The OLN focuses on the Internet learning needs of the Oracle economy, including the more than one million developers on the Oracle Technology Network (OTN).
According to Donovan Cunliffe, Oracle partner program manager for South Africa, Oracle SA has made the OLN an Oracle partner initiative. "We have been running free hands on training workshops for our Oracle partners for two years now.
"We have been training our partners on various Oracle technology products such as, development tools and the Oracle database.
"While the OLN is free until March for general users, and there is also a Professional Subscription service, which is paid for, we would like to point out to all our SA partners that they can have free unlimited access to everything on the OLN website.
"The advantage, especially for our smaller (SMEE) partners who have limited human resources at their disposal, is that they can have free online training whenever and wherever they are, and at their own pace and time - instead of them having to come to Oracle SA`s offices for hands on training.
The OLN offers a hosted education service offered exclusively via the Internet, and is targeted to Oracle SA`s partners or subscribers who have advanced Oracle skills.
Cunliffe says that in a global economy, Internet-based education is a logical progression as Oracle professionals throughout the world look to gain more control of their learning environment. "OLN is the latest example of Oracle`s commitment to using the Internet to run businesses efficiently and improve products and services."
Cunliffe maintains that the concept of online learning comes at a time when software is being released at Internet speed; sometimes outpacing the time required for developers and database administrators (DBAs) to upgrade their skills from previous versions.
"OLN empowers Oracle partners and subscribers with a learning resource for accelerated career growth, enabling them to keep IT skills current - with the added benefit of learning in a manner that does not require leaving the office - and it is designed to fit individual schedules. Internet learning is a fundamental enabler of e-business because it provides employees, customers and suppliers with training customised to their business needs, and delivered when required."
Cunliffe explains that OLN is an education portal for Oracle DBAs, application implementers and developers. OLN encompasses an integrated model of classroom and online learning.
"The Oracle SA partner initiative allows Oracle`s partners or subscribers who want to hone their IT skills to have access to the latest product training, technology trends and Oracle certification exam preparation courses.
With several hundred hours of in-depth content available, partners and subscribers can choose how they want to learn; via instructor-led eClasses, self-paced eStudy material, and eSeminars - all designed to leverage the anytime/anywhere nature of the Internet.
"OLN content is designed for the web, and includes multimedia tutorials, demos, practice tests and the ability to chat with instructors and peers for a more enriching learning experience."
Cunliffe says OLN has organised its course offerings into a series of one-hour modules to allow for the most flexibility. Depending on bandwidth considerations and learning needs, OLN partners and subscribers can choose among the following:
eClasses:
Designed for approximately one hour of self-paced study on in-depth topics. eClasses are pre-recorded and presented by Oracle University instructors. eClasses include a sequence of:
Short tutorials with slides in streaming audio/video
Hands-on demonstrations in streaming audio format
Quick quizzes to test progress and mastery of the subject
Directions for completing hands-on exercises
Some recorded eClasses are stand-alone, others are modules that build into multi-part series. eStudy:
Developed for between one and four hours of text-based self-study, eStudy enables self-paced learning from web-based written course materials. eStudy includes:
Text rich introductions and explanations of complex and conceptual topics
Embedded quizzes to test progress and mastery of the subject
Rich interactive graphics to reinforce the grasp of the subject.
eSeminars:
OLN offers 45 to 60 minute recorded versions of internal eSeminars. Live and recorded eSeminars are used extensively by Oracle instructors to educate and update Oracle consultants, support analysts, and developers.
Recorded eSeminars include streaming audio and slides, and feature Oracle product developers, product managers, consultants and support analysts, sharing their expertise on a range of topics.
OLN relies on Oracle technology - database and learning management application - to deliver high quality content to partners and subscribers. Additionally, OLN partners and subscribers are taught the same content that is used to train internal Oracle consultants and developers.
According to Volkmar Krieg, senior services representative for Oracle University SA, the OLN is powered by Oracle iLearning, Oracle`s hosted learning community management solution. Oracle iLearning is an enterprise learning community management system that provides effective, manageable, integrated, and extensible Internet based learning solutions to anyone, anytime, anywhere.
"The system is designed to train a widely dispersed staff that follows consistent corporate standards. Oracle iLearning offers a complete and simple solution to the challenge of delivering corporate-wide training. "The Internet is fundamentally changing the way people and organisations learn," Krieg adds.
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