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The Challenge 
Computers, teleconferencing equipment, learning management systems, web authoring software, collaboration tools--these are big-ticket items. The more you know about…
FutureU's Research Division is dedicated to helping you make the most of your investment in technology for virtual communications and e-learning.
Is This You?
Two Types of Research
1. Assessment of Needs, Readiness, Results.
Online polls, personal interviews, and focus groups do more than gather data. They engage and educate participants. By asking, "What do you think?" and by sharing results with participants, you reduce resistance. Enhance buy-in. Shorten the learning curve. Lighten staff workload. Fulfill reporting requirements. And improve results.
2. Independent Industry Analysis.
Impartial product comparisons simplify your decisions. Don't rely on what vendors say. Ask the independent experts at FutureU to give you the straight scoop about any aspect of this rapidly changing industry.
How We've Helped Others
FutureU's Comparative Features Analysis 2000, a study of leading course management software systems, has helped thousands of decision-makers choose the best tools for their institutions' distance learning programs.
NASA's Astrobiology Institute was able to assess the communication practices among its 700+ widely dispersed researchers; identify their concerns, preferences, and needs for improvement; and develop a strategy for introducing new tools and methods to enhance communication and collaboration.
Pacific Bell was able to evaluate the impact of deregulation on small business customers' perception of the company as a small business advocate with our help.
Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico engaged FutureU to assess the Technology Needs and Readiness for Online Teaching among 100+ faculty and administrative staff. The university used the results of FutureU's online survey to substantiate its application for a major federal Title V grant, which was awarded.
California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco was able to begin improving internal communication among 5,000 physicians, researchers, and employees at multiple campuses, by first engaging FutureU to assess existing methods and attitudes and make non-proprietary recommendations for change.
Southwest Missouri State University was better able to plan to its new online program for pre-service training because FutureU had first assessed the faculty's technical skills and attitude.
The Manutan Group, a European conglomerate of industrial equipment companies, improved the outcome and impact of its senior management retreat with online surveys and discussions provided by FutureU before and after the meeting. The experience showed the executives how online surveys could help address communications issues among managers separated by great distance.
The FutureU Research Team
Every member of the FutureU research team has the distinction of expertise in both virtual communications AND applied research. This doesn't mean that some have led virtual groups while others have conducted research. It means that every FutureU research specialist has been developing, implementing, and analyzing surveys for at least five years (in most cases 25 years) and has also facilitated online groups. This unique combination of skills gives the FutureU team a special capability for understanding and addressing your needs.
Gail Terry Grimes, FutureU's CEO, spent 20 years interviewing researchers, health care professionals, and academic, corporate, and civic leaders on behalf of large non-profit institutions, for purposes of cultivating support. She appreciates the value you place on every interaction. Her commitment to respecting your relationships is a core value at FutureU. When FutureU represents your organization, you are assured of a positive experience.
Claude Whitmyer, CIO, was one of the earliest pioneers in virtual communication and education. Mr. Whitmyer also has 25 years of research experience, including independent comparisons of technology products related to communications and education. For example, in his work as faculty advisor to the American Hospital Association's Health Forum fellowships for senior healthcare executives; he often surveys participants about their needs and readiness for virtual communication. In 1996, Mr. Whitmyer was part of a pioneering research study of a group of organizational leaders and consultants that met for 6 months, entirely online, and explored the use of various conversational practices and supporting groupware for virtual community building.
David Fetterman, Ph.D., is former president of the American Evaluation Society, professor and director of the MA Policy Analysis and Evaluation Program in the School of Education at Stanford University, and a former principal research scientist at the American Institutes for Research.
Tom Hargadon, M.S., LL.B., recently served as principal investigator in studying the economic impact of broad-band cable and telephone architectures on the European community. He continually researches the convergence of visual computing with high-band-width telecommunications, providing strategic analysis of the multimedia development market, interactive television, alternative telecommunications, and the impact of new telecommunications architectures and standards on enterprise networking to Fortune 500 firms, the U.S. Government, and the MIT Research Program in Communications Policy. Mr. Hargadon also publishes The Inside Report on New Media.
Sue Marcus, Ph.D. has designed and directed marketing surveys, focus group projects, needs assessments, studies on the outcomes of medical treatments, and computer software and clinical information systems. She developed a national online health information service for consumers and health care professionals and produced customized health information as source materials for audio tapes.
Michael P. Stein, M.A.B., is best known as a focus group leader and creative analyst, with a special interest in multi-level communication. For 35 years he has been serving clients such as AT&T, IBM, the airlines, and numerous smaller organizations, start-ups and non-profits. He is currently helping to develop a government/industry partnership to assess individual skills and educational needs, develop an educational plan, and then assess achievement. Mr. Stein has an Economics degree from Wharton. His graduate business degree was conducted largely online and he is a graduate of FutureU's training in online facilitation.
Barry Tuchfeld, Ph.D., founded and directed one of the first graduate programs in assessment and evaluation that was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): the Center for Organizational Research and Evaluation at Texas Christian University. Today Dr. Tuchfeld focuses on the use of the Internet in e-learning initiatives, with a special emphasis on front-end evaluations and strategic visioning. His experience includes national research projects as well as results-oriented projects that may involve surveys or non-statistical efforts like key informant interviews or focus groups.
Can you move forward without research? Sure. But be prepared for more resistance, more troubleshooting, and more costly changes later on.
Could you do the research yourself? Possibly. But you could churn your own butter too. At FutureU, it's our job to make your job easier.
FutureU is your independent source of support and services
for e-learning and virtual communication.
Proven solutions, fully customizable.
About FutureU
FutureU publishes Web books, provides online and face-to-face learning experiences, consults with institutions, and studies the fields of online education and communications. Don't look to us for Java training; our niche is the "soft" subjects.
We ourselves operate as a virtual company. We develop our products in teams working at a distance and made up of independent contractors, with a subject matter expert, producer, and programmer on each team. Our sales force also functions virtually.
For more information, please contact Gail Terry Grimes, CEO, at 415/824-7726 or Claude Whitmyer, Chief Information Officer, at 415/648-2667.
Copyright © 1997-2004 by Gail Terry Grimes and Claude Whitmyer. All rights reserved. Published by FutureU.