Cost Effective Training Solution for Developing Countries?

There is no more cost effective training solution than free software available for download or accessible online. Open source software are offered to the public as freeware versions of paid software, but most of the time, there aren’t enough kind-hearted individuals in this world who are willing to donate their time and expertise to create these learning applications in the hopes that people who can’t afford regular education can at least have an alternative.

cost effective training solution

Developing countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, and African countries could certainly benefit from free software to help augment the need for quality education and training. I live in a developing country and have witnessed how our public education system is lacking in terms of facilities and technology to upgrade the educational system and bring it to the 21st century. Vocational programs are implemented on a few high schools but it might as well be just another subject ineptly taught. Vocational studies that teach practical skills like carpentry, sewing, drawing, and clerical work are important especially in poor areas where the likelihood that a child will go on to college is slim. In teaching these courses, I determine that students will be able to earn a living and continue their education through elearning or by going to school, part-time.

I can suggest one such cost effective training solution for vocational students studying computer skills and applications. I’ve tried CamStudio, a free recording software that can record the activities on a computer screen and project it to other computers that students use. It includes audio recording so teachers and lecturers can record their lecture while students see the activity on screen. Videos are formatted as AVI which means you can open it whichever computer you use. It can also be formatted to be SWFs which means it can become a flash streaming video. Users can immediately click and watch even after a webinar or study session is over by uploading these videos on the Internet.

Another free elearning application is Moodle. This free authorware tool can be customized to suit the needs of the elearning community. I personally like some of the already available ecourses online such as the language courses. Instead of paying a lot of money for cassette tapes or CDs, people can have interactive multimedia elearning instead.

Ez Signs Ski Resort as Channel Partner

As a provider of Software as a Service Solutions in the industry of Yield Management and Hospitality Revenue across, Easy (Ez) Revenue Management Solutions Ltd. or also known as EasyRMS has placed another famous resort as part of their growing roster of resort clients in North America. The new client is an addition to three previously added partners which is part of the channel partner strategy of Ez.

The new agreed upon contract by company with their new client will see the distribution of the EzRMS merchandise suite all over the entire portfolio of properties. This will be operated by their new resort client, the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, which is could be found in the wide Eastern Sierra Mountains of California. Through Mammoth Mountain, the company expects to back the resort with their software and services which focus on Hospitality Revenue. It will also be the center of expansion for the Ez’ channel partner strategy as it is the biggest lodge among its acquired estates.

partner profiles

The Mammoth Mountain is a place that is a center of attention for a wide range of people including those who for the 3,100 feet of vertical and as well as the 150 ski trails. The resort owns the spacious 3,500 acres of spectacular mountain terrain which they intend to add more culture to attract more local customers and tourists. Their area is notable for the odd amount of snowfall in the mountain courses, which is around 400 snowfalls yearly. In addition, Mammoth Mountain is equally famous in the summer where daily recreational activities like hiking, golfing, fishing and biking can be done by the near Yosemite National Park. The place is in a very distinct position wherein the tourist can specially enjoy the mountain setting in the consistent warm and sunny weather.

The four estates that will deploy Ez company’s new software will include the Juniper Springs Resort, with over 171 rooms in its territory, The Village Lodge, which can occupy 188 rooms, the Tamarack Lodge, a small lodge with 46 rooms, and the Mammoth Mountain Inn which sets 217 rooms in its space. All of the accounted estates are situated right on the California’s highest ski resort.

The four resorts will fully benefit from the trade as well as make use of the fully integrated merchandise presented by EasyRMS. This will also include a portfolio-wide optimization and forecasting banked on the resort’s Total Revenue across all room categories and marker segments.

The Advantages of Electronic Learning for Undergraduates

Today, the modern times has left a great burden to people with the financial crisis lingering. It is of no surprise that many students are unable to go to their dream schools because of the lack of personal funds or other matters pertaining to money. Unlike employees who can be trained though corporate learning solutions, many highs school students of today are unable to go to the universities they could have afforded to go into and instead settled for something cheaper like a local college. The prices of many of the educational courses have become so expensive that if things were to continue on getting worse, only scholars and the elite will have the opportunity to go to respected universities.

e learning authoring tools

So what can they, who cannot afford to college, do? They take the cheaper alternative – electronic learning. Electronic learning is the answer for those undergraduate students who aspire to finish their education. Through modern platforms, electronic learning will present the undergraduate the following advantages that they would need:

Online Degree
Although elearning maybe a study in solitude, it can also be taken by groups. Many companies today subscribe themselves to corporate learning solutions to train their employees by group. The same can be done with undergraduates. While employees might rely on corporate learning solutions, the students can subscribe or even enroll to an online school which provides an online degree. One might think that online degrees are not as quality approved by academicians however the thing is that many employers of today are looking for students who have online degrees. Finishing an electronic course nowadays is viewed as something of a feat since it requires enough discipline to finish.

