning new skills
- to stay current with industry standards
- self-improvement such as motivation and social skills”
-Corey O’Neil, Serebra Learning Corporation

"If you are not being educated in your job today, you may be out of a job tomorrow... Employee education is not growing 100 percent faster than academia, but 100 times - or 10,000 percent - faster... Over the next few decades the private sector will
eclipse the public sector and become the major institution responsible for learning." -- Jim Botkin and Stan Davis, The Monster Under the Bed

“in a time of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.” - Eric Hoffer, in Vanguard Management, 1989

“70% of the fastest growing companies say they are faced with serious problems finding skilled, experienced workers.” - PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

“In today’s knowledge-based economy, a four year degree is just a prerequisite to participating in the industries of the future”
- Merrill Lynch, The Book of Knowledge

“A recent, year-long survey of more than 6,000 high-tech workers in Canada by Ottawabased TalentMap.com found that the downturn in the tech sector has done little to discourage employees from seeking new positions... The survey noted that high-tech
workers are still generally in an enviable position. An estimated 70,000 to 90,000 technology jobs remain open in Canada, along with 900,000 technology jobs in the United States, yet nearly 50 per cent will likely go unfilled because of lack of candidates
with sufficient skills.” - The Globe and Mail, Canadian Business, B5 Monday June 11, 2001

“Education is the next industrial era institution to go through a complete overhaul, starting in earnest in 2000. The driving force here is not so much concern with enlightening young minds as economics. In an information age, the age of the knowledge worker, nothing matters as much as the workers brain.” -Peter Schwartz, Wired Magazine, The Long Boom

“And as human capital becomes the chief source of economic value, education and training become lifelong endeavors for the vast majority of workers” - Peter J. Stokes

- Approximately 50% of IT Company executives cited the lack of skilled workers as the most significant barrier to growth during the next year. - Approximately 70% of IT companies said that “few” or “some” applications for IT jobs have the skills the companies are seeking. -Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) It is estimated that we will need 1.3 million new computer scientists, systems analysts and computer programmers by 2006 in the United States. - Merrill Lynch, The Book of Knowledge.
Technology Based Training “TBT”

Faster
...learners ...can better understand the material, leading to a 60% faster learning curve, compared to instructor-led training. ... Whereas the average content retention rate for an instructor-led class is only 58%, the more intensive e-learning experience enhances the retention rate by 25-60%. Higher retention of the material puts a higher value on every dollar spent on training. - WR Hambrecht + Co

Cheaper
A recent study found that corporations that employed a workforce with a 10% higherthan-average educational attainment level enjoyed 86% higher-than-average productivity. Computer-based training and online training can reduce training costs over instructor-led training. A congressionally mandated review of 47 comparisons of multimedia instruction with more conventional approaches to instruction found time savings of 30% improved achievement and cost savings of 30-40%. - Merrill Lynch, The Book of Knowledge

"It's a more convenient method of learning, especially for someone who has a busy schedule. You can learn at your desktop in the office or at home and you can navigate through various topics in the course and learn only what you need to learn. It's flexible." - James Lawler, VP of training technologies at Merrill Lynch.

Definition

Technology Based Training (TBT) is a computer based training methodology that includes web-based, intranet based, DVD and CD based training on any topic.

High quality TBT has the following capabilities
- Reduced learning time and improved retention rates through rich multimedia including graphics, animated case studies and examples, animation, sound, video etc. *Studies have shown that the more senses involved in learning, the higher the retention rate
- No risk “Hands on training” through realistic simulations and role playing
- Learn only what you don’t know through initial skills gap evaluations that assess training path requirements and bypass topics you already know
- Evaluate acquired knowledge throughout course with multiple testing
- Enables “Just in time learning” for quick solutions to required needs as opposed to “just in case” learning which often does not improve your performance.
- 24/7 global access - ability to train according to your own preferences, your own learning pace, eliminates time constraints, and removes geographic constraints.
- Unlike books TBT has the ability to keep today’s fast-changing content current, dynamic, and refreshed
- Capable of adaptation to market and technological changes.
- Consistency – courses can be delivered consistently each time and for each participant unlike instructor-led training. Technology based training is changing the way corporations and individuals obtain skills in almost every single segment of the business process. Initially IT training dominated the TBT market, however, front office, management, sales, customer service and professional development training are increasing at a rapid rate.

