Dear Friend,

Last year was a banner year for virtual worlds learning, with no fewer than 1,200 Second Life educational islands created. Wow! This year, industry trends will see most learning organizations migrating from virtual campuses into new and truly innovative 3D learning experiences.

Attached you'll find a sneak preview of our ASTD Infoline issue about virtual worlds learning. It's a crash course in this dynamic new field and it's filled with actionable best practice examples for your organization.

I also hope to see you "in world" every Thursday from noon-1:00pm EST (9.00-10.00 PST/18.00-19.00 continental Europe). Our weekly Second Life meetings at Gronstedt Group's "Train for Success" continue to grow as we attract more and more expert speakers and participants with each passing week. Just go to Second Life to sign up for a free account, get a good headset and come as you are - whether that's as Darth Vader, a giant spider or an enhanced digital version of your First Life self. Please note that this week we'll meet Friday the 8th (noon-1:00pm EST) instead of Thursday, for a special guided tour of IBM's Second Life facilities.

If you prefer the 2D world of webinars, we got a couple of complimentary WebEx conferences lined up for you in the coming weeks. Learn more about "Training the Next Generation of Digital Natives: Best practices in virtual worlds, podcasting and simulations" by yours truly on February 13 at 3:00pm EST and on February 19 at 11:00am EST. Just click on the links to sign up.

Or perhaps we can even meet live on the conference circuit this spring. I'll be in San Antonio for ASTD TechKnowledge, Orlando for eLEarning Guild, New York for Conference Board and IABC International, San Diego for ASTD International, Dallas for SAMA, to name a few. Check out the full schedule here. While you're at it, take a few moments to review my retooled PowerPoint presentation. It doesn't tell you everything, but hopefully it gives you some ideas.

At Gronstedt Group, we're excited to work with some of the brightest and most innovative clients in a range of industries, including Cox Communications, Ericsson, Electrolux, ADT, Arrow Electronics and Jamba Juice. Our radio magazine-format podcasts, Hollywood-style simulations and immersive virtual world experiences are garnering rave reviews from field organizations around the world.

As always, please drop us a line, pick up the phone or give my avatar a nudge if you want to discuss how we can partner to address your organization's learning challenges in 2008.

Best regards,

Anders

F O C U S
NEWS FROM THE GRONSTEDT GROUP ON TRAINING AND INTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONS

PowerPoint presentation Watch Anders Gronstedt’s PowerPoint presentation on how leading companies are redefining learning and energizing training with the sprawling, vibrant 3D virtual worlds, how they are turning the morning commute into a learning experience with fast-paced, radio-style Podcasted audio feeds, and how they help people learn by doing with video-based, character-rich, game-based simulators. >>       More articles >> Unsubscribe to Focus >> If you have received this newsletter courtesy of a friend or colleague and would like to subscribe yourself to FOCUS, please visit our Web site at www.gronstedtgroup.com/f_contact.htm     ASTD Infoline Read our new ASTD Infoline issue about virtual worlds learning. Filled with actionable best practice examples, this report gives a crash course on how to start a learning program in Second Life or other virtual worlds. Read article >>