Accessibility and Time Saver
Many students are working ones. Sometimes, it is already difficult for them to provide their own financial needs all the while having the need to study in order to have better employment opportunities. Online education makes things easy for the student since the sessions are made to fit the student’s schedule. Another good thing about this, for those who are enrolled online, is that it is readily accessible anywhere as long as there is internet. The distance does not matter as well as the kinds of courses available; elearning mainly relies on an online platform backed by reliable servers and connection. You can be a student anywhere in the world.

Electronic learning is becoming a good source of opportunity during the recession and learners can expect future developments. With this kind of learning available, there is no doubt that even students with financial problems can avail themselves of good education.

ParTech, Inc Announced their New Expanded Channel Program

A subsidiary of PAR Technology Corporation, Partech, Inc, launched its new extended reach channel partner program. The new feature of the program includes special attention on partner relationship support that generally results in more profitable sales revenue for both parties. The company aims to improve on delivering customer support from all sectors regardless of size of operation.

Under the PAR EverServ Ecosystem, the PAR Channel Partner Program was developed to enhance the business relationships of the company towards channel partners, alliance partners, and ISVs or Independent Software Vendors. A strong relationship is necessary to give their customers the best possible solutions they need. In committing to growth of the partnership, the company is willing to provide tactical support in sales, marketing, technical and training; as well as channel sales strategy to facilitate efficient sales activity.

channel management services

ParTech’s director of channel sales, Bill Dueger emphasized the company’s emphatic support for channel partners old and new. “We are committed to investing in the relationships with our channel partners, supporting them throughout every stage of the customer lifecycle and making it easy to work with PAR. With a strong network of existing dealers like TouchPOS Solutions and adding new dealers such as Advanced Business Products, PAR is focused on making our solutions and support available to more customers.”

TouchPOS Solutions’ Managing Partner, Dave Cooperman, commended ParTech’s efforts in creating expanded opportunities for their business. “Our 12 year relationship with PAR has been mutually beneficial in growing our business. PAR’s additional investments in the channel and increased resources will help us continue to expand our PAR business.”

Advanced Business Products Chief Operating Officer, Bryan Griffin expressed his enthusiasm for their future partnership with PAR. “We are excited about the potential opportunities as a new PAR Channel Partner. We are impressed with the PAR portfolio of EverServ POS hardware, software and services and how PAR supports partners with customers.”

The company expects the PAR Channel Partner program to set the standard for current and future business relationships that is at par with their values of passion, accountability and relationships. The challenge of partnership longevity is hoped to be addressed with the program expansion that focuses on three key aspects: marketing, training, and sales support. With new channel sales strategy to define best practices, the company and resellers can expect an increase not just in sales revenue but also customer satisfaction.

Under PAR Technology Corporation, ParTech, Inc. specializes in delivering solutions for back-office operations in restaurants. In total, the company has installed their applications in more than 50,000 locations in 110 countries around the world. PAR Technology Corporation also develops software solutions for hotel, cruise, casino, retail, and entertainment sectors.

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Social Media Training to Benefit IBM Channel Partner Sales Generation

In a new survey conducted by IBM involving 1,000 channel partners worldwide, the company found out that 45 percent of their channel partners are already utilizing social media inn various means to generate more sales. Although the numbers are encouraging, 74 percent of the partners are still irresolute about how exactly they would use social media to boost profits. In response to the concern, IBM decided to launch social media training for channel partners to learn how it can be integrated into new channel sales strategy.

IBM Software Group Business Partners’ vice president, Sandy Carter explains how the initiative will be delivered. Resellers or partners will be subjected to training sessions, and familiarization to social media and their guidelines to help bridge the gap on social media application on sales.

channel management services

Some of the social media concerns where addressed by IBM such as lack of security, time, and privacy. There is also the problem of evaluation and measurement of success. For Twitter, there are unique challenges like delivering business ideas in a 140-character tweet. In effect only 50 percent of the partners rely on Twitter to improve sales.

