Lotus Development Corp. and UNext.com have announced an alliance to create and deliver a world-class business education curriculum via Lotus LearningSpace, the industry`s most comprehensive and scalable distributed learning software for conducting and managing learning over the Internet or within intranets. UNext.com will introduce its business curriculum through Cardean, its new online business education community, and will feature courses developed in association with Columbia University, the University of Chicago, Stanford University and the London School of Economics and Political Science.
UNext.com`s offerings will be delivered using Lotus LearningSpace, a distributed learning platform that offers online learning via a standard Web browser. UNext.com selected Lotus LearningSpace as its distributed learning platform because of its flexibility, customizability and unique collaborative features that enable the full range of live, asynchronous and self-paced learning. "To ensure that UNext.com`s online learning experience remains the world`s finest, we required a highly customizable, robust and advanced platform from a vendor we could trust," said Donald A. Norman, president of Unext.com Learning Systems, and noted authority on human cognition and the interaction of technology and society and author of The Design of Everyday Things. "For us, the choice was easy because Lotus and IBM are technology leaders who already have the early lead in online learning."
World-class Management Education Online Anytime, Anywhere The alliance between Lotus and UNext.com will for the first time allow organizations to offer their managers convenient online access to quality, professional education traditionally reserved for select senior executives at the world`s largest companies. "Learning as we have come to know it is about to change," said Andrew Rosenfield, chief executive officer of UNext.com. "We at UNext.com believe that the convergence of education and Internet technologies offers an unprecedented opportunity to create an entirely new learning environment in which world class education can be delivered without the traditional restrictions of time, classroom size, and geographic location."
Distributed Learning the Next Killer Application Corporate interest in moving learning online is expanding rapidly. A survey conducted among directors of corporate training by Corporate University Xchange (www.corpu.com), found that up to 96% of corporate training will be online by the year 2003 and that over 50% of corporate education departments are seeking to partner with universities that offer accredited courseware. In addition, according to research from Elliott Masie of The Masie Center in Saratoga, NY, (www.masie.com,) 92% of large corporations are expected to implement Web-based learning pilots in 1999. "We believe that distributed learning, a key pillar of Lotus` and IBM`s knowledge management initiative, is one of the new, unexploited `killer applications` of the Internet age," said Peter Rothstein, general manager of Lotus` Distributed Learning Business Group. "LearningSpace and the online curriculum developed by UNext.com in association with these great universities, exemplify the emerging roles of technology and collaboration in providing high-value solutions in online learning and knowledge management. This alliance will result in a new class of comprehensive management education solutions that leverage existing investments in Internet technologies to enhance an organization`s knowledge base." Lotus will market UNext.com`s online management curriculum worldwide and UNext.com will use LearningSpace, to deliver their online curriculum to organizations around the globe. In addition, Lotus will work together with UNext.com to provide additional technical and educational services to UNext.com customers directly and through a growing global network of more than 225 business partners worldwide.
Lotus LearningSpace Creates the Online Classroom Lotus LearningSpace is a complete, scaleable distributed learning software product that includes real-time and asynchronous learning over the Internet or intranets, as well as management tools for large-scale deployments. LearningSpace is the industry`s only solution that offers online learning using any or all of today`s accepted delivery modes: self-paced, asynchronous/collaborative and synchronous learning. LearningSpace brings the best aspects of traditional, face-to-face education online. With LearningSpace, learners in any location can choose to interact with classmates and instructors in "live" browser-based virtual classes, collaborate with classmates on assignments or work on course materials alone, at their own pace. LearningSpace also delivers new education and training options and conveniences, such as continuous and mobile learning, that set busy online learners free from the constraints of time and place associated with traditional education. And with the new online management education solutions available through the alliance between Lotus and UNext.com, organizations worldwide can now select from a curriculum developed by experts in learning and the Internet in association with some of the most distinguished professors and institutions in the world. These new "courses" take advantage of the very latest in interactive, collaborative and multimedia Web technologies in order to deliver an online educational experience of unprecedented quality and value. For more information on LearningSpace and other Lotus product offerings, please visit Lotus` Web site at http://www.lotus.com/learningspace.
Specializing in adult business education, UNext.com is a privately held Internet company based in Deerfield, Illinois. The venture was created to serve the needs of people who want to improve their human capital through continuing quality education. By utilizing the real-time advantages of the Internet, UNext will use its expertise in technological and learning science to deliver courses of unparalleled depth and interactivity to students around the world. For additional information or periodic updates on the new developments within the company, refer to the Unext.com Web site at www.unext.com, or contact the company by telephone at (847) 405-5000. Lotus Development Corporation, founded in 1982, is a subsidiary of IBM Corporation. Lotus sets the standard for truly innovative software products and services that reflect the company`s unique understanding of the new ways in which individuals and businesses must work together to achieve success. Lotus is redefining the concept of conducting business through practical knowledge management, e-business and other ground-breaking ways of connecting the world`s ideas, thinkers, buyers, sellers and communities via the Internet. Lotus markets its products in more than 80 countries worldwide through direct and extensive Business Partner channels. The company also provides numerous professional consulting, support and education services through the Lotus Professional Services organization.
Lotus and LearningSpace are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lotus Development Corporation. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machine Corp. All other trademarks are owned by their respective companies.
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