On-line distance learning for the federal community

As federal government agencies shift funding away from non-core operations and activities, new approaches will be needed to accomplish those important, but underfunded, non-core functions. One of those important functions is environmental training, certification, and record keeping. A new company called AdvanceONLINE^TM has developed an on-line distance learning approach to environmental training that transfers many of the features relied on in the classroom to a virtual world. AdvanceONLINE's approach is gaining recognition and increased use within several agencies and commands, each with a different need for continuing education and training of its personnel. This article will review the key elements of distance learning, examine the AdvanceONLINE system, and consider applications within the federal community.