NASA pact eases Web-based training

NASA has created a vehicle for its centers nationwide to order World Wide

Web-based training services from a choice of five vendors.

NASA awarded contracts in late March for Web-based training solutions

to SkillSoft Corp., DigitalThink Inc., MindLeaders.com Inc. (formerly DPEC

Inc.), Network Automation Technology Inc. and Knowlogy Corp. All the contractors

offer platform-independent courseware that can be used with a 28.8 kilobits/sec

modem.

It is the first time NASA has offered Web-based training for soft skills

such as management and teamwork as well as information technology-related

topics, said Jeff Brown, NASA contracting officer for the Web-based training

contract. Although some NASA centers may have used online training in the

past, this is the first agencywide effort, he said.

The space agency awarded the pact through the Consolidated Contract

Initiative, which is designed to streamline the procurement process. The

total contract estimate is $600,000.