Greetings!

In this Issue:

• Designing e-Learning that Scores with the Gamer Generation
• Tips on Learning New Software
• ASK Debuts the e-Learning Arcade at TechKnowledge 2005

I sat quietly as I helped my 13-year-old daughter load a new Lord of the Rings software release on our PC. She has been playing games for over three years now and loves new challenges. A few hours after we loaded the software, I poked my head into our home office and noticed that she had already reached level three of the game’s six difficulty levels. I asked her to take a break and help her mom and I pull dinner together. She reluctantly joined us. Later that night when everyone was asleep, I could not get the game out of my mind. When I was 13, I did not have computer games to play with. We played team games or board games like Clue or Monopoly. Life and its consequences were not so immediate. Distractions were minimal. My favorite toy was a large box that I pretended was a rocket ship and I was an astronaut. Unable to sleep, I quietly got up went into the office, turned on the PC and launched the game. I did pretty well for the first 10 minutes, but could not survive a particularly vicious attack by a group of Orchs. I made a note to ask my daughter for some pointers and went back to bed. As I fell asleep I pondered how different the experiences of the gamer youth of today are from mine growing up... Learn more

As e-Learning designers and programmers, we all know how essential it is to keep current on new products and technologies. Having been in media production for most of my career, I have been exposed to a number of new software applications associated with producing video, 3D animation, and e-Learning courses. Recently, I spent time learning Captivate by Macromedia, which allows a single e-Learning professional to design, program, and publish e-Learning courses. This article shares helpful tips and my general theory on becoming skilled at new software applications... Learn more

ASK will debut its e-Learning Arcade at ASTD’s TechKnowledge 2005 in Las Vegas from February 2-3. The arcade features seven simulated games including Bowling, Bingo, Baseball, Knowledge Pursuit, Solve It!, ASK International Grand Prix and the Cosmic Craft Constellation of Savings Sales Simulation. With superb graphic illustrations from the ASK Graphic Arts team, the arcade games feature fun animations and challenging simulations. All games are created using original ASK articles on e-Learning topics such as Virtual Classroom Training, PowerPoint for Web-Based Training, Training Outsourcing, Hidden Costs of e-Learning and much more... Learn more