The best web 2.0 tool the channel partners used was LinkedIn. As a social network site concentrating on corporate or work related topics, the site is used by 80% of the reseller respondents. The free video uploading site, YouTube claim second place. No doubt as resellers can give a complete presentation of the product through video recordings that can be uploaded and disseminated via the website. The most famous social networking site of the moment is Facebook with almost 68% of channel partners already on it.

Zobrist Consulting Group, an IBM partner, offers services like web design and development. They utilize social networks to drive traffic to client websites like The North Face. They observe traffic since they implemented the use of social media in March 2009. Zobrist noted a steady traffic increase from 100 to 150 percent. At the end of the year, the total increase in traffic rose to 700 percent.

IBM’s social media training program includes sessions through the IBM Partner World, syndicated podcasts and webcasts about opportunities of using web 2.0., live seminar entitled “Leveraging Social Media for your Business” to be held at the IBM Information On Demand Conference in Las Vegas, NV in October. There will also be a face to face workshop at IBM Innovation Center and a webinar on IBM Virtual Innovation Center for partners around the world. LotusLive, cloud computing social networking services developed by IBM for collaborative interaction will be utilized for the virtual workshop.

Motives for Enrolling in an Online Course

So why should you, or anyone for that matter, enroll in an online course? Well, companies who provide elearning software solutions have this to say: it’s effective, cheaper and time saving. Although most people already know the conveniences of online education before picking a course, it’s important to consider there are lots of advantages in store for you especially if you are a person that encounters time and money problems in the conventional learning set up. If you are still unconvinced on how you can save money, time and precious effort in studying, here are some reasons why you shouldn’t miss out on what elearning software solutions have been providing: 

1. Time Saver
Start anywhere and whenever you want with your chosen electronic course. If you have a day job and can’t find the time to study on a regular basis, then enrolling in one platform will do you a great favor. It can be flexible to your schedule needs and won’t demand heavy work on your part. Just be sure to have a time management plan to avoid conflicts in your schedule.

corporate learning solutions

2. Begin at any level
If being a time saver was not enough for you, then having a cheaper education without sacrificing quality might just give you what you need. The good thing about the platforms that elearning software solutions provide is that you can start at any level of expertise you want. If you want to skip and think a lesson is irrelevant for you, then you can do so. There’s always something to find no matter what kind of subject, simple or complex.

3. Pacing
If you had trouble catching up with the lessons in the conventional setting, then perhaps going into the electronic learning is good for you. Unlike in classes wherein you both can’t repeat lessons and have to take extra lessons or your classmates are too slow, in virtual learning you are free to speed up or slow down your learning pace.

4. Freedom
…in more than one way. In any electronic course you can personalize your study space, have the freedom in changing or tweaking your lesson, if you want to work in a group you can also do that, you can also choose your type of support group and even find your own reliable resources. Studying through e-courses may mean hard work but it permits you to do it your way, at anytime and anyplace.

CTI Group Hails New Channel Manager

CTI Group Holding Inc. declared today its new channel sales manager for the financial markets in the United States as part of the company’s new channel sales strategy.

The worldwide leader and global provider of electronic invoice processing and management (EIM), services solutions, carrier class voice over internet protocol management applications and as well as the enterprise communications management software appointed Adam Wilson as their new channel sales manager. The Manhattan-based appointee will be holding the focus of one of the world’s key financial centers with the capability of traveling around all parts of America .

PRM software

"CTI Group is already the established leader in call recording and call accounting solutions for the City of London as well as the other major European financial centres. Its market leading Proteus Trader call accounting solution is ubiquitous throughout European investment banks and trading floors,” Wilson said.

"Through its presence in Europe, CTI Group already has a number of multinational and other blue chip clients and I am excited to meet the challenge of expanding this dominance across the Atlantic. With new legislation and regulations being levied on banks and other financial institutions across the globe, CTI Group, along with our channel partners, has been presented with an excellent opportunity to expand our customer offerings in these sectors," he added.  

