We asked approximately 70 education technology vendors (which is not nearly an exhaustive list, and we apologize to those we did not include) to give us a 100-word synopsis about the key points of their products and services. We also asked that they not provide press-release responses and to possibly include a quote from a company executive.

Below are some of the responses we received. Many have been edited to keep down or expand upon the word count and/or to omit what might be deemed superfluous or superlative-sounding information. Wherever a "W" is noted, we wrote a synopsis based on information from the company’s Web site.

Live and Asynchronous Communication Tools
Audio, video, whiteboarding, live chat, videoconferencing, Web casting - you name it - all these companies, combined, provide just about every modern day communication tool under the Sun to make your online classrooms dynamically interactive.

Centra - Higher education institutions leverage Centra to connect dispersed students and faculty online in a highly interactive, real-time environment to deliver virtual classroom learning and conduct faculty/administrative meetings or office hours. Using Centra, customers connect people over Internet connections as low as 28.8 kbps, using IP audio and video conferencing. "Our university customers continue to prove how real-time, online communications can augment traditional instructor-led and self-paced learning, and overcome economic and geographic barriers to education," says Centra’s Director of Higher Education Programs Joyce Bokuniewicz.
www.centra.com

Centrinity (W) - Develops, markets and sells the FirstClass Communications Platform, which is part of a division of OpenText. The FirstClass Platform combines award-winning Collaborative Groupware and Unified Communication technologies into one Common Communications Platform to provide users with a variety of solutions ranging from basic email and voice mail - all the way to advanced Unified Communications.
www.centrinity.com

Elluminate (W) - Provider of live eLearning technology and services. The company’s education, demonstration and collaboration products are based on its Collaborative Communications Framework. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and Pompano Beach, Florida, Elluminate serves corporate and academic sector customers such as T-Mobile and Penn State University.
www.elluminate.com

Genesys - Through Genesys Meeting Center, Genesys Conferencing provides educators seeking distance learning solutions with an integrated audio and Web collaboration platform, utilizing the best in audio, videoconferencing, file sharing, online polls and interactive chat. With Genesys providing a true interactive learning environment, educators can teach and collaborate with various students around the globe at the same time rather than in multiple sessions.
www.genesys.com

GlobalChat (W) - Formed in 2002 by veterans of the online community and collaboration industry to continue to serve customers of the former ichat collaboration suite and to deliver new collaboration solutions that help companies communicate with employees, customers, and online communities. Collaboration solutions and services from GlobalChat include real-time chat rooms; message boards; secure, enterprise instant messaging solutions; and more.
www.globalchat.com

Groove (W) - Among other things, this company offers desktop collaboration software called Groove Workspace that leverages your use of email and Microsoft Office for small group interaction across technical and organizational boundaries. The target user is one who plays a strong contributor (or participant) role in meetings and projects. This user is also the basic Microsoft Office user, who frequently creates and reviews documents, as well as shares them with others. For the enterprise, Groove Workspace will enable broad intra- and inter-company usage, as well as offer a richer client applications, such as voiceover IP (VOIP), to enhance the development of custom solutions.
www.groove.com

HorizonLive - Faculty are increasingly considering the addition of live tools to their online courses. By adding live components, such as audio or video, application sharing, polls and messaging, students are able to interact in real-time with their instructors. HorizonLive is a Mac-friendly, low-bandwidth, accessible (to the hearing and visually impaired), synchronous platform that integrates with both Blackboard and WebCT.
www.horizonlive.com

Impatica - Software that enables delivery of narrated, animated and interactive presentations over the Internet or via e-mail without the need for special hardware, software or technical expertise. Impatica’s streaming video messages deliver to any Internet-connected device on all standard platforms. The technology is plug-in, eliminating downloads, installation and attachments. It plays spontaneously within an e-mail client or Web browser over low speed modems.
www.impatica.com

Link-Systems International - Develops digital strategies that are tailored to the needs of its customers, including corporations; book, software and journal publishers; academic institutions; and distance learning providers. Link-Systems services its customers in two specific ways: It enables content providers to share their content online in both live (synchronous) and static (asynchronous) sessions, and it assists content providers in converting content into web-centric formats. Link-Systems specializes in communication of mathematical, scientific, technical and medical material.
www.link-systems.com

