FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 2, 2009
Contact: Web Courseworks, (608) 824-8900

‘Chronotron’ creator will present at top eLearning conference
Free interactivity calculator to be launched as part of game design workshop

MADISON, Wis. — The creator of the Web-based video game “Chronotron” will present at a pre-conference workshop at American Society of Training and Development’s TechKnowledge 2009, a premier conference for designers developers and leaders of eLearning implementations.

Joe Rheaume will appear as the creator of “Chronotron” and as a representative of Web Courseworks, the eLearning production company where he works as lead programmer.

“They really do complement each other,” Rheaume said of the alternating halves of his career. “I try things as an independent game developer that I can bring back to the office and apply to projects for clients in the corporate world.”

“Chronotron” has logged more than 8 million hits since launching in May. Rheaume’s star has also risen steadily as a result of an interview with the Wall Street Journal and a story in the Wisconsin State Journal, which later was syndicated and reprinted in the Chicago Tribune. In addition, “Chronotron” has earned mentions on Digg.com and the gaming website Penny Arcade.

At WCW, Rheaume’s approaches to game-based learning have influenced the development of several of the company’s recent projects.

The workshop, which he will host with WCW president and CEO Jon Aleckson, is titled “At the Top of Your Game: Developing Interactive Learning Objects, Simulations, and Games”. It will focus on maximizing interactivity for eLearning projects.

The January 27th  ASTD workshop held at the Rio in Las Vegas, NV marks the official launch of WCW’s eLearning Complexity Calculator, a free tool that calculates interactivity levels for eLearning projects. WCW developed the Calculator especially for the conference and will include it as a standard feature on the company website afterward.

“Whether you’re an animator or an academic, a novice or an expert, or anything in between, your goal is always to maximize learner engagement,” Aleckson said. “We designed the Calculator to give users a baseline on what it takes to do that for different projects.”

He added that although the workshop title might suggest a partiality toward game developers, instructional designers of all backgrounds will be able to draw something from the experience.

Inspired by his post doctorate studies, Aleckson has stayed on the cutting edge of interactive learning, producing award-winning projects in game-based learning as well as innovative, leading work with open-source learning management systems. He frequently publishes book reviews in “Training Media Review” and has presented at numerous conferences, including Training Tech Solutions, eLearning Guild, Training 2008 and Conferences on Distance Teaching and Learning.

Combining core strengths of sound instructional design, innovative project management techniques and emerging interactive technologies, WCW delivers engaging online learning tools that teach, motivate and change behavior for clients ranging from K-12 education to global corporations.