On Tuesday, we will officially launch our newest report, Association Learning+Technology: The State of the Sector. The report completely updates and adds significantly to our 2009 report on association e-learning.

To gather the data for the report, we conducted a comprehensive survey to which 375 organizations responded. We also interviewed 27 associations and 9 learning technology and service providers to the sector. The resulting report - which also includes multiple cases studies, predictions, and a variety of other materials - offers the most comprehensive view currently available of the use of technology to deliver education in the association sector. Here are some selected findings from the report:

• Out of 375 respondents to the survey, 77.4 percent indicated their organization is already offering some form of e-learning - which we define as pretty much any type of learning delivered via a computer. An additional 16.0 percent indicated they plan to start using e-learning within the coming 6 to 12 months.

• Smaller organization usage continues to grow: More than half (57.5 percent) of the organizations that reported using e-learning in our 2008 survey had annual budgets of $5 million or less. In the 2010 survey, this number rose to 63.3 percent.

• Only 22.0 percent of survey respondents currently doing e-learning reported having a formal, documented strategy in place, and only 23.9 percent indicated that their organizations have a formal, documented process for setting prices. Among organizations that rate their programs as "very successful," nearly half (47.1 percent) have a formal strategy in place.

• The role of social media in online education is growing. The slice of associations *not* using social media as part of e-learning dropped from 47.6 percent to 34.9 percent, and only 7.7 percent of associations planning e-learning in the next 12 months say they will *not* use any social media.

• The average price per content hour for organizations currently offering e-learning to both members and nonmembers is $57.82 - very similar to what we found in our 2008 research.

• Under half (45.9 percent) of the respondents that currently offer e-learning report using a learning management system (LMS) or planning to within the next 12 months.
  

• New technologies are making headway - but slowly. Under 9 percent of associations currently delivering e-learning provide a mobile version of any of their content. Virtual conferences faired somewhat better. While only 11.7 of associations currently delivering e-learning offer a virtual conference, another 23.7 percent plan to offer a virtual conference in the coming 12 months, which means a full third of associations offering e-learning in 2012 may offer a virtual conference.
  

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This is just a small sampling of the type of information and insights the report offers. If you would like, you can download the table of contents and introduction to get a better feel for the contents.

As a current subscriber to the ALT Digest, you can also get the new report for $50 off for this week only (through 5:00 PT on Friday, July 1). Simply use the code "altdigest" during checkout. All reports are listed at:

http://www.tagoras.com/catalog/

We feel that even at full cost, the value of the report greatly exceeds the price. We hope you will take advantage of this discount, and we welcome your feedback.

Jeff