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Corporate training materials were taken to new levels years ago with the computer revolution. Companies realized they could put their training materials on a computer for their employees to toil through just by clicking a mouse.

But now as the tech wheel vigorously turns, the old electronic page-turning, mouse-clicking training manuals are a thing of the past, or at least that is what some companies are aiming for.

With advances in technology coming quicker than consumers can comprehend, corporate training companies and course development firms are now offering virtual, simulated and almost surreal training opportunities to businesses.

Recently, Ames-based Phasient Learning Technologies LLC partnered with Urbandale-based ATW Training & Consulting Inc. to develop an “unparalleled” package of e-learning materials that take mouse-clicking to a whole new interactive level.

“There are a lot of page-turner-type online programs, where there is a lot of content but it’s not delivered in an interesting fashion,” said Todd McDonald, president of ATW, “and we hope to deliver our industry-proven content and make it more than just a page-turner.”

With voice-demand and voice-playback options, these new training materials take real-life scenarios and make them virtual learning experiences.

“The thing that we are going to be doing is different,” McDonald said. “The participant must actually get involved with the program, and within each program they have to actually look at how they have to implement the action plan.

“We require the participant to go back and say, ‘What did I learn here? How do I implement this with what I am doing on a daily basis?'”

This applicable insight, based on virtual situations, is what sets these new courses apart from other training materials on the market, McDonald said.

“That’s what is really unparalleled,” he said. “To have the ability to have the person work with the computer in a simulated environment where they are faced with a situation and they actually have to deal with the computer – like virtual role play – I haven’t seen a lot of other products that do that.”

Beverly Gillis, president of Phasient, said the e-courses they are developing with ATW utilize audio recording and voice-playback for virtual role play. For example, human resources employees who are being trained can listen to a simulated customer complaint, audibly reply based on the training materials they just went through, and then get instant feedback on how they handled the situation.

Also, the new materials will provide trainees with “learning paths” where they determine how much direction they are given, Gillis explained. Someone who needs a little more direction might select a path with more examples.

“(This is) very unique and different,” Gillis said. “We aren’t aware of anyone who has anything like it at this point.”

With these virtual training materials, Phasient and ATW are able to provide a more engaging training session that facilitates a greater comprehension of the training materials.

“What we’ve found is that people are more successful when they are more interactive with the materials,” said Denise Link, vice president of Phasient. “They are more engaged, so they tend to get more out of them.”

Throwing the topic around in January, Phasient and ATW didn’t get serious about the partnership until May and just started developing the courses this summer. ATW provides the content, and Phasient designs it electronically.

Phasient expects to have four courses electronically developed and ready for release in early fall, with more courses being released before year’s end.

“Right now we are looking at a 12-course program – four on leadership, four on teamwork and four on communication skills,” McDonald said. “All 12 released by the end of the calendar year.”

However, reaching that goal will require a lot of work, considering that developing the graphics and virtual-reality aspects of a half-hour course takes approximately six to eight weeks, Gillis said.

But despite the time and effort dedicated to developing the courses, some companies aren’t even prepared for virtual training.

“Most of the stuff we are learning now, where the cutting edge is, is not where basic corporate America is,” said Allen Dunkle, vice president of professional services for GeoLearning Inc. “What we’re seeing a lot of people doing now is just catching on to e-learning courses – the page-turners.”

However, Dunkle stressed that while companies ponder the ultimate question, “Is this page-turning technology really getting to the level of proficiency that I need?” they must also realize that companies like his and partnerships such as Phasient and ATW’s are putting their money into simulations, virtual role playing and electronic learning.

“This is not a replacement for corporate training; it’s a reinforcement of how to deliver the content,” McDonald said.

Reinforced or not, it isn’t just the companies lagging behind in the adoption of e-learning training materials, it’s also the education system.

“Education is just now trying to catch up,” Dunkle said. “I think education and companies will catch up within a few years.”

Until then, Dunkle said he believes the main reason companies aren’t eagerly implementing virtual training programs is their high cost.

“Once the technology becomes more and more proven and the software becomes more user-friendly, then the cost goes down,” he said. “But I think companies are going to baby-step their way there.”