2002 guide to e-learning vendors

University Business, April, 2002 by Angela Chnapko

EMBANET
1051 McNicoll Avenue
Toronto, ON M1W 3W6 Canada
T 800/572-7558
F 416/494-1891
WWW.EMBANET.COM

[services]
[hosting]
[instructional design]

Embanet helps its clients put content into a Web-ready format, using software created by its partners (including Blackboard, WebCt, Centrinity, and others). Services offered include course development, instructional design, project management, instructor training, hosting, help desk, etc. The company states that it has close to 400 clients in higher education and has served more than one million students.

EMBARK
111 Townsend Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
T 415/615-1500
F 415/615-1701
WWW.EMBARK.COM

[services]

Embark, which provides Web-based student recruiting and applications-processing services, has been purchased by The Princeton Review. The Embark Web site will continue to operate until fall 2002, at which point, it will be moved to www.review.com.

EPAZZ INC
474 N. Lake Shore Drive, Suite 5501
Chicago, IL 80611
T 312/245-0699
F 312/896-5922
WWW.EPAZZ.NET

[portal]
[learning management/authoring tool]

At press time, Epazz had just officially launched. The company provides a portal with course management features. It is said to integrate with 200 different LMS, ERP, and content-creation platforms.

ESOCRATES
905 Harrison Street, Suite 120
Allentown, PA 18103
T 800/469-0684
WWW.ESOCRATES.COM

[course aggregator]
[portal]
[learning management/authoring tool]
[hosting]
[instructional design]

eSocrates, like its most direct competitor, eCollege, offers hosted software and services For creating a campus-wide or smaller-scale e-learning program that accommodates both campus-based and distance students. Proprietary LMS provides: syllabus, posting of multimedia files, communication tools, polling tools, student tracking and registration, electronic and tuition payment. In the past year, the company has greatly expanded its activities in the corporate market, to a point where corporate clients now make up half of the sales. To take advantage of the change, eSocrates has begun helping its higher ed clients to market courses to eSocrates corporate clients. Additional services: instructional design, Web site development, integration, faculty training.

EWEBUNIVERSITY
1735 North First Street, Suite 302
San Jose, CA 95112
T 408/441-2730
F 408/441-7840
WWW.EWEBUNIVERSITY.COM

[administrative information/management system]
[portal]
[course aggregator]
[learning management/authoring tool]
[electronic library/publisher]
[hosting]
[instructional design]

The company's software platform, content library, content creation tools, and knowledge management systems are built for ease of use, say spokespeople, as well as rapid deployment within legacy systems or on a stand-alone basis. eWebUniversity provides higher education institutions with plug-and-play modules designed to create virtual campus communities that include a branded front-end portal, as well as online registration and payment capabilities. Clients include San Jose State University, and California State Universities at Cat Poly, San Luis Obispo and Dominguez Hills.