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KMx has achieved this integrative collaboration by
putting an expert system layer of system intelligence on top of the
learning content creation model that allows teams to quickly map
knowledge, skills, and abilities to the best and most current
curriculum that’s needed to achieve a particular learning outcome
or goal.
Human resources groups and
training managers have been barraged with claims that implementing
e-learning and virtual classroom technology alone will significantly
reduce training costs and improve performance. While these
technologies are in use at many leading corporations and learning
management systems are helping track learning activities and
leveraging the Internet for delivery of learning content, the fact
is there are plenty of existing reports that reveal these
initiatives have rarely produced their promised Return On Investment
(ROI). The reasons for this are three-fold; 1) the cost of
e-learning content development is very high; 2) the true lifecycle
cost of maintaining the e-learning materials is rarely considered in
ROI calculation; and 3) the infrastructure cost of learning
management systems and virtual classroom technologies has been
significantly higher than any early returns it may have provided.
For these reasons, and others to be discussed, instructor-led
training is still by far the most popular training delivery method.
However, KMx has significantly changed these factors and their
inter-relatedness, allowing a true ROI to be realized. In the
next few paragraphs we would like to show you how KMx can be
leveraged to your advantage for each of the five popular training
methodologies.
1.
Instructor-led Training in the Classroom and Laboratory
The instructor led approach
provides students with direct access to a teacher and peers in a
classroom based model. It provides very high levels of interaction
and fidelity, along with manual administration and progress
reporting, which of course drives up its cost. Thus, by being
the most expensive approach to training personnel, instructor-led
methods may cause organizations to provide it to only selective
personnel training—creating in effect undesirable “have” and
“have-not” situations. Unfortunately, for some organizations
that rely on this method of prioritizing training expenditures, the
result is that unqualified or poorly trained personnel are
performing critical tasks. The table below cites many of the
distinctions between the traditional training model and the KMx
approach.
|
Negative
Attributes
|
KMx
Solution
|
|
Extremely
high cost of delivery, driven by the need for intensive
resource utilization and hampered by ineffective learning
management technologies that are inadequate for the scheduling
and management of instructor-led resources and reporting of
student progress.
|
KMx
provides a complete learning management solution designed to
facilitate instructor-led resource management and reporting of
learner progress. This design allows an organization to
electronically schedule resources, manage those resources
effectively, and report on leaner progress. The KMx platform
also automatically enables the management and assignment of
all classroom resources and provides robust tools to ensure
effective resource utilization.
|
|
The lack
of useful instructor-led content management technologies,
leading to the re-development of materials instead of granular
content replacement.
|
Provides
a complete content management environment and full conformance
with the SCORM content standards and protocols.
|
|
High cost
of training materials development and maintenance because of
the inefficiencies of manual processes.
|
Provides
expert system technology to automate the instructional design
and development process supported by off-the-shelf content
development tools from Microsoft and other popular vendors,
such as Macromedia and Adobe
|
2.
Instructor-facilitated Training using Self-Study and
Reference Materials with Technology-based Testing and Administration
Common at “Online” colleges
and universities, this approach provides collaboration tools
(calendaring, chat, message boards, etc.) combined with online
testing and student administration. A poor stepchild to
Virtual Classroom Technology, this approach provides minimal
interactivity and progress reporting. Also known as
“self-study” with online testing, instructor facilitated
training is primarily used to lower the cost of student
administration and facilitate student assignments.
|
Negative
Attributes
|
KMx
Solution
|
|
The lack
of student interactivity and the reliance on hard-copy texts
for the majority of learning content.
|
Leveraging
expert system technology using off-the-shelf desktop
development tools from Microsoft and other popular suppliers
to enable the inclusion of interactive content and to reduce
the reliance on hard copy material.
|
|
The lack
of integration with learning management technologies, leading
to difficulty in administration and reporting of learning
activities.
|
Provides
standards based integration with the leading ERP, HRM and
Document Management technologies by leveraging XML protocols
and the SCORM standard for course interoperability with other
learning content management technologies.
|
|
The lack
of integration with content management technologies, leading
to less than optimal delivery and maintenance of changing
content.
|
Provides
a complete content management environment and full conformance
with the SCORM content standards.
|
|
Extremely
high expense for training conduct because of the reliance
on third-party hosted delivery solutions and exorbitant
seat-licenses.
|
Eliminates
the requirement for third-party hosting of Virtual Classroom
events and expensive seat-licenses charged by our competitors.
|
3.
Instructor-led Training via Virtual Classroom Technology
Popular with large corporations,
this approach leverages technology to bring the instructor to a
widely distributed learner or collegial population. This type of
broadcast-type method is quite effective for training large numbers
of personnel in topics where qualified instructors are scarce. This
method provides moderate levels of interactivity, progress
reporting, administration, and follow-up. Until recently, this
approach required the use of third-party networks and toolsets (Centra,
Placeware, Interwise, etc.) at significant expense. However,
many more organizations will adopt this approach now that KMx
technology enables the use of existing corporate network resources
to provide this method of training delivery through native Microsoft
tools.
|
Negative
Attributes
|
KMx
Solution
|
|
The lack
of integration with learning management technologies, leading
to difficulty in administration and reporting of activities.
|
KMx
provides a complete learning management solution and full
conformance with the SCORM Run-Time-Environment standards to
enable interoperability with other leading learning management
technologies.
|
|
The lack
of integration with content management technologies, leading
to less than optimal delivery and maintenance of changing
content.
|
Provides
a complete content management environment and full conformance
with the SCORM content standards.
|
|
Extremely
high expense for conducting training because of the reliance
on third-party hosted delivery solutions and seat-licensed
technology.
|
Eliminates
the requirement for third-party hosting of Virtual Classroom
events and seat-licenses charged by our competitors.
|
4.