Wilson was a former Senior Account Executive as well as a voice leader’s Managed Services department for the Ethernet-based data programs from the Cablevision Optimum Light path before joining the CTI Group. He has already scored 18 years of experience in the field of telecoms and technology. He also has channel sales experience from his previous roles inside top companies in the technology and communication industry such as Voxify and Avaya. He’s committed to implementing improved channel sales strategy and methods.

"The addition of an experienced communications technology account professional, such as Adam, to our global financial team exemplifies our continuing dedication to enhancing our commitment to clients and the channel alike. As the leading call recording and call accounting solution provider within the European financial markets, our natural next step is to expand that success into both our established and emerging American markets," the sales manager for Global Financial Markets, Charles Rich, commented on Wilson’s appointment.

The financial services of the CTI Group are supported by its commitment in enhancing the markets through its development infrastructure and global support service. Their services are also involved in serving intuitive and compliant voice recording and telecommunication management products and software for the retail and investment banking division.

Considerations for Elearning Instructional Designs

Design is more important than you think. In fact, it’s one of the few aspects that developers in cost effective training solutions consider. Various studies have already shown how design and interface can affect the mindset and learning pace of the user as there are different types of learners.

Just what do developers and designers think about when they make their designs for cost effective training solutions? How are employees affected with the kind of presentations they are shown with? Here are some of the things they consider before making their own platform:

e learning

Persuasiveness and Diversity – Cost effective training solutions are never a set of boring slides put together. In fact, in any electronic learning software, the instructional design’s aim is always to establish “life” through consistency despite the different visual elements present in the instructional design. Just as much as a story teller would tell these stories with a beginning, a middle part, a climax and an ending, the designers would also weave their design in the same way.

Easy on the Eyes – A good quality instructional design will always make the information at hand to be easy for the eyes to locate and see. Unnecessary clutter, mismatched colors, distracting fonts, and misplaced boxes or texts are unacceptable if you ever want the user to benefit from the platform. If a course has too much going on in it, it maybe a hindrance for itself. If a course has too little graphics and too many texts, it may become boring and dull. Either way, the designer always figures out how to balance the equation.

Interactivity – This does not only refer to the graphics and animation which moves from one point to another but it also refers to the engaging content inside the lesson. The users of the modern times are increasingly tech-savvy which could only mean that they are expecting a lot more than just graphics stitched on a number of texts on slides. Interactivity concerns all forms of communication either between student and platform or students and other people present in the platform, like other students or facilitators. Being creative at which is important because this may solely say how the lesson is going to be absorbed, like using a video conference or even just audios for discussion.

Indeed, learning and training through electronic platforms like those provided by cost effective learning solutions can be interactive, beautiful and very diverse but the learning will always depend ultimately on the learner despite the platform design.

Common Mistakes That Online Learners Make

A lot of people are already aware of the conveniences of online learning. With just you and a learning management system, you can already have more flexible hours of learning and even set your most convenient pace for learning. However, with so many options and methods one can take an electronic course, it is without doubt that many create mistakes. The following are the list of the most common errors that new online learners make when it comes to enlisting their own learning management system:

elearning

1. Waning commitment
Yes, the most common issue in electronic learning, or any other method for that matter, is laziness. The problem most learning management systems have no one to assist the learner since they learn by themselves. So the guidance needed by a lecturer is substituted by a machine instead. It takes a great deal of will power and determination when it comes to finishing a course that doesn’t pressure your time at all but is equally difficult lesson-wise. It is a mistake to not commit yourself or at least give enough attention to the course because eventually you’ll quit it and waste the money and time you had already invested. 

2. Inappropriate online school
Choosing the wrong school maybe always be the first as well as the worst mistake an online learner can make. Most online school offer a variety of courses but if you by some chance choose the wrong school, it could only mean that chances of you scoring big time to a good online degree is already cut in half. Another issue for this is that some companies and learning institutions only accept the popular online schools.  Be careful in choosing if you want your diploma to be properly recognized.

3. Choosing more expensive programs
A basic concern for any learning program of course is its cost. Many online educational programs will be expensive and choosing the wrong type of course, or the extra lessons that come with it, will make you overspend. Some courses offer particular subjects only to which you have the opportunity to choose from which in turn may help you save. Weighing the chances of you scoring a job using the online degree that you went with and the cost of actually going into the course should be considered as well. You don’t have any time or money to waste, seeing as you have opted for an electronic course.