eLearning eVolution

I read an article in the Boston Globe today that said that many students no longer have much recollection of the events of 9/11, as they experienced them at such a young age. Lessons for today are turning more into historical facts vs. a discussion of remembrances. My memories are still so alive. After all, 8 years ago in an adult’s life seems like just yesterday. And it was 8 years ago on 9/11 that I experienced “continuity of learning” without even realizing it.

Early morning 9/11, I was at work planning for a Customer Advisory Council meeting. I worked for a company that developed virtual learning products, and I needed to learn about what educators needed in future versions. My meeting was to be held online, using web conferencing technology, the next day.

At 9:10 on 9/11, I abandoned my preparation efforts to watch the replays of the twin towers being hit by 2 planes, crowded into a cubical with co-workers all standing in silence. As the day went on, I worried about my family living in the NY area, my co-workers and neighbors who headed to Logan Airport that morning for a flight, and colleagues at a conference in NYC. Like everyone, I experienced distraction, confusion, anxiety, and grief. This was not a business-as-usual day. Would tomorrow be?

The next day, 9/12, was my big Council meeting. I attended my online event from home. As invitees began to enter the virtual room from all over the U.S., I greeted them and said “I’m really not sure what to expect today.” I was referring to meeting attendance, but my comment triggered discussion about concerns of the nation that day. It turned out that in the end my online session was quite successful despite the crisis situation.

In retrospect, the worries I had about my meeting were incredibly minor compared those who were faced with life and family changes as a result of 9/11. They were:

- Would everyone attend? — Why not. Flights were all grounded but internet service was fine. My online meeting was on and reachable at the click of a link.

- Would this session even happen today? — Why not. People displaced by shutdowns or who chose to work from home for safety merely attended from a different PC-equipped location. They had participated in online sessions so many times before. Only their chairs were different now.

- Would we be in the mindset? Sure. Live interaction and discussion allowed for a brief but needed decompress. After that, we were ready to focus on something engaging and positive.

As they say in times of death, life goes on. In times of crisis, learning and productivity can go on, too.

- Donna Christopher, Elluminate Director of Marketing

I always get a little giddy on Fridays, looking forward to the weekend after a week of hard work at Elluminate from my home office in Arizona. However, this Friday was extra special.

One of our sales reps sent a few execs the link to an NBC affiliate story about an autistic boy in Philadelphia who is using a webcam with Elluminate Live! to train for the Special Olympics. The sessions include virtual exercises and lessons on sportsmanship. View “The Teacher Says: Special Olympics Training.”

Within seconds, our president had sent the link to the entire company, and the response emails started pouring in. Even though a significant number of our employees work virtually, the feelings expressed in the emails were mutual. We are all so proud to be working for a company that makes a difference!

We also had another great news clip this week from NBC World News with Charles Gibson. This video showcases Elluminate customer Georgia Virtual Academy, the state’s largest public school. View “School 2.0: Kids Go Online to Learn.”

Enjoy the videos. We sure did!

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication

Hey there, it’s me Amber,

I wanted to start this entry off talking about an article I read recently in The Harvard Crimson titled, “For CS Class, Office Hours Go Virtual.” The article discusses the very first program in Harvard’s history to provide online office hours for its students.

I can remember my favorite class in college clear as day. This was because my professor knew how to engage the students in the class. He would blare music before each and every class period. He didn’t just do it to drive the business classes crazy, (although I am positive it did). He did this to engage the class in discussion. He also provided the class with his IM screen name, right in the syllabus. At the time that was the only way students really communicated on campus, and having the ability to ask questions and send documents over to him quickly was great! If only he could have had the service of Elluminate to host his own virtual office hours.

I think if more and more virtual office hours are being offered, students will take advantage of the valuable resource they may be passing up, especially on large campuses. Students may no longer be reluctant to seek assistance from an instructor during their office hours simply because there isn’t enough time in the day to permit for travel. It could be a win-win situation because instructors will no longer feel like they are waisting time setting up office hours that no one attends. It is definitely some food for thought.

If your interested, you can set up your own FREE virtual office! Elluminate is giving away 3-User versions of Elluminate Live! with no restrictions, called vRooms. You can sign up for your free vRoom here and start taking your office hours into the virtual realm!

Until next time bloggers…keep on bloggin’

Amber Koskela, Elluminate’s Online Marketing Associate

This is a very cool video that was broadcast on Teacher TV. This report shows the great potential for online learning through Second Life and online collaboration.

Here a 15 year old student named Kairen is one of 600 students enrolled in a virtual institution. In this instance Elluminate is used for students who can’t attend school for a number of reasons. This is a great tool to help students who have developed a desire or need to be home schooled.

Now, parents are no longer left with the stress of lesson plans, curriculum, and scheduling conflicts. Students can attend regularly scheduled classes and have the ability to rewatch the class over again from the class recording, if necessary. It’s too bad, but it seem as if the, “But you never said that” card just isn’t going to cut it anymore.

Hi Everyone, Amber here once again,

I am sure some of you are already aware, but for those of you who are not, the National American Council for Online Learning (NACOL) just endorsed as of September 12, 2007 the new National Standards of Quality for Online Learning. You can download the 10 page document on their website here. A big thank you goes out to the Southern Regional Educational Board (SREB) and their Standards for Quality Online Courses, which was adopted as the primary source for NACOL’s standards.

