KnowledgePlanet Upgrades Training Back Office Suite with New Version Of Firefly Simulation.

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. -- Corporate learning leader KnowledgePlanet has enhanced its Firefly application simulation software with time-saving features for developers and a more enriched experience for learners. Improving learning productivity is integral to KnowledgePlanet's strategic focus on significantly increasing customers' competitiveness and profitability.

Speed, simulation realism, and flexibility were the drivers behind the upgrading of Firefly. Firefly 4.0 is an innovative product in a long history of groundbreaking, high-fidelity software from KnowledgePlanet's simulation experts. Some have called simulation "the most effective form of eLearning," and others, most notably industry analyst Brandon Hall, point out that simulation is the fastest growing segment of the learning industry.

Complementing KnowledgePlanet's Training Back Office suite, Firefly 4.0 helps executives run training like a business, ensuring a healthy return on the company's investment in employee development. Firefly accelerates productivity by enabling developers to rapidly create rich, realistic simulations of the applications that employees need to know. By providing an authentic practice environment with built-in instructional design elements and remediation, Firefly helps learners to become more proficient in less time than other training tools or methods.

The software's core, patent-pending technology, has been enhanced in Firefly 4.0 to include the automatic capture of standard Java controls and events. Another major enhancement is the addition of hyperlink objects. Hyperlink objects enable the launching of any web-playable content without leaving the simulation. Hyperlinking reduces steps, speeds learning, and increases flexibility for Firefly developers to leverage external resources.

Another major enhancement -- the expanded template feature -- allows both developers and non-programmers to easily reuse screens and test responsiveness in various simulations such as multiple choice and true/false scenarios. The new template and hyperlinking functions further decrease the product's already short development cycle.

In addition to Firefly's 200 satisfied customers, Bersin & Associates summed up the product's advantages by noting, "If you want to give users a real instructional experience without putting a live application in front of them, Firefly is the best tool for the job."

For almost 20 years, KnowledgePlanet has innovated time-saving technologies and effective learning management processes. The company's integrated suite of learning products and services helps drive greater workforce productivity and organizational performance. With thirteen sequential quarters of growth and the addition of 31 blue-chip customers over the past two quarters, KnowledgePlanet is on track for another record year.