PlaceWare (W) - A full-function collaboration and conferencing service that helps educators, administrators and their students expand their reach and teaching capabilities both in real-time and asynchronously. PlaceWare’s online learning services engages learners with highly interactive and customizable Web-based learning environments. The Software Industry Assn. (SIIA) named PlaceWare as the "Best Corporate Learning Technology for 2003. PlaceWare is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation, and part of the Information Worker Group. "We are pleased that our award-winning technology has been such a strong match for the education arena. We are committed to continued advancement in this sector," says Dustin Grosse, senior director of marketing, Real-time Collaboration Business Unit for Microsoft.
www.placeware.com

Silicon Chalk - Silicon Chalk is comprised of several tools that support presentation, communication, note taking and collaboration in a live classroom where students have access to computers in class. In addition, an interactive video recording of the event is created. This allows access to the live class after the fact for continued learning through review, refinement and asynchronous interaction with the recording, which is fully searchable and editable. "Silicon Chalk focuses on a critical part of the learning environment - the live classroom experience," says Murray Goldberg, president/CEO of Silicon Chalk and founder of WebCT. "Many learning technologies in the past have supported learning outside of the classroom. Tools such as Silicon Chalk do much more to enrich the live environment."
www.siliconchalk.com

Smart Technologies (W) - Provider of interactive whiteboards and other group collaboration tools. SMART products provide the tools groups need to access and share information whenever they meet, teach, train and present. SMART products include the family of SMART Board interactive whiteboards, multimedia furniture, whiteboard cameras and software.
www.smarttech.com

TechSmith - "TechSmith’s software enables students, faculty and staff to easily capture and share text, video and graphics from software applications and the Internet," says William Hamilton, TechSmith’s president. "Educators gain an immediate benefit from using SnagIt and Camtasia Studio because of it’s inherent "show me" nature. What students see, they learn." SnagIt is a screen capture utility. Camtasia Studio enables users to record and narrate on-screen activity to demonstrate any process that is conducted on a computer desktop. The recordings can be saved in standard movie formats, including Macromedia Flash, burned onto compact discs, or broadcast via the Internet. Camtasia Studio is ideal for distance learning, computer-based instruction and training, and accessing video-on-demand course content.
www.techsmith.com

Virage (W) - Provides video and rich media communications software for corporate, media and entertainment, government and education. Virage Web casting solutions are available as either enterprise software or as a hosted ASP service. Its video portal solutions help universities to publish select content, such as lectures, guest speakers, and sporting events, online in the form of streaming video. Its archiving solutions helps universities digitize and index vast collections of media content quickly and efficiently.
www.virage.com

WebEx - The WebEx Training Center provides an engaging online classroom experience with live audio, video and rich media information sharing, and it promotes true hands-on learning with capabilities such as breakout sessions, hands-on labs, Q&A sessions, multi-purpose chat, and continuous feedback. The learners are as much a part of the training experience as the instructors. All of this is available using an Internet browser, computer and, optionally, a telephone. "Training Center transforms the distance learning experience from eLearning-by- viewing to eLearning-by-doing," says Sanjay Dalal, WebEx director of training center business.
www.webex.com

WebBoard - Enables students and teachers to interact through live discussion by using their Web browser, email or NNTP client. The product has been chosen by hundreds of learning institutions nationwide for its many easy-to-use features including a rich, web-based user interface, integrated instant messaging, spell checking and message searching. With WebBoard all class discussions are recorded in an easy-to-follow structure for maximum reusability. In addition to live discussions, instant messaging and chat, institutions can also collaborate in real-time with voice over IP and real-time application sharing. Live meetings utilizing voice over IP can also be recorded so that they can be played back later.
www.webboard.com

Wimba (W) - Offers advanced, scalable, Web-based voice software for better synchronous and asynchronous communication. Wimba’s packaged software has been specially designed for language learning and higher education, and it enables voice communication anytime, anywhere participants have access to their courses. Wimba brings the power of speech to online learning environments.
www.wimba.com

(Course Management (CMS) and Learning Management (LMS) systems)
All these companies listed under this category submitted a response to our inquiry. If you happen to be in the market for a CMS or LMS provider, check out Edu Tools (www.edutools.info), a Web-based resource for the higher education community that "provides the most complete independently-reviewed analyses anywhere of selected course management software, including product comparisons, reviews, and automated decision-making tools."

