An important step in calculating ROI is calculating costs to create Learning.  The cost of internal employees is a very important part of that cost.  When doing a project plan, I've found it helpful to calculate the hourly cost of the employee including bonuses, benefits, taxes, etc.   Here's a spreadsheet I have used.  Please test it and let me know if I made any mistakes in the comments and I'll fix them.  Also any recommendations for improvement are also appreciated.  

On November 7th, Hiram Kuykendall from MicroAssist gave a DimDim presentation to the Interagency Training Council (ITC) at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). 

As the field of instructional design continues to grow and encompass online course development, speed of development can sometimes overshadow proven processes. Scanning the field of available tools can provide much by way of technology and software, but little in terms of theory and practice. How can instructional designers better design online learning? Is there a quick way to align objectives with content and activities?

Today we are interviewing Hiram Kuykendall, CTO of MicroAssist and Jacob  Williams, Senior Training Application Developer at MicroAssist about Moodle, an  open source Learning Management System.   Moodle is designed to help educators  create online courses with opportunities for rich interaction. Its open source  license and modular design means that people can develop additional  functionality.  MicroAssist is an experienced custom E-Learning company that has  a number of large Moodle installations.

Editor: What is Moodle?

Jacob Williams: Moodle is an open source web application designed to create a  collaborative online environment for students and teachers.

Hiram Kuykendall: In this case it is web based and as Jacob stated it is an open  source package.  The main Moodle site is www.Moodle.org.  The only thing I would  add to that... is I would classify Moodle as a Learning Managment System (LMS).

Editor: What is a Learning Management System?

Hiram Kuykendall: A Learning Management System is software for delivering,  tracking and managing training. Jacob Williams: A LMS allows teachers to post  assignments, record grades and have discussions with and among the students in a  class.