click2learn Ships ToolBook II Instructor Version 8
Press Release
BELLEVUE, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dec. 14, 2000– click2learn.com Inc. (Nasdaq:CLKS – news) released ToolBook II Instructor version 8 — a major upgrade to the industry’s leading e-Learning development toolset that exports native HTML and DHTML output, with XML support and no plug-in requirements.
Among many other significant enhancements, Version 8 enables registered ToolBook users to instantly deliver and manage public or private e-Learning courses over click2learn’s e-Learning Network, providing users with an integrated and streamlined learning management platform.
In addition, the upgrade gives developers the ability to create content that complies with virtually every major learning standard today — including AICC, IMS, Microsoft’s LRN and the emerging SCORM standard. The addition makes ToolBook Instructor the leading technology for developers seeking to create courses that will translate across different e-Learning platforms.
Version 8 contains several other important enhancements, including a new suite of interactive e-Learning features and tools to automatically export course scores, student information and data to corporate databases such as SQL Server or Oracle. Version 8 also provides a mechanism to rapidly develop software simulations and interactive question and answer sessions with just a few keystrokes.
“Nearly 75 percent of all e-Learning content today involves custom courseware, created by developers to suit specific corporate training needs. A significant portion of this work is being done, day in, day out, by thousands of ToolBook developers,” said Brad Crain, VP Learning Tools of click2learn.
“With the new additions to ToolBook Instructor, we’re giving innovative developers an easy way to create more powerful and beneficial learning modules, adding course management and learning tracking capabilities, and giving them the ability to deliver it instantly over the web via our e-Learning Network.”
The software allows developers to publish custom courses created in ToolBook directly to a personalized web site on click2learn’s e-Learning Network, where they can enroll up to 100 students, assign courses, track usage, produce test scores, and create summary reports on assessments and learner progress. By hosting their e-Learning sites via click2learn, e-Learning developers can dramatically reduce the IT support required to launch a project and simplify the process of delivering courses.
Enhancing course interactivity and interoperability
Besides new hosting and learning management options, the latest release of ToolBook Instructor adds a suite of new e-Learning tools and enhancements that allow developers to create increasingly interactive and interoperable content. For example, new tools allow developers to create some of the most commonly required e-Learning features — such as software simulations and interactive question and answer sessions — with a few keystrokes. The release also supports all streaming media formats, including popular formats from Microsoft, Macromedia and RealNetworks, for rich and interactive content.
ToolBook Instructor also expands developers’ ability to create truly interoperable courses that can be integrated throughout corporate databases. A new automatic export feature allows developers to send ToolBook course scores, student information or other details directly to back-end databases such as SQL Server or Oracle.
In addition, the upgrade enables developers to create content that complies with the U.S. government’s Advanced Distributed Learning standards initiative, the Sharable Courseware Object Reference Model (SCORM). SCORM is the government’s blueprint for an interoperable, learning object-based e-learning system. In supporting this standard, click2learn enables ToolBook developers to automatically create courses that meet the development standards necessary for military and government learning initiatives.
The new SCORM compliance builds on ToolBook’s previous support for AICC and Microsoft’s Learning Resource Interchange (LRN). With the addition of SCORM compliance, ToolBook becomes the first e-Learning authoring tool that complies with virtually every major e-learning standard emerging today. This is a benefit for companies seeking to create courses that translate across different learning platforms or to create learning modules that span curriculums and can be customized to individual learners.
Pricing and Availability
ToolBook II Instructor 8.0 is available for purchase today and is priced at $2,495 for first-time purchases; upgrade prices start at $695. Discounts are available for quantity purchases and education and government customers. Instructor 8.0 may be purchased directly through click2learn or through the click2learn network of value-added resellers. For purchase information, please contact the company at 800/448-6543 from North America, or 425/462-0501 from outside the United States, or online at www.click2learn.com/sales/.
About click2learn.com, inc.
click2learn.com (Nasdaq:CLKS – news) provides an open e-Learning network consisting of e-Learning content, learning management, and authoring and publishing tools. By developing a powerful and full-featured outsourced platform for e-Learning, and partnering with market-leading content publishers, click2learn.com provides customers with an Application Service Provider (ASP) model that gives organizations instant access to a vast and constantly improving e-Learning Network. Customers can access thousands of courses and use browser-based publishing and learning management tools through a custom-configured site that looks and feels like the organization’s intranet, and have access to click2learn.com’s expert development group using the Rapid e-Learning Development System (ReDS) to develop custom content for distribution on the network.
In addition to an outsourced solution, click2learn.com is a leader in providing internal e-Learning implementations. The click2learn.com enterprise e-Learning initiatives includes the market-leading Ingenium total learning management solution, and the acclaimed ToolBookII Instructor and Assistant authoring tools. Each solution is augmented by one of the industry’s largest professional services groups, including award-winning custom content development, strategic consulting, and integration services. For more information on click2learn.com e-Learning solutions, call 800/448-6543 or 425/462-0501. Visit click2learn.com at www.click2learn.com or visit the e-Learning portal at www.click2learn.com/c2l.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including information contained in this document where statements are preceded by, followed by or include the words “believes,” “plans,” “intends,” “expects,” “anticipates” or similar expressions. For such statements, The Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted, and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements include market acceptance of internet based training and the click2learn.com learning portal, the ability to successfully implement click2learn.com virtual universities and strategic relationships with content providers and other web-based companies, the ability of those relationships to result in increased users and increased revenues and the risk factors set forth in filings The Company has made with the SEC.
click2learn.com, click2learn.publisher, click2learn.author, click2learn.manager, Ingenium, ToolBookII Instructor and ToolBookII Assistant are trademarks of click2learn.com, inc. All other company and/or product names are the property of their respective owners.
Contact:
click2learn.com, inc., Bellevue
Sara Britton, Public Relations, 425/637-5872
sara.britton@click2learn.com
or
click2learn.com, inc., Bellevue
Jeff Howlett, Investor Relations, 425/637-1514
jeff.howlett@click2learn.com
