29 October 2002

Developing Rich Media Courseware for the Army Chapter 2 of the U.S. Army's Multimedia Courseware Development Guide gives some clues about what the military thinks is an equitable conversion ratio. The material in Chapter 2-11 relates directly to determining development time.

Sighting: Dell OptiPlex SX260 This small-footprint computer can easily be mounted on the back of a flat panel monitor. Because the SX260 is a modular unit, unlike some competing all-in-one designs, it can also sit horizontally or vertically on or under a desk.

Cuppa Firewall DUBLIN -- I glanced at financial figures for a leading training and development company and noticed that they spend more on the coffee bar than they do on digital security. Across town, an affiliate company bolted down their newly installed DSL connection with an independent firewall. Security must come hand-in-hand with new always-on connections, or companies will never know an intruder is visiting.

Tools to connect informationDan Gillmor needs sophisticated methods for gathering, massaging and associating information -- everything from e-mail to Web pages to phone numbers. He spotted some useful tools.

DIGITALMASS -- Ireland gets to see Microsoft Tablet PC technology this week. I have used a stylus with W98 for over a year and Palm stylus since last century. The Windows software was never as good as the Palm technology, so I am eager to sneak a peek at what's coming our way in time for Christmas.

How Long to Make an Hour? How long does it take to develop one good hour of classroom training? How long to develop one good hour of computer-based training? I spend nearly onw work-week (38 hours) to develop one good hour of computer-based training. I can create one good hour of classroom training in 10 hours. Rosalyn Zigmond, president of Educational Design Group LLC,says "An hour of training is good when learners understand the material well enough to applyit to their jobs and improve their performance." That is why I like proficiency-based objectives.