Lexcyle have created revolution in the e-boook industry by developing a free e-book reader called as Stanza. Stanza is designed for i-phone and i-pod touch, to download from a vast selection of over 100,000 books and periodicals in a number of formats, and read them right on your phone.

On April 27, 2009, Amazon which dominates e-book industry with its Kindle has acquired Lexcycle. It seems that this action is done to improve Kindle application. Stanza supports e-books in any format from Adobe PDF to XML standard format and EPUB. Amazon would implement this supporting capability to extend choice in the format in which e-book readers can access e-books and e-reading content.

“We are not planning any changes in the Stanza application or user experience as a result of the acquisition,” wrote Lexcycle’s principal developer and founder Marc Prud’hommeaux in a blog post on the site. “Customers will still be able to browse, buy and read e-books from our many content partners. We look forward to offering future products and services that we hope will resonate with our passionate readers.”

“It’s very early days for e-books, and we believe there is a lot of innovation ahead of us. Lexcycle is a smart, innovative company, and we look forward to working with them to innovate on behalf of readers,” said Amazon spokeswoman Cinthia Portugal to The New York Times.

“We are excited to join forces with a company that has innovated on behalf of readers for over a decade and is a pioneer in e-books,” Prud’hommeaux wrote. “Like Amazon, we believe there is a lot of innovation ahead for e-books and we could not think of a better company to join during this exciting time.”

Recent report from Amazon: the new version of popular Kindle ebook reader will be introduced at an Amazon event in New York on Monday. Already the first generation Kindle remains on backorder at Amazon’s site, by three to five weeks.

Some of the flaws encountered in the first generation are: it was too bulky, and handled PDFs and other document files less than gracefully. We could expect the second generation Kindle is free from such design flaws.

Ross Rubin, NPD Group director of industry analysis says that “There’s a tremendous opportunity for the first e-book provider that can tap into the textbook market. At the appropriate price, that could transform these devices from frequent-flyer folios into a staple in the homes of students.”

Sony has introduced a second electronic book PRS700 with an upgraded hardware. PRS700 has 6-inch electronic paper display with a touch panel and a reading light to read in dark. With touch panel users can turn e-pages, search through e-books by using an on screen keyboard and also highlight pages using stylus.350 e-books can be stored in its internal memory and more in the memory stick and SD Card media. The battery of this e-book supports 7500 pages of continuous reading. This e-book is compatible with e-book formats such as BBeB, Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word Documents and EPUB format. This weighs about 280 grams and will be as slim as a paperback book. This will be released in November with a cost of US$400.

Training in key business and professional skills in today’s competitive environment cannot be ignored if you want your employees to develop and help drive the growth of your company.

Need for e-learning

New values In the old days, corporate value and value creation were defined principally through material and financial assets. Nowadays a premium is put on intellectual capital. To retain their competitive edge, organizations have started to investigate which training techniques and delivery methods enhance motivation, performance, collaboration, innovation, and a commitment to life-long learning.

New technologies The life of knowledge and human skills today is shorter than ever, mounting the pressure to remain up to date with ones education and training throughout a career. In the age of globalization and technological revolution, four-year degrees are just the start of a forty-year continuing education. Life-long learning is quickly becoming an imperative in today’s world.

Competitive Edge Corporations view learning as a competitive weapon rather than a bothersome cost factor. Business success depends increasingly on top-quality employee performance, which in turn requires top-quality training. Corporate executives now understand that developing employee skills is the key to creating a sustainable competitive lead.

Cost Effective In the run to remain competitive in today’s labor-tight market, companies are exploiting advances in technology to train employees rapidly, effectively, and at less expense.

Globalization As trade borders become less significant, global competition intensifies. International expansion has led to larger and more complex corporations. Today’s businesses have more locations in different countries and employ larger numbers of workers with diverse backgrounds and educational levels.

Abundance of information More information has to be delivered in increasingly bigger organizations, testing internal planning, logistics, and distribution. Corporations worldwide are now in search of more innovative and competent ways to deliver training to their geographically dispersed workforce.

Types of e- learning
There are fundamentally two types of e-learning: synchronous training and asynchronous training.

Synchronous, means “at the same time,” involves interaction of participants with an instructor via the Web in real time. Asynchronous, which means “not at the same time,” allows the participant to complete the WBT at his own pace, without live interaction with the instructor. A new form of learning known as blended learning is emerging. As the name suggests it is an amalgamation of synchronous and asynchronous learning methods.

Asynchronous Methods

Embedded learning Embedded learning is information that is accessible on a self-help basis, 24/7. It can be delivered to the place of work, or to mobile learners. Electronic performance support system (EPSS) is a type of embedded learning. The advantage is that embedded learning offers learners the information they need whenever they need it.

Courses The clear advantage of a self-paced course is convenience. Participants can get the training they need at any time. This can include just-in-time training where a participant gets exactly the training he or she needs to perform a task.

Discussion groups A discussion group is a gathering of conversations that occur over time. They are also called message boards, bulletin boards and discussion forums. Discussion groups can be used to support a group of participants taking the same class or can be used to support participants performing related tasks. A discussion group is a very competent way to supply expert answers to a large group people. A single answer to a common question can help many.

Synchronous Methods

Virtual classroom Virtual classroom duplicates the features of a real classroom online. Participants interact with each other and instructors online .instant messaging, chat, audio and video conferencing etc.

Blended Method Most companies prefer to use a mix of both synchronous and asynchronous e-learning methods according to their requirement.

Conclusion
All in all e- learning is here to stay and only you can decide the degree of involvement in e- learning your company may require and the best methods applicable to you and your employees.

Rajesh Rastogi has been managing and maintaining various e-learning softwares projects for the past five years. A storehouse of knowledge about Motivating Employees in E-Learning He has been working in close co-ordination with firm providing e-learning solutions.

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