SAP and the Interaction Design Foundation (IDF) announced an alliance that aims to provide access to software design education to students and professionals in both emerging and developed economies. IDF offers free text books and online education materials created by leading academics and practitioners of software design.

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The learning solutions provider Desire2Learn has launched Desire2Learn Learning Suite v10.1. The release introduces a series of new features: quick course creation enabling instructors to embed rich media in learning and assessment activities and personalize learning experiences to improve students’ learning results. Students are able to access course materials from any device. Read the rest of this entry »

Desire2Learn announced that Michigan State University (MSU) has signed a multi-year contract to use the Desire2Learn Learning Suite for the school’s nearly 48,000 students. MSU selected Desire2Learn over its current provider, Blackboard, after a review of several solutions, including open-source Moodle, Blackboard, and Desire2Learn. According to the MSU Web site, “The Michigan State decision was based on input regarding features, functionality, and strategic considerations (cost, licensing terms, etc.).”  Read the rest of this entry »

There was a time when school was the place for learning. Thirty-five years ago—when I was a young girl—children went to schools where the curriculum included such basic subjects as mathematics, reading, writing, and music and the forums available to us consisted of text books, encyclopedias, and newspapers.

The global introduction to the personal computer (PC)—as early as the mid 1980’s—gave us a whole new way of learning. Educational study suddenly stretched far beyond the walls of our schools and made its way into our homes (the PC) and communities (via the local library).

Today, the pace at which learning technology is evolving has changed the way in which educational content is created, delivered, and used in learning institutions, business, and society. Organizations and institutions are using newer channels for delivering these learning experiences through such means as on-line learning, learning on-demand (anyplace/anytime scenarios), virtual classrooms, and more. Read the rest of this entry »

As a TEC research analyst, I get to see a lot of really interesting (and some not so interesting) stuff when it comes to enterprise software and the like. With technology changing at the speed of light, there’s always something new that I haven’t seen before, that grabs my attention and makes me say “Wow, that’s cool”!

Like this past week for instance. I had a product briefing with a company called Saba to get an overview of their learning management solution (LMS). I was fortunate enough to have Kenyatta Berry (Saba’s Director of Product Marketing) speak with my colleagues (TEC’s team of analysts) and I to show us Saba’s suite of enterprise software offerings. Along with that we received an overview of the company and its unique strategies for training its clients on how to use its software.   

This leads me back to my opening remark about ”something I haven’t seen before”; that something is called Saba University.

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