ONLINE
ANTIQUE COURSE COME TO THE INTERNET!
Florida - The Asheford Institute of Antiques (AIA),
a home-study-school on antiques and collectibles, recently
joined forces with ShoWiz.comTM, a Silicon Valley based
company which creates instructional online courseware,
to produce the first ever fully interactive antique-home-study-course
on the Internet.
The AIA, which has been teaching individuals about antiques
through their "Profit & Pleasure" course
since 1966, began their joint online venture with ShoWiz,
as a direct result of the tremendous growth and interest
in antiques on the Internet, said school spokesperson
Lori Gregory. She went on to add that, "Since the
use of the Internet has become commonplace amongst all
age groups in the last few years, and in many cases
- indispensable to business - we felt it prudent to
offer our students the option of taking the Asheford
program online - especially considering that antiques
and collectibles account for a large percentage of today's
e-commerce."
According to the school's Director, Charles Green, "The
first segment of the web site was completed in 2001
and involved the laying down of essential framework
components for the Course material to be built around."
Green went on to say that, "We were already up
and running last year offering students online bulletin
boards, syndicated antique articles, student essays,
and interactive antique forums, but it wasn't until
recently that we finally uploaded and activated our
entire Courseware."
When asked about how students would enroll, Asheford
Admissions Officer Mary McCloskey, commented that the
completion of the second phase of the web site, and
the addition of the uploaded Course textbooks meant
students would now have the choice to enroll through
traditional means or via the new online version.
The new "e-Course" (as it's being dubbed),
will include complete online text books with click &
point connectivity to anywhere on the Asheford site,
Course Plans on demand, online tutorials, e-exams, and
instant e-grading will be just a few of the features
offered, according to ShoWiz.com's President, H.L. Wu.
"We really like the options that we've been able
to plug into the school's antique-home-study-program,"
said Wu, "Some things you just can't do in print!"
According to a published press statement, representatives
from both Asheford and ShoWiz.com have set a date of
Janurary 10th for release of the Asheford e-Course program,
and are expected to be on hand for a ceremonial launching
of the Course in San Francisco earlier that same week.
For those interested in learning more about the Asheford
Institute of Antiques and their antique-home-study program,
you can visit their web site at; www.asheford.com Or,
you can contact them at; A.I.A. 775 Gulf Shores Dr.,
Dept. #33ECS54, Destin, FL 32541
©
2002 Mountain States Collector