Respondus, Inc. Recognized for Innovative Technology in Assessment Interoperability

REDMOND, WA - (Send2Press Newswire) - Oct. 1, 2003 - Respondus, Inc. announced today that brandon-hall.com has presented the company with a Gold Excellence in E-Learning Award for Innovative Technology. The award recognizes Respondus® 2.0, a third-party assessment application that integrates with multiple e-learning systems, including Blackboard®, eCollege®, and WebCT®.

Now in its seventh year, the brandon-hall.com-sponsored awards program (formerly the Brandon Hall of Fame Awards) showcases exceptional work in the e-learning industry. As one of the e-learning industry's leading research and consulting firms, brandon-hall.com provides feedback and benchmarking to entrants in an overall effort to help advance the e-learning industry.

"We're excited about winning a Gold Excellence award," said David Smetters, President of Respondus, Inc. "Most awards we've won in the past were based on rankings or votes by users. This award is from independent judges who did their own evaluation of Respondus. It's great to be recognized by colleagues in the industry."

"I think this award shows the importance of interoperability of assessment content," adds Smetters. "Our users love the fact that an exam created in Respondus can be used with a wide range of e-learning systems. Even paper-based exams can be created from the same files."

Publishing companies that distribute question banks to instructors are also starting to take advantage of the interoperability features in Respondus. Respondus-formatted test banks provide the greatest amount of flexibility to instructors in terms of testing and assessment delivery. "Publishers that make test banks available in Respondus format cover all the bases," said Smetters.

Entries in this year's Excellence in E-Learning Awards were submitted in three categories: Best Practices, Custom Content, and Innovative Technology. Entries were evaluated by judges with expertise in instructional design, online learning and the implementation of e-learning.

"The winning entries have done a terrific job this year. The innovation and desire to excel that is demonstrated in these programs gives us all something to celebrate," said Brandon Hall, Ph.D., of brandon-hall.com and chairman of the Excellence in E-Learning Awards program. "These ground-breaking efforts and best practices benefit the industry as a whole."

Respondus was recognized during an awards ceremony in Los Angeles as part of the Online Learning 2003 Conference & Expo, held September 23-25. The full list of winners is listed at www.brandon-hall.com.

About Respondus, Inc.
Respondus, Inc. develops testing and survey applications for Blackboard, eCollege, WebCT, and other e-learning systems. Thousands of instructors at over 2,000 colleges and universities in over 50 countries use Respondus software to enhance the capabilities of their course management systems. More information: http://www.respondus.com.

About brandon-hall.com
The Excellence in E-Learning Awards program is chaired by one of the leading authorities on e-learning, Brandon Hall, Ph.D. Dr. Hall is the CEO of brandon-hall.com and author of the groundbreaking Web-Based Training Cookbook. Since 1992, brandon-hall.com has been providing independent expert advice in the form of published reports and consultations on the tools and best practices of e-learning. Dr. Hall participates regularly as a featured speaker at the Online Learning Conference & Expo. He earned his doctorate in educational psychology and has served on the faculty of San Francisco State University's Multimedia Studies Program. The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, Inc, and many other publications have interviewed him.

Company Website: www.respondus.com
Source of News: Respondus, Inc.

Washington State Business Newswire / Education and e-Learning Newswire
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