Self-Study using Workbooks, Videotapes CD-ROMs and Tutorials
Common with the military and
manufacturers, this approach provides very low-cost delivery of
training materials. In most cases, however, students are on
their own to complete assignments and to submit test materials for
scoring. This approach normally provides for very poor
administration, progress reporting, interactivity, and follow-up.
|
Negative
Attributes
|
KMx
Solution
|
|
The lack
of learner interactivity and the reliance on hard-copy texts
for the majority of learning content.
|
KMx
enable the inclusion of interactive content and a reduction on
the reliance on hard copy materials. KMx provides output
formats for CD-ROM delivered programs that automatically
synchronize student progress with the KMx learning management
system.
|
|
The lack
of learning management technology, leading to difficulty in
administration and reporting of activities.
|
Provides
a complete learning management solution to enable online and
offline testing, student administration, and reporting
activities.
|
|
The high
costs for the maintenance of training materials caused by the
lack of content management technology, resulting in
redevelopment of materials instead of granular content
replacement.
|
Reinvents
the process by which learning materials are developed and
maintained by leveraging expert system technology using
off-the-shelf desktop development tools from Microsoft.
Provides a complete content management environment and full
conformance with the SCORM content standards.
|
5.
On-demand E-Learning using the Internet or Intranet
This approach provides the
self-study materials in an online deliverable format and provides
the highest levels of interactivity, progress reporting, and
administration, but typically at a high cost. Until the introduction
of KMx the expense associated with the development of on-demand
e-learning materials was prohibitive. Many organizations will
now transition significant percentages of their instructor-led and
self-study material to on-demand e-learning formats now that KMx
technology has made this proposition affordable.
|
Negative
Attributes
|
KMx
Solution
|
|
The lack
of useful content management technologies, leading to
redevelopment of materials instead of granular content
updating.
|
KMx
provides a complete content management solution that leverages
the SCORM content management standards.
|
|
Long lead
times for integration and implementation of learning
management technologies.
|
Provides
standards based integration with the leading ERP, HRM and EDMS
technologies by leveraging XML and SCORM standards for
interoperability with diverse content management technologies.
|
|
Extremely
high expense for initial development or conversion of training
materials because of the inefficiencies of e-learning
development tools and exorbitant learning management
seat-licenses.
|
Provides
a complete environment for e-learning materials development
that leverages expert system technology and common desktop
tools from Microsoft and other popular suppliers, such as
Macromedia, while eliminating the seat licenses charged by our
competitors.
|
Summary
KMx was designed to facilitate
the very best and affordable blend of training delivery while
promoting a cost-effective transition from instructor-led training
to the virtual classroom and the creation of on-demand e-learning
programs. KMx provides for measurable ROI by significantly reducing
the cost associated with training program development and
maintenance, while at the same time eliminating the negative
incentives for training materials consumption.
Also, KMx will never be sold with a per-user license fee, and
there are no seat-license fees associated even with our virtual
classroom technology. If your organization is already using
Microsoft Office products for the development and maintenance of
instructor-led training materials, the transition to effective
e-learning and virtual classroom delivery will be fast, easy, and
cost-effective with KMx. The chart below summarizes the popular
training delivery methods and how they can be improved upon with
KMx. Note how in every
category the KMx platform provides better training at a
significantly lower cost.
Training Delivery Method Summary
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Delivery Method
|
Fidelity and
Interactivity
|
Progress Management
|
Administration and
Reporting
|
Dynamic Content
|
Expense
|
|
Instructor
Led
|
High
|
Moderate
|
Low
|
Moderate
|
High
|
|
KMx Instructor Led
|
High
|
High
|
High
|
High
|
Low
|
|
Instructor
Facilitated
|
Low
|
High
|
Moderate
|
Moderate
|
Moderate
|
|
KMx
Instructor Facilitated
|
High
|
High
|
High
|
High
|
Low
|
|
Virtual Classroom
|
High
|
High
|
Moderate
|
Moderate
|
High
|
|
KMx
Virtual Classroom
|
High
|
High
|
High
|
High
|
Low
|
|
Self-Study
|
Low
|
Low
|
Low
|
Low
|
Low
|
|
KMx
Self-Study
|
High
|
High
|
High
|
High
|
Low
|
|
E-Learning
|
Moderate
|
High
|
High
|
Low
|
High
|
|
KMx
E-Learning
|
High
|
High
|
High
|
High
|
Low
|
Organizations that are currently
using learning management and virtual classroom technologies from
competing vendors can instantly achieve a significant ROI by
upgrading to KMx by simply stopping the use of the technologies
being replaced and saving the exorbitant seat license and per-user
fees that most of these legacy solutions charge. For example,
if an organization is currently paying $100 per seat/month for 500 seats to access a competitive virtual classroom technology service,
the savings by switching to KMx are more than enough to license our
globally scalable, multi-lingual flagship product, KMx- Enterprise,
and have a $525,000 surplus! An organization that is currently
using an ASP hosted LMS technology that costs $24 per user/year with
5,000 users can upgrade to KMxASP and save over $85,000 per year!
Unlike our competitors ASP hosted offerings, KMxASP provides all of
the development, content management and learning management
functionality of our installed enterprise solution.
As demonstrated above,
implementation of KMx will pay for itself with real dollars saved in
a matter of months. Starting at only $14,500 per year for our
ASP Hosted solution, pre-loaded with over 500 of the most popular
e-learning titles from the leading publishers, there has never been
a better time to implement an enterprise-learning program for your
organization. Larger organizations may want to consider the power of
our globally scalable, multi-lingual flagship product, KMx-
Enterprise, installed in your data center for only $75,000 per year
with absolutely no limitations on enrolled users or usage fees for
virtual classroom activities.
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