This valuable resource provides information about how to use Personas as a useful technique in user-focused design.
Contents include:

• An introduction to the Persona Lifecycle framework, which is a detailed process for creating and using personas.
• Case studies, bright ideas, lessons learned, and handy details contributed by over 60 "Persona Practitioners" from around the industry
• Supplemental chapters from invited experts on persona-related topics

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Buy it from Amazon

Also included:
Chapter 6: Story from the Field - Personas That Learn by Julie Nowicki, Usability Lead, Microsoft & Margaret Martinez, Ph.D., President & CEO, The Training Place, Inc.

This valuable resource contains seventeen chapters, each written by experts and each addressing a different learning theory. This book was written for both the experienced trainer who has formally studied learning theory and the new trainer who may have come from a subject-matter-expert background and may not have been exposed to any learning theories.
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Also included:
Martinez, M. (2004). Adaptive Learning: Research Foundations and Practical Applications. In S. Stein and S. Farmer. (Eds.), Connotative Learning. Washington D.C.: IACET.

ORO VALLEY, AZ. (PRWEB) February 9, 2004 - The Training Place, Inc (TTP), a training solutions provider helping organizations thrive in any economy, announced today that it has received 8a certification by the U.S. Small Business Administration's 8(a) Business Development program. Under the SBA 8(a) program, TTP is qualified to receive business development assistance and to bid on contracts that are specifically for SBA 8(a) participants for a nine-year period through February 2013. TTP was also awarded Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) status at the same time.

The purpose of the 8(a) BD program is to assist eligible small disadvantaged business concerns compete in the American economy through business development. The SBA's 8(a) program allows participants to compete for set-aside contracts. Additionally, large government bids often encourage prime contractors to team with small businesses, making 8(a) certified companies more attractive to large contractors as partners.

The SBA SDB program implements certain mechanisms to be applied by government agencies and prime contractors to increase access by SDBs to Federal prime and subcontracting opportunities.

For more details, visit:
http://www.sba.gov/8abd/
http://www.fedaccess.com/8(a)program.htm
http://www.sba.gov/sdb/index.html
http://www.fedaccess.com/8(a)-sdb-redirection-menu.htm

"We are gratified to be accepted into the SBA 8(a) program," said Dr. Margaret Martinez, President and CEO of The Training Place, Inc. "The SBA 8(a) program will help us to continue our growth and expand our opportunities within Federal and State sectors." Martinez furthers, "We see a growing need within the government sector to better understand how personalized training solutions can serve as a vehicle for reaching desired goals and objectives."

In addition to 8(a) opportunities, TTP plans to continue offering its services to corporate, government and non-profit clients. "We want to maintain a diverse business mix, not only under the 8(a) program, but in open government bids and the private sector in order to meet our growth objectives," said Martinez.

As a certified 8a contractor, TTP now offers flexible federal contracting options to any government agency. In addition to raising the overall federal small business procurement objective from 20% to 23%, the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997 set a goal of 2% of all Government procurements to be directed towards certified businesses. "As a 8a certified small business, we are very excited to provide federal agencies with an avenue to meet its small-business goals,” said Martinez. “As many federal contracts have 8a and small-business utilization requirements, TTP is well positioned to support a variety of federal government contracts through subcontract and sole source procurements. "

TTP's certification can be confirmed on the official database maintained at http://dsbs.sba.gov/dsbs/dsp_profile.cfm?User_Id=P0350164. SBA's 8a program benefits are included in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) that help agencies obtain services and meet their small business contracting goals.

About The Training Place, Inc.

TTP is a minority-owned company providing full-service personalized e-learning and performance improvement solutions. Our focus is helping our clients implement innovative, cost-effective training and research programs that continually keep a competitive workforce or student body improving learning ability and achieving peak performance. Our company was founded to address the lack of personalized solutions for delivering training via the Web, specifically the lack of solutions addressing the fact that humans want and expect to learn differently. We use the latest developments in the neurosciences as the foundation for our research programs. We call the key individual differences in how humans learn "learning orientations."

TTP is certified under the Small Business Administration's 8(a) Business Development and Small Disadvantaged Business programs. TTP helps universities, schools, and organizations in the technology, financial, government, non-profit, and healthcare industries thrive by providing proven personalized training solutions. For more information on our services or how to partner with TTP, visit our website at www.trainingplace.com, call (520) 877-3991, or email us.

A New Online Learning Book Ken White & Jason Baker (eds.)
The Student Guide to Successful Online Learning: A Handbook of Tips, Strategies, and Techniques
Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2003.
Martinez, M. (Chapter Contributor). Know Thyself: Taking Charge of Your Online Learning, (pp. 65-78).

Click here: http://www.distance-educator.com/dnews/Article11093.phtml Click here: http://www.unc.edu/cit/infobits/bitmay04.html#8
Click here: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/textbooks/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=1753vhl9j8&isbn=0205341047&TXT=Y&itm=2

Brain Plasticity: Learning is a Physical Change!
PRESENTATION FOR THE PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION
FOR COMPUTER TRAINING, 10 SEPTEMBER 2004, MINNEAPOLIS (M. MARTINEZ)

ABSTRACT: “Learning is about biology,” states Zull in the Art of Changing the Brain" (2002). He suggests that “understanding the brain will enrich teaching. It will give us new ideas for educational tools, and it will change our ideas of how the mind works. It will change our practice and our philosophy” Zull (2002, p. 7). This presentation presents new ideas, strategies, methodologies, and tools (based on the biology of learning) that are more comprehensive and measurable than the conventional educational perspectives that highlight primarily cognitive practices—those that often overlook affective, conative, and social elements, including intentions, emotions, relationships, desires, and striving. In contrast, the new strategies explore and tap into the dominant power of emotions on learning, memory, performance, and improvement.

OBJECTIVES: By the end of the presentation, participants should be able to:

• Discuss new developments in human learning research.
• Identify and discuss critical success factors for self-motivated, self-directed, independent learning.
• Identify and discuss critical steps in the learning and teaching process.
• Discuss new strategies and developments in implementing and mastering changes in the brain for improved learning ability.

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