Hot biz: online learning

Take online learning, mix in some video, audio and other off-line methods, and you have the latest wave in the booming Web-based instruction trend: blended learning. "Blended learning is better, faster and cheaper than traditional methods," says Tom Graunke, the 37 year-old co-founder of KnowledgeNet, a Scottsdale, Arizona-based provider of e-learning solutions.

He should know. Graunke and co-founder Mark Rukavina, 38, started KnowledgeNet in 1998 with the $2.5 million they earned from selling their previous company, Mastering Computers, a corporate training company they'd run for 10 years. Today, Graunke's company boasts more than 7,200 clients, including Cisco Systems Inc. and McDonald's.
According to research firm IDC, the training industry overall is estimated to bit $60 billion worldwide this year, with $6.6 billion coming from c-learning. The e-learning market is expected to reach $23.7 billion by 2006.

"Blended learning is the fastest-growing area of e-learning in the last 18 months," says Brandon Hall, CEO of www.brandon-hall.com, an e-learning consulting service in Sunnyvale, California. Hall says three segments in particular are moving to blended learning: IT training is the first, regulatory training and safety training is the second, and the soft-skills market--management training, sales training and other people skills--is going to see the next big wave.
John Alonso is the founder of Boston-based OutStart, makers of Evolution software, which allows the authoring, management and delivery of educational content. He has watched his company grow from four employees to 100 since launching in 1999, and he estimates 2003 sales will more than double 2002 sales, to be in excess of Sin million. Says Alonso, 36: "Blended training is the ability to create a training program that says 'We think this part of the training program is good with an instructor, but we're going to augment the classroom experience by having you watch a video before you come to class and continue learning online after you leave the classroom.'" For a growing number of entrepreneurs, this mix is obviously making the grade.