The Learned Man!

Tata Interactive Systems Launches Corporate Blog

In what could very well be a first for Indian industry, one of the world's premier eLearning companies, Tata Interactive Systems (TIS) has launced a corporate blog. This may even be the first blog ever by a major eLearning company anywhere in the world!

The Learned Man would like to applaud this move! Tata Interactive has done the right thing by opting to allow the world a peek into their culture, their work and a chance to interact with some of their senior employees. For a change we now actually have a more interesting way to interact with this company rather than just know what is going on in there from boring press releases. Once again, well done TIS!

Tata Interactive Systems: Corporate Blog - http://blog.tatainteractive.com

Educomp IPO: First Off The Block?

Educomp Solutions Limited (formerly Educomp Datamatics Limited), New Delhi based learning content provider for K-12, has invested $1.5 million to set up a content development centre in Bangalore. This will cater exclusively to global markets. A team of 100 people, including animators, subject experts and structural designers and translators in various languages, is already working at this centre to create high quality content aligned to global learning standards. Another 300 people will be added in the next six months. Read the full article...

Click here for Educomp's IPO profile

Life as an Indian Instructional Designer

Fellow blogger Asim Choudhury has penned some thoughts on 'Life as an Indian Instructional Designer".

I thought this was rather funny, though bleak. If any of you is an ID and reading this, please write in your comments, I am extremely eager to know your views...!

For the time being I am reproducing here a paragraph from Asim's piece which I doubt will win any literary awards but which I am sure all of you will agree is hilarious:

"...The monetary aspect of a career in ID appears tempting but lacks meat. While industry gurus vouch that IDs can notch up a scale anything between Rs 20k to 1 lakh a month, the reality is something else. IDs have a saturation point beyond with they turn into a liability because of the remuneration. This is the time when organization dump IDs like a fly in a bowl of soup. The result: IDs have to start analyzing their skill-sets and looking for opportunities in other fields. But do they stand a chance there? Wonder!..."

Additional: You may be interested in reading this article titled: Instructional Designers - A Growing Breed or Career Path for Instructional Designers

e-Learning: Breaking Barriers, Creating Revolution

When I first read about Sugata Mitra and his hole in the wall experiment and the successive efforts, I thought that this was what the promise of eLearning was all about.

Sure, so far we have been connecting with eLearning as being all about corporate training, performance support and so on. But how many of us have even begun to realise the power that this medium has to bridge the huge chasm that exists between the haves and have nots.

The technology and tools are all there, it is inspiring to see people like Sugata take the newest technology and methods of learning to people who do not even have access to basic educational facilities. He has shown us that if our efforts and intentions are honest, we have the power to spark off a revolution.

Visit the Hole in the Wall website.

Elliot Masie's Learning 2005: Show Report by The Donald

If you read any show report or review this year please be sure to read this.

I think Donald Clark has an excellent sense of humour which is clearly evident from his review of Masie's Learning 2005 event. I don't see Elliot Masie smiling upon reading this review though!

And I could not resist publishing what I thought was the single most amusing point of that review, I'm sorry Elliot, but this really was funny! -

"...At one point (I swear this is true) he (Elliot Masie) sped into the hotel bar on his Segway and made straight for our table. He looked down on us, we looked up at him, he asked for one of our nachos, ate it, then seeing that we weren’t playing disciple, rotated 180 degrees and sped off. Weird or what?..."