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LearnLinc 6 Virtual Classroom
by Barbara Fillicaro

In 1998, Training Media Review evaluated a product called LearnLinc I-Net. Priced at US$25,000, the product earned three and a half stars on a four-star scale. LearnLinc I-Net is now simply LearnLinc. Over the years it has earned a reputation as a quality tool for training. That's significant in a market where competing software products claim a variety of uses. From the beginning, LearnLinc has been a training specialist.

The product

LearnLinc 6 is a virtual classroom environment that enables organizations to deliver live e-learning to employees over the Internet, an intranet, or a wide-area network. The basic product can be bundled with a variety of add-on products or modules. Modular products are increasingly popular in the e-learning market and fast becoming a standard in the learning management system market. That means, though, that buyers need to be careful when comparing systems and prices: Some may include capabilities that in other systems are add-ons that require an extra fee.

Like other products in the market, LearnLinc puts a wide variety of tools and capabilities in the hands of participants, moderators, and administrators.

Content creation
Providing presenters with an extensive array of audio and visual support materials is critical for a virtual classroom. LearnLinc is compatible with the most common types of documents used for training, including PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat (pdf), standard audio file formats, standard video file formats, and Macromedia Flash.

LearnLinc’s PowerBoard presents the staple of virtual classroom instruction--PowerPoint slides--to participants, and includes tools for dynamic mark up. The product also has application sharing capability. An interesting twist on this capability is LearnLinc’s split screen application sharing that allows participants to use their own software in one panel while the instructor demonstrates software in the other. The feature is handy for virtually any kind of software application training.

The system integrates with Designer’s Edge, software from Allen Communication that helps trainers design content according to widely accepted instructional design principles. Training Media Review has evaluated the product. It received a high rating, in part because it does something no other product on the market can do. Our reviewer did note that the price is steep: US$2495 for a desktop license and $18975 for an enterprise license with a five-user minimum.

LearnLinc supports synchronized interactive content in Flash and Quest. It also accepts ToolBook, Authorware, and Director content using their native players. However, LearnLinc is not compatible with Java or DHTML files. It doesn't conform to AICC or SCORM standards, although the company says the standards aren't relevant to virtual classrooms. Competitors nevertheless say they have incorporated the AICC and SCORM standards into their products.

Content delivery

Content delivery includes these methods:

• Course materials list: Content is added to students’ homepages. Students who have registered for the course are able to access resources from their personal LearnLinc homepage. The resource will display an expandable course materials list under the course name.
• Class agenda: Content can be added to the course materials. “Synchronized” materials only appear in live class sessions, not on the student homepages, and can only be accessed during a live class. The resource will display on the class agenda.
• Class autostart list: The resource will launch automatically for students when they join the LearnLinc class.
  

Event recording
Both instructor and student can record a live event, provided that students are given the authority to do so. The instructor can edit recordings using a tool called Sync2Async. It enables the instructor to record and edit a class, creating a streamlined asynchronous session that can be accessed by students who missed class or used in the future as a training session. The instructor can make asynchronous classes more interesting for self-paced study and reduce the size of lessons for storage. All content used in any class is maintained in a library that is accessible for use in other classes

Reports
LearnLinc reporting capability for administrators and instructors includes who joined the class (log-in ID and username), when they joined, when they left, their IP address, the class they joined, as well as when the entire session was started and completed.

The TestLinc feature, a separate purchase, offers full reports of grades and analysis of the data from each test for individuals, classes, and question by question. The only records students can access are those of their own tests.

Some report functions, such as records registration and attendance, absent in LearnLinc are available in competitive products. For expanded reporting capabilities, LearnLinc is easily integrated with most learning management systems and reporting systems.

Hosted services
LearnLinc can be purchased as a software server license or can be leased on an hourly basis as LearnLinc Application Hosting. Hosting services include

• management of bandwidth and server capacity
• one-time setup of custom virtual campus and custom classroom logos
• setup of initial courses and classes for instructor by converting and loading LearnLinc-ready content
• virtual training for instructors and content developers
• student setup and testing
• tech support during classes
• accounting and reporting on class participation.
  

The company’s Distributed Server Architecture allows participants and instructors to join LearnLinc classes by automatically connecting to the nearest distributed server and share content from a central LearnLinc server and database. Since each distributed server can support up to 200 participants, the proprietary architecture allows live LearnLinc classes to be scaled to reach students at many locations across the enterprise without multiplying the bandwidth requirements for each location.

The user experience: administrator
LearnLinc has nine different authority levels: restricted student, student, student recorder, advanced student, restricted instructor, instructor, author, registrar, and administrator. Instructors or administrators can quickly see which students are registered for a course. LearnLinc administrators can see the number of classes in session and which users are attending each class in real time through a Web interface.

