Attendees to TechLearn 2002 Plan the Future of Learning & Training; Home Depot & McDonald's are recognized for Their Cutting-Edge Use of e-Learning.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

TechLearn 2002

SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 21, 2002

An enthusiastic group of 1,500 learning and training professionals from around the world gathered at TechLearn 2002 in Orlando, FL, to network, learn and share ideas about the future. This leading conference focused on educating business and government leaders engaged in learning and training activities and offered a wide-spectrum of programming and networking opportunities. Participants heard from an award-winning basketball coach, a comedian, executives from leading worldwide corporations, and educators on the future of learning and training.

Elliott Masie, President of The Masie Center and Host of TechLearn 2002, presented several insightful speeches during the conference, including a State of the Learning Field Report, which focused on key issues that the industry will face over the next year. Mr. Masie noted, "It is now more important than ever to continue to train employees and keep morale up during these difficult economic times." Elliott Masie and Wayne Hodgins presented a set of 10 predictions about the Futures of Learning to close out TechLearn 2002. Some of those predictions included such buzz phrases as "content is king," "peer-to-peer learning: collaboration," "customer learning," and "content management."

One of the highlights of the event was the presentation of the TechLearn Pioneer Awards. Bill Sanders, Director of Workforce Innovation for the United States Department of Labor, presented the awards to Home Depot & McDonald's. The Home Depot organization was honored for their enterprise-wide deployment of e-Learning. The award recognized Home Depot's cutting-edge use of e-Learning as a tool for building employee product knowledge, providing fast and scalable training processes, helping to retain key associates, focusing on business drivers and providing instructional excellence to its employees. McDonald's Corporation was honored for their efforts in building an enterprise-wide e-Learning strategy as a tool for training new employees, creating a consistent experience for customers worldwide, building employee knowledge of products and procedures, focusing on business results, and providing instructional excellence. The third and final award was presented to the Department of Defense's Advanced Distributed Learning Team for the development of global learning standards.

"We were thrilled that we were able to identify the fascinating ways that these organizations are implementing e-learning and training within their organizations," said Mr. Masie. "We look forward to honoring other companies in the future who are doing innovative programs with e-learning technology."

In addition to the Pioneer Award Winners, dozens of case studies were presented from an impressive group of companies, including J.C.Penney, Cisco Systems, Inc., Northwest Airlines, Merck & Co., Wachovia, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Academy, Thomson University, and State Farm Insurance.

Each morning the 1,500 learning and training professionals packed into the general assembly room to hear from Elliott and from the stellar line up of keynote presenters. Each session began with the talented Raspyini Brothers, a dynamic duo of entertainers/jugglers. The keynote presenters included Steve Kerr, CLO of Goldman Sachs, who discussed the futures of learning for business alignment and learning and training from the CLO and CEO perspectives. Peter Senge, the creator of the Learning Organization Model at MIT, was interviewed via satellite to a standing-room-only crowd. Mr. Senge discussed how digital technology including e-Learning and collaboration tools have impacted the Learning Organization. Dave Hopla, an award-winning basketball coach, presented the closing keynote. Mr. Hopla discussed the difficulties associated with how people fail to learn and practice core skills. Other keynote speakers included Beth Thomas from The Limited, Comedian Dave Barry and Author Edward Yourdon.

During the conference, The MASIE Center and the e-Learning CONSORTIUM donated $35,000 for several graduate or doctoral student scholarships/grants. The research conducted will be on key topics needed in the e-Learning field and presented at TechLearn 2003. In addition, published reports will be placed in the public domain. Participants at this year's conference are being given the opportunity to provide input on project topics.

In addition to the conference, TechLearn 2002 featured the Learning Showcase, where dozens of leading companies participated in a neutral atmosphere where large and small vendor organizations offered the attendees the opportunity to test drive their products and services. The Learning Showcase was open throughout the course of the event and attracted attendees who were interested in learning about the new technology and services that are available.

TechLearn 2002 is produced and managed by the Advanstar Technologies Group. Future Advanstar e-Learning events include Learning & Training Week 2003 (www.learningandtrainingweek.com) to be held April 28 - May 1, 2003, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., and TechLearn 2003 (www.techlearn.com) to be held November 2-5, 2003, at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL.

About The MASIE Center

The MASIE Center is an international e-lab and Think Tank located in Saratoga Springs, NY. The Center is dedicated to exploring the intersection of learning and business. The MASIE Center provides a wide range of services to Fortune 1000 organizations as they experiment and implement e-Learning and Digital Collaboration processes. The Center brings together senior executives from major corporations to share best practices and develop new models for workforce and customer education. Elliott Masie serves on the White House Advisory Panel on Expanding Training Opportunities and is widely respected as one of the original advocates and analysts of the e-learning model. For more information on The Masie Center, visit www.masie.com.

About Advanstar Communications

Advanstar Communications Inc. is a worldwide business information company serving specialized markets with high-quality information resources and integrated marketing solutions. Advanstar has 92 business magazines and directories, 77 tradeshows and conferences, numerous Web sites, and a wide range of direct marketing, database, and reference products and services. Advanstar serves targeted market sectors in such industries as art, automotive, beauty, collaboration/e-learning, CRM/call center, digital media, entertainment/marketing, fashion and apparel, health care, manufacturing and processing, pharmaceutical, power sports, science, telecommunications, and travel/hospitality. The company has more than 1,300 employees and currently operates from multiple offices in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.advanstar.com.