e-learning Conference and Expo 2002 to be Co-Located With The MASIE Center's Business of e-learning

Business Wire, Oct 25, 2001

Business Editors

e-learning Conference & Expo

SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 25, 2001

More than 4,500 Corporate, Government and Education Professionals

Expected to Attend Industry Gathering

in Washington, D.C., April 8-11, 2002

The 12th annual e-learning Conference & Expo will serve the advanced online learning and distance learning markets by providing end-to-end solutions and strategies to the corporate, academia and government sectors.

The e-learning Conference & Expo 2002, which will be held at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center, April 8-11, will combine the best of conferencing and collaboration with the soaring demand for Web-based learning software, content and services. The event is the first and only comprehensive exhibition for all aspects of traditional distance learning and the new Web-based online learning.

A new feature to the event will be the addition of The MASIE Center's Business of e-learning Briefing, an event that attracts the highest-level executives in the e-learning community. In August, Advanstar Communications announced an alliance with The MASIE Center, combining e-learning content and event production. This relationship has given The MASIE Center the opportunity to totally focus on the content side of their conferences while providing leadership to the training and learning industry. The MASIE Center and Advanstar now provide year-round content, advice and implementation/buying guidance to the learning industry through their various e-learning events and publications.

Elliott Masie will be the keynote speaker of e-learning 2002. Masie has founded many of the key conferences in the training field, including TechLearn, and is a featured keynote speaker at industrywide events. This year, he is leading the e-learning Consortium, a group of 200 Fortune 500 companies collaborating on implementing e-learning. Masie will be the primary presenter and facilitator of this event. He is one of the leading forces in the development of the e-learning field. He is the president of The MASIE Center, an international think-tank focused on training, learning and technology. He has worked with the major technology organizations to assist in the growth and development of the training field. He is the editor of a widely read online newsletter TechLearn Trends and Learning Decisions Interactive Newsletter.

The MASIE Center's "Business of e-learning Briefing" is designed for several audiences, including vendors of e-learning products and services, as well as the sales and marketing staff focused on the e-learning marketplace. Technology providers targeting the e-learning marketplace, training and content companies migrating to online learning delivery, internal training departments interested in the business issues of e-learning, groups involved in financial investments in the e-learning space, and training executives interested in the economics and dynamics of e-learning will also find valuable information during the Briefing event.

"As a leader in our industry, Elliott will be able to poignantly address the crossroads of learning, training and technology," said Joe Flynn, general manager for Advanstar Communications' Collaboration & e-learning Group. "With The MASIE Center's involvement in this event, we will be able to provide our attendees with real-world solutions to their e-learning and collaboration needs."

During last year's event, e-learning magazine (www.elearningmag.com) conducted a survey, which indicated that 79 percent of users felt the principal advantage to e-learning/online training is that students, trainees or employees can access courses on their computers wherever they are and whenever they want. Fifty-nine percent say it allows for self-paced learning, and the same number say it saves money. Fifty percent say it provides "just-in-time" learning, while one-third like the "ease of use," fast distribution and the ease with which content can be altered.

"With these types of statistics, the industry continues to grow, bringing more and more people a quality education to their desktops," added Flynn. "The vendors who participate in this event, including Click2Learn, Instruction Set, NYUonline, Skillsoft Corporation and TANDBERG, offer the latest technologies and services, which provide ease and accessibility to the corporate, government and academic worlds."

At last year's event, more than 5,000 professionals looking for the newest information and products for e-learning solutions packed the meeting rooms and the exhibit floor of the Washington, D.C. Convention Center during the 11th annual e-learning Conference & Expo (formerly TeleCon East/IDLCON). Nearly 130 exhibiting companies spanned more than 35,000 square feet of exhibit space, the largest in the event's history. The vendors that participated showcased the latest in Web-based content, technology and services -- from state-of-the-art learning management services (LMS), portals and collaborative software, to complex multimedia simulations and learning-specific hardware and delivery systems.