The administrator controls event participation. Passwords and IDs are required to participate, and email invitations are sent to students. Email reminders are not sent to the managers of participants, although manager support of e-learning has proved to be crucial. However, this feature is not common in any of the products on the market. Participants can enter an event through an email link or through their personal homepage on the LearnLinc virtual campus.

The user experience: participant
All learners have an account on the LearnLinc server. They must register for all LearnLinc classroom events or can be registered by a registrar or administrator. A host or administrator monitors registrations. Learners enter a classroom event from their personal homepage or from an email invitation.

Once students have registered for a course, they can access any item that has been added to the course materials list from their homepage. During class, participants can use content items placed on the class agenda by the moderator or instructor. The student’s homepage on the virtual campus can provide links to training materials including video clips, application sharing, tests, and text files. As Exhibit 1 shows, learners can play, view, download, launch, or take a specific activity. The homepage provides an excellent pre- and post-training opportunity for blended learning events.

As with most virtual classrooms, participants can raise their hands, speak to the group when the moderator gives them the microphone, and even mark up slides or other visuals when the moderator allows. Participants can signal that they are leaving an event temporarily: Even in virtual classrooms, nature can call.

For customers concerned with copyright issues, the participant’s client software doesn't record an event automatically. Participants don't have the capability of looking “over the shoulder” (viewing someone else’s computer screen) as the instructor can during an event. They cannot upload files during a presentation but can view them through application sharing. Application sharing is bandwidth intensive, however.

The LearnLinc participant interface.

 

LearnLinc Classroom uses two windows to display the learner’s user interface. Exhibit 1 displays the classroom “palette.” All of the user-activated tools, communication areas, and user-accessible interaction tools are displayed in this palette on the left hand side of the learner’s computer screen. A second window, which displays to the right of the palette, is the content area. It displays the whiteboard or PowerBoard, shared applications, Web pages, or other content compatible with the system.

Let’s take a tour of the basic areas and functions of the participant interface shown in Exhibit 1.

Area 1 contains the controls for conferencing: audio and microphone access. It also displays a picture of the current speaker. If no picture is available, a generic graphic is displayed. Streaming video can also be played in this area. The one interaction button here is the ability to raise your hand.

In area 2, you find the names of participants, moderators, and moderator assistants, and in area 3, a listing of the agenda items. Area 4 is devoted to feedback and can display several different polling formats. The moderator can change this display with a mouse click. The results of surveys and polls can be displayed here. Area 5 is reserved for public chat; here the learner can send a private note to the moderator or a message to the entire group. Participants do not have the capability to send private notes to individual participants.

The user experience: moderator

The LearnLinc moderator has a palette of tools to create and run a virtual class. They include the whiteboard, mark-up tools, file creation and delivery before the event, application sharing, recording an event for later viewing, polling, and creating breakout sessions. LearnLinc’s split screen application sharing, which allows participants to operate their own software in one panel and the instructor to use it in the other, is a strong feature for software training. Moderators also have the ability to lead a group in synchronized Web browsing, for simultaneous Web surfing, or Web-based content delivery. The PowerBoard is used to display synchronized PowerPoint slide shows.

Moderators have the “over the shoulder” view that allows them to see a participant’s screen, although participants don't have this capability. The Glimpse tool allows the moderator to make a screen capture of any participant’s computer screen and display it to the class. The screen capture utility can be put to good instructional use, for instance, by sharing an example of good student work or (anonymously, we hope!) a frequently made mistake.

Moderators can use chat to communicate privately with an individual participant or assistant. Text chat can be restricted during an event to the moderator, assistants, and the student currently holding the floor. All other participants only see messages being posted; they cannot enter new messages. Oddly enough, in at least one competitive system, moderators can communicate through chat only with an individual. The LearnLinc product does not provide templates for agendas or content screens.

Like competitive products, LearnLinc provides the moderator with tools to ask a question at any time during a presentation. Alternatively, surveys can be created beforehand and stored for use during an event. Survey results can be shown to participants. The results are dynamic: As participants enter responses, the results are displayed on participant screens.

LearnLinc has six types of feedback options: yes-no, true-false, multiple choice, agreement (strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree), pace of class (faster, perfect, slower, and please review), and assignment status (not much progress, still working, almost finished, and finished).

LearnLinc takes polling a step further and allows the moderator to administer tests and evaluations. TestLinc, a separate product not included with the virtual classroom, is used to create, deliver, grade, and report on this activity. Testing, either pre- or post-event, can be accessed from the student’s homepage, part of the LearnLinc virtual campus, or can be administered during a live event.

The breakout function allows the moderator to divide participants into smaller groups for team or individual lab exercises. Students can be manually assigned to a specific group or randomly selected. Breakout groups can be set up on the fly to last for a specified time before the students are automatically returned to the class. Most of the major virtual classroom products offer the breakout group capability.

