EDT Learning Releases LearnLinc Version 7.0; Company Improves Award-Winning Software Capabilities and Announces Future Product Suite
May 22, 2003 12:53:00 PM ET
PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 22, 2003--EDT Learning, Inc. EDT announced today the release of LearnLinc(R) Version 7.0. This release is the latest improvement of the software that won first place at the Synchronous e-Learning Shootout held at Online Learning's Conference in the fall of 2002, winning over such other notable companies as WebEx, PlaceWare, Interwise, and Eluminate. LearnLinc 7.0 incorporates significant product enhancements derived from the LearnLinc customer base, which has logged millions of hours collaboratingin real-time with the software.
"LearnLinc and real-time collaboration are the major initiatives at EDT," said president and chief executive officer James M. Powers, Jr. "LearnLinc has superior functionality when contrasted with other collaboration software, and we consistently defeat our competition on feature strength in third-party evaluations by consultants and customers. Our product depth, in tandem with superior voice-over-IP capabilities, and our flexible and competitive pricing options (licenses can be hosted and leased through EDT or clients may purchase the software and install it on their own servers) make LearnLinc a very attractive Web communication and collaboration solution."
The Company also announced the scheduled release in late June of OfficeLinc(TM), a suite of collaboration products that complement LearnLinc's virtual classroom and online meeting functionality. Commenting on the future direction of the software, Dr. Powers noted, "Although our clients use our software for many types of collaboration activities, LearnLinc has traditionally been categorized as software for virtual classroom instruction. We anticipate delivering new versions of the software that enable organizations to collaborate in new ways. Our new four-product suite of products will include LearnLinc for online instruction as well as new products specifically designed for other collaboration activities including technical support, marketing events, and online meetings."
New Features
LearnLinc 7.0 delivers a large set of new features specifically developed to meet and/or exceed the capabilities of the physical classroom. "I was impressed with the new features in LearnLinc 7.0. With this new version, EDT Learning has enabled the instructor to make a stronger connection with the students. We are excited about using this new release," noted Dave McGann, coordinator for satellite programming & distance learning for the State of New York, Office of Children and Family Services.
New LearnLinc 7.0 features include:
-- Web Casting - In the 7.0 release, EDT has incorporated Web casting as an additional way to collaborate. Users now have a solution for very large meetings (100 or more) in which many participants need to receive information at one time. This new functionality contains a simplified interface that restricts attendees from disrupting the presenter, but allows them to use text chat to communicate with each other or the presenter and to respond to polling questions.
-- Participation Meter - The Participation Meter continuously measures the activities of each participant and reports back to the facilitator (and assistants) if the people in the meeting are engaged, somewhat engaged, or not paying attention. Facilitators can check the levels of participation by each individual person or look at an overall rating for the group.
-- Smart Push - This feature automatically copies content to each participant's local PC before a session starts so that valuable bandwidth is not used during the session. Whiteboard and Powerboard files are sent to a local temp directory for use during class. Content is only sent to participants that are registered for the respective sessions and is automatically deleted if the participant is unregistered or the content is removed. Smart Push can be enabled and disabled for each class, meeting, or Web cast.
-- Event Scheduling and License Management - Classes, Meetings, and Web Casts can be scheduled as recurring events. Users may now easily schedule the same class to occur every week at the same time or have it occur every week at several different times. LearnLinc 7.0 also allows users to schedule the use of their concurrent licenses so they will never have participants trying to join a session without enough licenses.
-- Classroom Email Invites and Reminders - LearnLinc 7.0 now allows users to automatically send an email "invitation" to all of the registered participants. These email invitations allow participants to click on a link that instantly creates a calendar event for the meeting or class inside Microsoft Outlook. LearnLinc will also automatically send a reminder email the day before the class is scheduled to start. Participants can join any type of collaborative session simply by clicking on a link in their email or on their calendars.
-- Instructor-Assisted Scoring - Classroom instructors can now assign scores to each student from inside class. These scores are written to the LearnLinc database in AICC SCORM-compliant format and can be accessed from the LearnLinc Virtual Campus. LearnLinc will also display how long each student stayed in class.
-- Increased Server Efficiency - LearnLinc will now support up to 500 users on a single server. This feature reduces the total cost of ownership for the software. As with previous releases, servers can also be cascaded to support very large numbers of users and to reduce bandwidth.
About EDT
Learning, Inc. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, EDT Learning is a leading provider of collaboration and training software for corporate, government, and education clients. EDT Learning's products include:
-- LearnLinc(R) - A Web conferencing, collaboration and online training software providing live collaboration and virtual classrooms using the Internet.
-- TestLinc(TM) - A software product that allows tests to be created, delivered, graded, and reported in a standard Web browser.
-- i-Canvas(TM) - A training development software tool that produces Web-based and CD Rom-based courses and software simulations.
-- The Executive Training Library - An off-the-shelf online library of content on business-specific topics such as innovation, leadership, and communication, co-developed with respected names in business such as the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
More Company information is available at www.edtlearning.com.
