The training media Academy Awards

Training Media Review is a great publication that T+D partners with--we publish their reviews in our Ratings section each month. They've just released their list of products that received their highest rating, 4 stars, from their independent reviewers in 2004.

An excerpt from the press release is below. See brief descriptions of the products in the complete Best2Buy article, which is free to all. (Their longer reviews are a members-only service, but some of these reviews did appear in T+D.)

"The Best2Buy media categories are the most comprehensive in the training industry: online content, online technology, print, software, and video. In addition, TMR recognizes a track record of achievement in training with its Editor’s Choice award.

The 2004 year’s winners are as follows:

Online content
KnowledgeNet Microsoft Live Office, KnowledgeNet (www.knowledgenet.com)
Project Management: Ethics and Professional Knowledge, SkillSoft (www.skillsoft.com)
Six Sigma Foundations, Motorola University (www.motorola.com/mu)

Online technology
Breeze Live, Macromedia (www.macromedia.com)
WebEx Training Center, Webex Communications (www.webex.com)

Print
Adaptive Coaching by Terry R. Bacon and Karen I. Spear, Davies-Black Publishing (www.daviesblack.com)
The Global Diversity Desk Reference, Pfeiffer/Wiley (www.pfeiffer.com)
Making Sense of Online Learning by Patti Shank and Amy Sitze, Pfeiffer/Wiley (www.pfeiffer.com)
Simulations and the Future of E-learning by Clark Aldrich, Pfeiffer/Wiley (www.pfeiffer.com)

Software
RoboHelp X5, Macromedia (www.macromedia.com)

Video
Dialogue: Now You're Talking! Quality Media Resources (www.qmr.com)
Speaking to the Big Dogs, Frederick Gilbert Associates (www.powerspeaking.com)

Editor’s Choice
Four Disciplines of Execution, Franklin Covey (www.franklincovey.com)

Training Media Review
Training Media Review has been evaluating training products for 12 years. It has always adhered to the belief that the best evaluators of training products are the people who use them: training professionals. TMR’s expert reviewers are all experienced professionals in training and allied fields. Most have been reviewing training products for years.

Why More Awards?
All of the Best2Buy products have received four-star ratings from regular TMR reviewers. Their judgment is more seasoned and neutral than judges for one-time events and shootouts. In those contests, awards HAVE to be handed out, and judges are under implicit pressure to award them. In fact, a large percentage of products submitted for annual contests receive some kind of award.

Training Media Review does not have to give out anything, AND we don’t set a predetermined number of products to receive recognition. Training Media Review never charges producers a fee to have their products considered. Some of the largest and best-known annual awards in training and related fields take in hefty fees from vendors and thereby—at least in our judgment—set up a conflict of interest. It is no wonder that so many products in these events go home with some kind of prize."