Blackboard - Formed with the vision of transforming the Internet into a powerful environment for the education experience in 1997, Washington D.C.-based Blackboard Inc. is an enterprise software company for e-Education. Blackboard offers a complete suite of enterprise software products and services that power e-Education programs in its primary markets - Higher Education, K-12, Corporate/Government and International. Blackboard solutions deliver the promise of the Internet for online teaching and learning, campus communities, campus commerce services, and integration of Web-enabled student services and back office systems. Blackboard’s products and services are utilized at nearly 3,000 academic institutions in all 50 U.S. states and 60 countries worldwide.
www.blackboard.com

CyberLearning Labs - Owner of ANGEL, the open, enterprise course management system. ANGEL has distinguished itself in the marketplace with its ease of use, openness and flexibility. ANGEL’s intuitive interface makes new and casual users quickly comfortable. Power users can access rich features and capabilities just under the surface in ANGEL’s advanced mode. ANGEL’s open, flexible design allows institutions to tailor the system to meet their specific needs and easily integrate ANGEL with other systems at a lower total cost of ownership. These unique capabilities are backed by CyberLearning Labs’ customer support and customer-driven development that keeps ANGEL on the leading edge of product innovation. ANGEL customers include Penn State University, Michigan State University, Kentucky Virtual University, Providence College, and TIAA-CREF.
www.cyberlearninglabs.com

Desire2Learn - This vendor says that they believe an eLearning platform should not dictate the approach taken to teaching and learning. It should be tailored to the clients’ needs, desired look and feel, philosophy, vision, brand, and pedagogical approach. The Desire2Learn platform gives users complete control of organizational hierarchy, roles and security. A single installation can handle an unlimited number of separate organizations, each having their own distinct look and branding. This type of flexibility allows scalability from course to consortium levels while providing a standards-based approach and an integrated learning object repository.
www.desire2learn.com

eCollege - According to Oakleigh Thorne, chairman and CEO of eCollege, "We provide a complete outsourced eLearning solution to some of the largest, and fastest growing online degree programs in the country. As a provider with all of the hardware, software and support services under one roof, eCollege ensures a high quality experience for students, translating into high completion and retention rates for schools. Our emphasis on supporting success for full online programs yields a more comprehensive and scaleable solution than can be achieved by schools themselves... Our unique value proposition includes a pay-as-you-grow cost structure. This approach covers all of an institution’s total-cost-of-ownership for the technology and support needs of its online operation, providing relatively less up-front costs, lower financial risk, and a faster path to profitability."
www.ecollege.com

IntraLearn - An enterprise-class eLearning system that enables administrators to offer every teacher their own interactive online classroom from a single shared system. IntraLearn features include single software installation; configurable at multiple levels; full administrative overview of the complete system; installs on internal network or external ISP; same scalable license, whether 300 students or 150,000; built-in collaboration, exams, authoring, interactivity, file sharing, etc.; connects to existing registration and administration systems; exceptionally affordable; multiple languages from same system; and field proven since 1997.
www.intralearn.com

Jones KnowledgeT - Released v.2003 of its free, open-license, online course management and delivery software, Jones e-educationT: Software StandardT. Jones made this unprecedented move to highlight its longstanding commitment to the expansion of online learning. The Jones Standard is best known for its ease of use, its highly collaborative and interactive communication tools, and its open architecture for advanced and flexible course design. Jones is offering the source code for the product to serve the internal needs of institutions that are looking for a solid delivery platform, or a foundation to build a more sophisticated course delivery tool.
www.jonesadvisorygroup.com/standard.php

