In considering online compliance and ethics courses, you should consider the following technology questions: 

1. Do your courses include full-motion video?
   
   Network administrators almost always resist the implementation of courses that include full-motion video because video can hog the organization's network bandwidth and slow the network to a crawl.
   
   Rather than using full-motion video in its course scenarios, Global Compliance's Brightline Learning Division uses a combination of audio and streaming digital photos incorporated into the FlashTM program so as to simulate video. This technology both avoids bandwidth issues and also looks more professional than full-motion video. When employees see full-motion video, they are used to seeing Hollywood-caliber production quality on television or at the movies. Full-motion video streamed over the Internet, however, usually looks amateurish because the images are small and of poor quality.
   
   
2. Will your courses work on a computer that only has a modem and not a high-speed Internet connection?
   
   Our courses are optimized and consist of files that use the best data compression ratios in order to provide the best quality across many different levels of internet bandwidth capacity. Our courses also use preloading strategies that minimize and largely eliminate any wait times between pages. Users on dialup connections with at least 33.6kbps (typical) will be able to view the program well.
   
   
3. Do you offer your online courses only through the Internet or on CD-ROM also?
   
   Both. Most clients choose to have their employees take Global Compliance's courses over the Internet because:
   
   • There is no need to distribute CD-ROM's to employees
     
   • Courses can be updated promptly and easily when the law changes
     
   • Course completion records are handled electronically and automatically
     
   
   However, Global Compliance provides the course to some clients on CD-ROM. Typically, this is for clients whose employees do not have an Internet connection.
   
   
4. Will your courses work on a variety of computer systems?
   
   Global Compliance's online courses are built to work on both Windows and Macintosh operating systems with all the most popular web browsers available, including Internet Explorer (IE), Firefox, and Safari.
   
   
5. Will we have to spend a lot of time upgrading our computers or downloading plug-ins on employees' computers?
   
   Most employees are not computer experts and they can become annoyed, if not intimidated, by having to download programs and plug-ins to run an online course. Also, some employees work in secure locations and are not allowed to download programs or plug-ins from the Internet. Global Compliance's courses run simply in your web browser. The employee goes to a web site containing your organization's customized version of the course and begins the course. Occasionally, an employee with a very old computer whose Internet browser contains an old version of the FlashTM program may be required to upgrade their Internet browser to a more recent version of the FlashTM program. This download and installation is simple to accomplish and takes seconds on a high-speed Internet connection and less than a minute on a modem.
   
   
6. Are your courses Section 508 compliant for persons with disabilities?
   
   Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires federal agencies to ensure that online training provided to their employees is accessible to those who are deaf, blind, or physically impaired. Many corporations and government agencies, who are not specifically bound by Section 508, have nonetheless adopted those standards as best practice. Global Compliance can provide online courses that meet Section 508 compliance standards, and have successfully done so for numerous federal agencies and other clients using a "508 Engine" created by the Global Compliance Development team.
   
   Global Compliance's courses, such as No FEAR Act, feature this solution which includes a Closed-Captioning system ensuring that all spoken words have a textual equivalent, tabbing access to all interactive items, screen-reader access to all information, and a color palette selected to ensure enough contrast for users with poor vision.
   
   Additionally, the 508 Engine introduces an aspect of logic and usability that is all too rare to accessibility.  Specifically, the 508 Engine was tested both blind-folded and separately without a mouse to ensure that Global Compliance did not provide just a by-the-book solution, but instead a usable solution.  Every effort has been made to make our products as usable as possible for both the impaired and non-impaired user.  To this end, the 508 Engine adjusts the tab-order, depending where the user is in the course, and tries to pre-suppose the users next move and ensure as little tabbing as possible, as well as provide the most detailed tabbing information possible.  This creates a situation where the impaired user is given a set of information on the "state" of the course as detailed as the non-impaired user.
   
   
7. Can hearing impaired employees or employees without speakers take the courses?
   
   In Global Compliance's courses, employees have the option of seeing all words that are spoken in "closed captioning" form so that employees with hearing impairments and those without speakers are able to take the courses.
   
   
8. Do you offer technical support to our employees?
   
   Employers do not want to be burdened with handling technical support questions. Thus, Global Compliance provides your employees a toll-free number and an email address that they can use to contact us for technical support. Fortunately, because of the user-friendly design of our courses, the step-by-step instructions provided to employees, and our commitment to continuing improvement, the number of technical support calls Global Compliance receives is remarkably low.