In response to customer requests, LearnLinc has added an assistant instructor capability. One or more assistant instructors can monitor text chat, hand raising, and feedback. The assistant instructor may alert the instructor to student responses or reply using private text chat to individual students while the main class is continuing. Given the complexities of orchestrating an online virtual event, this capability is welcome.

The moderator interface is very similar to the participant’s. (See Exhibit 2.) Area 1 has controls for audio and microphone control, including the important “Take floor from student” function.

The LearnLinc moderator interface.

 

Area 2 displays names of participants, moderator, and assistants’ names with icons that indicate whether feedback responses have been received and a hand has been raised. There are also four moderator audience control buttons: (1) Give floor to student, (2) Glimpse student, (3) All hands down, and (4) Dismiss attendee (that is, remove someone from the class).

The Agenda interface (area 3) shows the files and activities planned by the moderator. The four activity buttons available to the right of the agenda are (1) the whiteboard, (2) PowerBoard, (3) synchronized Web browsing, and (4) application sharing. The Feedback section (area 4) can display several different polling formats that the moderator can cycle through with mouse clicks. Several preset polling forms are available. Survey and poll results can be displayed here. Finally, area 5 shows text chat. The moderator can receive a private note from a participant and can send a text chat message to the entire group or privately to an individual.

Pricing
LearnLinc is sold installed using a concurrent user license model and in hosted ASP solution. (See the full Training Media Review report for specific prices.) In general, LearnLinc pricing is in the middle of the industry range for the installed version, but the fee declines over time so the total cost of a LearnLinc installed system may be lower over a period of years than those of competitors. Remember, though, that the TestLinc module costs extra. ASP pricing is high.

The vendor
Interactive Learning International Corporation first deployed LearnLinc in 1994. As e-learning technology, it's a product with a long history. It's currently installed at over 150 customer sites and has a strong position with government customers.

Mentergy (NASDAQ:MNTE), formerly Gilat Communications (NASDAQ:GICOF), a company with headquarters in Israel, bought Allen Communication and Interactive Learning International Corporation several years ago as part of a strategy to become a major player in the corporate e-learning industry. As the e-learning industry foundered, Gilat experienced severe financial problems. In the Fall 2002, the management of Gilat’s U.S. assets, including LearnLinc, announced that they were pursuing a leveraged buyout.

However, in November 2002, the LearnLinc assets were sold to EDT Learning (AMEX:EDT), a provider of custom e-learning business solutions for corporate clients including content authoring software and a learning management system. As of early November 2002, EDT’s stock was trading at about US$.45 on the American Stock Exchange, and the company had reported two quarters of losses after six straight profitable quarters. EDT’s profitability is unusual for e-learning companies, few of which have ever had a profitable quarter. On the other hand, the share price reflects market skepticism about EDT’s prospects, and its market capitalization is a fraction of its competitors. The company’s limited resources raise at least one major concern. Will the new owner be able to invest in the research and development necessary to keep the LearnLinc product competitive?

Recommendation

By the standards of the e-learning industry, LearnLinc has been on the market for a long time. It hasn't wasted the opportunity to test the product under real conditions and refine it over the years. LearnLinc is as a result a fine training product.

You can detect the long-term development in many ways, in features built into the product and the supporting products (which admittedly require additional cost). The LearnLinc user interface, for example, is generally regarded as one of the best in the industry, a model of clarity and simplicity.
The separate testing product, TestLinc, gives trainers the ability to create, deliver, grade, and report assessments in a standard Web browser. The product integrates with Designer’s Edge, the only pure instructional design tool on the market. And LearnLinc has its own authoring tool, FastFlex, which sits on top of Dreamweaver from Macromedia and offers templates for content creation.

An excellent feature of LearnLinc is the virtual campus where each student has a homepage. It not only provides links to live training events, but it also provides a venue for pre- and post-training event materials. The virtual campus allows an organization to conduct online assessments and provide content and activities that support the virtual classroom instruction such as downloading text files or viewing a video.

LearnLinc’s initial prices for an installed system are average by market standards; the licensing fee declines over time, however, and that is unusual. Prices for the hosted system appear to be on the high side.

LearnLinc is a training specialist and thus does not offer the virtual meeting and conference capabilities present in other systems. Any prudent buyer will want to stay abreast of the developments related to the company. LearnLinc will presumably be better off free of Gilat, which did not distinguished itself in the e-learning industry. Nevertheless, the virtual classroom market is very competitive, and potential customers will want to be satisfied that the new owner, EDT Learning, is committed to the product and has the financial strength to continue its development and execute deployments.

The reporting options available in LearnLinc are more limited than in some of its competitors. I also need to note the performance issues I had. I used a 56K connection so the problems I experienced may not be relevant to your situation. But if you have potential participants with that type of connection, you should test performance of the audio and slide downloads.

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