Open Text - This company’s Livelink® for Learning Management™ platform is an interactive online learning environment linked to an information repository, where information and course content can be accessed. It is a Web-based training management system that supports real-time online learning and allows for the management of teaching and learning. Users can simultaneously train individuals across disparate locations and systems; provide immediate access to courses, materials, schedules, and instructors via a Web browser; store course materials for future use; provide course flexibility to set course schedule, progress and pace; assess training results, skills improvement and human resources management; and integrate Web-based e-learning and training with the knowledge and content repository of Livelink.
www.opentext.com

Saba - The Saba Enterprise Learning Suite provides a single suite of products and prescriptive learning capabilities to meet learning needs, configuration options to eliminate the need for complex customizations, and services and alliance partners for learning initiatives. It offers tools for learning management, online collaboration, virtual classrooms, analytics, and content creation and management. It also provides support for blended learning, and offers 15 different languages and locales for global deployments. "With our latest release, we invested 18 months of innovation based on over 200 enterprise-wide implementations to deliver what we believe is a true management system for aligning, developing and managing people," says Bobby Yazdani, president and COO of Saba.
www.saba.com

Timecruiser Computing Corp. - Timecruiser’s CampusCruiser^TM is an "out-of-the-box" combined portal/learning platform used by more than 100 higher education institutions. CampusCruiser can be rapidly loaded with student, faculty, and staff data; all courses; club memberships; and more. Message board, chat, assignment, gradebook, shared file, and shared link tools are ready to go. An integrated Content Management System enables the distribution of content creation and posting. And CampusCruiser integrates with any ERP system.
www.timecruiser.com

WebCT - WebCT’s flagship eLearning products, the WebCT Vista academic enterprise system and the WebCT Campus Edition course management system, address the number-one need of e-learning providers around the world: flexibility. "Whether they’re small or large, public or private, standing alone or operating as part of large consortium or university system, institutions know that change is a constant and that their eLearning systems must adapt to any pedagogical approach, user experience level, implementation size, complementary technology, curriculum, content, delivery method or learning style," says Carol Vallone, WebCT’s president and CEO. "We build our innovative products with these concerns in mind, and our customers’ success is proving it."
www.webct.com

Content/Course Providers
We know there are many more companies that develop courses or provide specific content geared toward enhancing online learning environments, especially as more publishers enter this space. The three listed here stick out in our minds. We are planning to provide a comprehensive overview on this topic in a future issue of Educational Pathways.

Element K - Provides a wide range of online and offline integrated technology-training learning solutions and a choice of learning methods. Element K has ample opportunities for student-student interaction and student-instructor mentoring, plus other benefits such as personalized learning paths, virtual labs, round-the-clock support and an extensive reference library.
www.elementk.com

Global Education Network - Produces engaging, rich-media, interactive liberal arts courses delivered in a combination of CD-ROM and a companion Web site. Courses are fully compatible with all major learning management systems. GEN licenses these courses to schools in much the same way that other producers license telecourses.
www.gen.com

XanEdu - Offers faculty and students powerful new course resources for distance learning - online, in print, or in combination - to create custom course materials tailored to specific courses. XanEdu’s publishing tools offer on-demand access to copyright-cleared materials, and the company gets clearance for materials not already in its collections. Adding a ReSearch Engine module, focused on curriculum based information and updated daily, keeps courses current throughout the term. Students receive pedagogically rich, curriculum-based resources and faculty use exactly what they want. This service is free to faculty and institutions, and the students’ cost is based on selections made by faculty. Digital TextBooks are also available.
www.xanedu.com

A-la-carte Vendors
These companies provide a wide range of technology and service-oriented solutions to higher education through their partnerships with a variety of vendors, as well as through internally developed products and/or services.

Collegis - Helps colleges and universities rapidly launch online and blended academic programs to increase enrollments, reduce instructional costs and enhance the quality of higher education. Whether it’s a WebFlex M.B.A., such as that offered at Benedictine University in Illinois, or a freshman orientation program offered at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, Collegis has helped lead the way with success in a blended learning environment. Collegis offerings include increased enrollment through marketing and student recruitment, corporate outreach and grant development, program development and process redesign to improve learning outcomes and reduce costs, infrastructure support and round-the-clock customer care for students and faculty, instructional design and training for adjunct faculty, and ongoing business unit and program management.
www.collegis.com

