This technology was recently demonstrated at a Technical Special Interest Group program of the Kansas City chapter of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD). Chuck Kater of Hill's Pet Nutrition gave a live demonstration of the company's Virtual Learning Center from a remote site. 

The Virtual Learning Center is designed for interactive learning events with up to 10 participants at different locations. Learning events can be scheduled off-site and off-hours to accommodate any time zone or group preference. Participants register for the event and connect to Hill's secure server at the scheduled time. Events are held for two hours or less and content is chunked to provide learning over time.

The facilitator uses specially designed software (Learning Space in this instance) and a PowerPoint presentation to conduct the interactive course over the company's intranet. Participants can ask questions and send messages to the facilitator. Chat rooms provide areas for small group discussions. A separate phone line with speakerphone or headset allows the facilitator to converse with participants while viewing information on the screen.

A major benefit of the Virtual Learning Center is the reduction in travel time and expense compared to traditional classroom training. Despite this benefit, some people may be slow to adopt the technology.

To overcome this problem, Kater showed a videotape presentation they use to promote the Virtual Learning Center inside the company. Produced in-house, this short videotape shows a stressed-out employee as she endures the inconveniences of travel in order to attend an off-site meeting. This scenario is contrasted with the relative ease of the Virtual Learning Center. Kater and his staff also conduct live demonstration modules for potential users so they can experience the Virtual Learning Center first hand.