The Web-based training market is booming. Mass. New products are arriving on the market almost weekly. Collaborative tools allow users to access training materials, take tests and share files with instructors and fellow students at their own convenience. A real-time instruction tool, such as PlaceWare Auditorium, gives students the experience of attending a live lecture where they can see and hear presentations and pose questions. The software allows an instructor to conduct a presentation over the Web using an application like Microsoft PowerPoint and to field questions from students via text or audio simultaneously.
Students gather inside a simulated assembly hall, positioned in virtual chairs and rows.
Students in the same row can talk to each other, via text or audio, to comment on the lesson or make remarks about the instructor. The emergence of Web-based training tools is encouraging organizations to expand and enhance their training programs, says Bill Shott, president of PlaceWare. Web-based training makes scheduling classes almost painless, adds Shott. You're reaching out to people at their own desks, so the logistics are greatly simplified. Hewlett-Packard Co. is preparing to use PlaceWare Auditorium to train 3,500 engineers worldwide on new product support procedures.