Embanet - As a technology-neutral company, Embanet offers a suite of eLearning management systems that allows them to build a solution around their clients’ specific needs. Embanet’s turnkey solutions include course development and conversion services, 24 x 7 live technical support, hosting services, instructional design services, online instructor training, strategic planning and project management services, and more. Embanet currently supports six eLearning systems: Blackboard, FirstClass, IntraLearn, Prometheus, WebCT and Angel. There are no limitations or restrictions on what program may be used for any particular site. Embanet will assess your needs and give you a recommendation detailing what platform will be most effective for your organization.
www.embanet.com

ULiveandLearn - An eLearning solutions provider and educational consultant, offering services ranging from learning program development and strategic planning to hosting fully integrated collaboration and community centers. ULiveandLearn’s Layered Learning Model^TM offers clients and end users the ultimate flexibility to design the most effective learning solutions, including online courseware, Web-based synchronous workshops, face-to-face programs, teleclasses, and video, audio and print content. The company provides and manages the platforms, applications, content, marketing support and database requirements for a full-service program.
www.uliveandlearn.com

Student Information Systems
These companies are well known for providing student information systems, but they are actually much more than that, providing a large suite of services through the development of their own software as well as through numerous alliances with education technology vendors.

Datatel (W) - Provider of information management solutions for higher education. Datatel’s comprehensive solutions offer both integrated software and professional services to meet the business needs of higher education. The company offers a wide range of business solutions, software applications and suites, and education services. Datatel has strategic alliances with a large number of education technology providers.
www.datatel.com

PeopleSoft (W) - Provider of application software for the real-time enterprise. PeopleSoft Internet software enables organizations to connect customers, suppliers, partners and employees to business processes online, in real time. PeopleSoft’s integrated applications include customer relationship management, supply chain management, human capital management, financial management and application integration.
www.peoplesoft.com

SCT (W)- Offers a wide range of technology solutions that unify teaching, learning, research, and administration for education communities. SCT’s offerings encompass solutions that support the entire education enterprise, including administrative solutions; academic solutions; portal technology, collaboration and community solutions; content management solutions; information access and business intelligence solutions; and integration solutions.
www.sct.com

EasyAsk - Provides natural-language search and navigation technology that’s embedded on Web sites to help users find exactly what they’re looking for. By adding EasyAsk to their sites, online learning providers enable users to search through vast amounts of information using ordinary terms and phrases. The Institute of Physics (www.physics.org), an organization focused on promoting physics education worldwide, relies on EasyAsk to make its site user-friendly to a broad audience.
www.easyask.com

Educere - Distributes seats of online college courses to top high school students through its Advanced Education Program. The program provides university and college distance learning areas a way to recruit undergraduate applicants. Participating institutions license and/or fill open seats of existing courses with students from the high school market.
www.educere.com

Questionmark - This assessment software enables educators and trainers to write, administer and report on quizzes, tests, exams, and surveys securely in Windows and Web environments. Students can take assessments using a standard browser or a secure browser that prevents assessments from being printed. Using Perception To Go, students can synchronize, take assessments offline and then synchronize again to pass the results back to the server. Perception To Go minimizes time spent online, which reduces costs in many countries. Committed to creating distributed learning environments involving multiple authors, Questionmark works to ensure that its products offer seamless connections with course management systems.
www.questionmark.com

SMARTHINKING - Provides people, training and technology to enhance learning by connecting students to qualified educators anytime, from an Internet connection. SMARTHINKING offers online tutoring services up to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in Mathematics, English, Statistics, Economics, Accounting, Chemistry and Spanish to high school students, colleges and universities. Online tutors are highly qualified and rigorously trained educators that actively engage students in the learning process. More than 250 schools across the country use SMARTHINKING to increase student success and increase accountability.
www.smarthinking.com

TELEStraining - Specializes in supporting the introduction of eLearning to higher education institutions. The company offers consulting services and professional development to faculty members for the transition from face-to-face to online teaching. Its services include consultancy for gap analysis for eLearning, implementation and evaluation of eLearning. The company has worked for higher education institutions such as the Simon Fraser University, the University of Toronto, the Open Learning Agency, and the University of Guadalajara in Mexico.
www.telestraining.com