By John Ferrare, Enerdynamics CEO

Enerdynamics recently released an updated version of its popular online course Gas Industry Overview. I’m often asked about how we handle updates to our online curriculum. Following is a brief discussion on the behind-the-scenes process of ensuring our online courses are timely, accurate, and effective training tools.

Our online courses are updated about every three years. As anyone working in the industry knows, a lot can change in three years! For instance, the previous version of Gas Industry Overview showed government projections that increasing amounts of natural gas – including some LNG – would need to be imported to cover U.S. demand. Of course things have changed dramatically since then, and government projections now show the U.S. could soon become a new exporter of natural gas. This is reflected in the new Gas Industry Overview course. Additionally, customer data has been updated, and the course also addresses the increasing use of natural gas as a fuel for electricity.

Above and beyond updating content, a course revision also entails updating the technology used to deliver the course, and, in this case, the actual look of the course. The evolution of our online courses in the last 10 years has been significant. Our original “online” offerings were actually recordings of live courses we offered. We’ve learned a lot about eLearning since then – first and foremost that successful online training is its own medium and thus requires its own approach.

As evidenced by the latest release of Gas Industry Overview, our online courses today offer a user-friendly, interactive experience designed specifically for the online environment. Today, our Gas Industry Overview subscribers enjoy a fluid and easy-to-navigate tour of the natural gas business including:

• Natural gas consumers and their needs
• The components of the physical system and how it is designed to deliver gas to end users
• How the physical system is operated for maximum efficiency and safety
• How and why the gas industry is regulated
• What areas of the industry are deregulated and how this affects markets and pricing
• How markets function and the wholesale and retail services offered in them

We also recently updated the online training “skin,” which is the online player from which a learner navigates the course, advances to other parts of the course, uses the search feature, accesses the glossary/acronyms, and participates in course exercises and quizzes. This update makes Gas Industry Overview more navigable and aesthetically pleasing.

Our other training products are updated with similar goals in mind. Our live instructor-led courses are updated every time they are delivered. And books are revised on a schedule similar to our online courses – not an easy task, but we believe that keeping our curriculum current and relevant is crucial to the efficacy of the learning.

For a free online demo of the new Gas Industry Overview, go to http://www.enerdynamics.com/cbtms/GIOn_Demo/01_Course/player.html.

The recently launched version of Gas Industry Overview is available in two versions: the U.S. version and the Canadian version, which expands on the U.S. version to include an examination of Canada’s role in North America’s natural gas industry. Each version is $295 per subscriber. Through the month of July, enjoy a 50% discount when you use coupon code GIO50 at checkout!

Companies seeking to purchase bulk subscriptions enjoy discounts when purchasing as few as 10 subscriptions.

For more information on any of our training products, please contact me directly at jferrare@enerdynamics.com or 866-765-5432 ext. 700.