THE TOP TEN BENEFITS OF TECHNOLOGY BASED TRAINING (TBT)

“Flexibility, Accessibility, Convenience – Users can proceed through a training program ‘at their own pace and at their own place.’ They can also access the training at any time, and only as much as they need – known as ‘Just in time and just enough’.” -White Paper: Is Web-Based Training Right for You?

“The actual time required for training by computer averages about 50% that of instructor led training, lowering costs further” - Return on Investment and Multimedia Training

“Goodbye classes, goodbye books. Goodbye teachers’ dirty looks.” - Alice Cooper

Top Ten Technology Based Training (TBT) Benefits:
1) Enhances retention rate by 25 – 60%
- It provides for self-reinforcement. Interactivity improves the retention of the skills being taught and simulations help walk you through actual scenarios and identify mistakes when you make them.
- The ability to customize the learning material to your own needs, with more control over your learning process, leads to a 60% faster learning curve compared to instructor-led training.
2) Saves time
- A comprehensive skill assessment performed prior to taking the training determines which topics you need to focus on
- The delivery of content in smaller units, called “learning objects” contributes further to saving time and has a more lasting learning effect (see Learning Objects definition on the next page).
3) TBT interactivity accommodates different learning styles and fosters learning through audio, visual, testing, and by having learners “do what they are learning”.
4) Saves money – see TBT cost savings
5) Learn from the best right at your desktop - you don't need to go anywhere to learn from proven leading companies or experts.
6) Access your courses anywhere, anytime, on CD-ROM or by using an Internet connection and browser
7) Learn at your own pace: Don't feel constrained by an instructor-led class that is too fast or too slow for you. You can learn at comfortable pace, further increasing skill retention.
8) TBT provides more up-to-date information than traditional training; students can learn how to use the newest products or versions of software.
9) TBT is flexible – students can navigate through the training to cover topics in whatever order is more beneficial in light of their specific training needs. This allows students to select learning materials, or to be directed to content that meets their level of knowledge, interest and what they need to know to perform more effectively in their particular activity.
10) Can be accessed by a variety of platforms such as Windows, UNIX and Mac

Learning Objects: Definition
TBT breaks course material into small bites by breaking large blocks of content into modules that can be searched and then completed in a short amount of time. Dissecting a skill into many segments allows users to gain competency quickly. Learning objects
also serve as a helpful tool for users who need to brush up on a skill once they're back on the job. Employees can quickly scan a course module list and find the lesson they need without wading through pages of unnecessary content.

Compare TBT against books/teachers/instructors
“Instructor Lead training is very expensive. You have to pay for the printed material, the speakers, lodging, food, and travel. But with
web-based content we’re able to reach people at their desks. We’re saving hundreds of thousands of dollars on travel alone.” (Software company) – Forrester Research – Online Training Needs a New Course Aug 2000

“Studies have indicated that retention of certain subject matter may be up to 250% greater with computer-based or on-line training than classroom based model.” – Merrill Lynch, The Book of Knowledge

“E-Learning tends to be short, targeted, task-driven, and episodic, while classroom learning tends to be longer, less well-targeted, and programmatic. “ - E-Learning, Marc J. Rosenberg

“It can take anywhere from 25 to 60 percent less time to convey the same amount of instruction or information as in a classroom.”
- Brandon Hall, Web-Based Training Cookbook, New York

Top 5 TBT Advantages Over Books and Instructor-Led Training:

1) TBT has higher retention rates than books or instructor led training - Educators agree that a lack of student interaction is a leading contributor to the failure of the standard classroom and textbook-oriented learning environment. TBT captures the student’s attention, and keeps it with a high level of interaction. The courses are designed to gain and maintain interest through the extensive use of graphics and animation to illustrate and explain concepts, and by ensuring there is a high degree of interactivity with the student. Please see Higher retention of content through personalized learning on page 11 for additional advantages.
2) Online training is less intimidating than instructor-led courses. Students taking an online course enter a risk-free environment in which they can try new things and make mistakes without exposing themselves. This characteristic is particularly valuable when trying to learn soft skills, such as leadership and decision-making. A good learning program shows the consequences of students’ actions and where/why they went wrong. After a failure, students can go back
and try again. This type of learning experience eliminates the embarrassment of failure in front of a group.
3) Content that is “up to date” - TBT has the ability to keep fast-changing contentcurrent, dynamic, and refreshed unlike books
4) Consistency – courses can be delivered consistently each time and for each participant unlike instructor led training which has a risk of different messages or different interpretations of the content being delivered by the different instructors.
5) Cost – TBT is up to 90% less expensive than instructor led training *see below