This is a necessary measuring tool to be used to ensure that everyone is on the same page and is implementing best practices when it comes to online learning. Online learning is yet another avenue to access education, but in my opinion, should be dealt with in a similar manner as traditional learning methods. By setting forth a guideline of standards it eliminates potential for gray area.

I think we will also begin to see an increase in online course participation due to this. No longer will students be limited to a so-so education based on their geographic location. Everyone will have an equal opportunity for a quality education with notable instructors.

While I have your attention, I wanted to make you aware that the president of NACOL, Susan Patrick will be hosting a webinar in Elluminate called Virtual Schools: Trends, Benefits And Elluminate from 10:00-11:30am EDT on September 21, 2007 (this Friday!). I strongly encourage everyone to attend the panel discussion with virtual school administrators and teachers that will examine the trends and issues facing everyone. Leading practitioners from virtual schools across North America will be available to provide insights and discuss their experiences. Issues and trends ranging from student retention rates, to the measurement of impacts, to best practices and current trends will be covered. You can register to attend this free webinar here.

Oh, and don’t forget to stay tuned for Part II from 12-2pm EDT. This segment will focus on the Elluminate solution and how Elluminate can be incorporated into virtual school programs.

Hope to see ya there! Until next time bloggers…keep on bloggin’

Amber Koskela, Elluminate’s Online Marketing Associate

Hi Everyone, Amber here,

Each morning I try as best I can to catch up on reading some of my favorite blog entries sprinkled with new ones that happen to catch my eye. One of the blogs I stumbled upon was the Online Learning Communities Blog. I decided that I wanted to read on to learn how Elluminate had helped in building an online community.

To my surprise this entry discussed some technical issues that had arisen for the group. I had to relate to the entry. As with any technology these days, there is always a possibility for a glitch in the system. Nothing goes exactly to plan. Here, this group tried to access their Ellumiante session and were having some difficulty. As a community they had to think on their feet to battle the problem facing them and develop an answer.

“It is almost as if we have to have ripples and bumps to get traction in a community,” Bron stated.

I think this is a valid point Bron makes. Sometimes the problem solving in an online community is what can bring everyone together. This shows the strength of a true community. When there is a group that meets online rather then face-to-face I would be wary about the commitment of each individual in the group, but this entry showed me another side. Just because there is a problem online, people didn’t stop trying. As a group they were able to brainstorm their way to an answer. Through this experience they built bonds within the community on a virtual level.

Needless to say, they group finally worked out all of the speed bumps and enjoyed their session once they were in the room, and I was glad to read that. This is something that I never could have envisioned seeing with online technology. I am thrilled when I see the magnitude of possibilities when it comes to online learning.

If you are interested in building your own online community. Elluminate vRoom is a good place to begin. Use your room for as much as you’d like for as long as you’d like and engage in a community that is all your own. You can sign up quick and painlessly at http://getvroom.com.

Until next time bloggers…keep on bloggin’

Amber Koskela, Elluminate’s Online Marketing Assocaite

Hi there, Amber here,

School field trips are a whole lot different now then they were in the past. I remember kids I grew up with, who looked at field trips as goof off days. They were right up there with the few days a year your class might be fortunate enough to have the “fun” substitute teacher. Seriously, a lot of the field trips I remember were never very engaging or relevant to the current lesson plan. More or less they were locations that were convenient for the class to travel to. Now, with the fusion of new technologies such as Elluminate students can have access to the best educational experience possible.

Charlene O’Hanlon brings home this point in her THE Journal article “A vRoom With a View“. In it she discusses how new distance learning technologies at North Carolina’s Central Academy of Technology and Arts are providing more educational opportunities for students.

It is through this program that medical science students are able to see live videos of laparoscopic procedures (I had to look it up) from certified surgeons. Other students are able to learn to appreciate the nauseating sensation of sitting in on their first surgical procedure. This is great! Why not bring the best possible experiences to your students, just don’t forget the pepto-bismol. You don’t have to bring them to the closest cooperating hospital. Bring your students across the globe to the most remote areas and provide them the best possible learning experience available.

This can easily be done though Elluminate. You may not have access to an academic version of Elluminate, but Elluminate does offer free 3-user vRooms. You can use these rooms at no cost for as much as you’d like, and as long as you’d like. This is a great opportunity to start making use of this wonderful technology advancement.

Until next time bloggers…keep on bloggin’

Amber Koskela

Hi there, Amber here.

Growing up I was never a huge football fan. I was always very involved in athletics, but never football. As I’ve grown older, I have learned to appreciate what an incredible sport this is. I now understand why year after year the Superbowl is listed in the World Almanac as the number one viewed television show for the year.

As some of you may already know, the Indianapolis Colts faced the New Orleans Saints recently in a head to head match up. Not only would this be a very exciting game to catch normally, but this was the very first game of the season! To give you a quick wrap up the Colts ended up crushing the competition 31-0.

The point to all the football talk is I was able to meet with some friends in my Elluminate vRoom during the game and talk about it! How cool is that! I wish I had thought of this in time for my fantasy football live draft. It always seems like a hassle trying to get everyone together to participate but with the help of Elluminate it was like most of my fantasy team was right there in the room with me!

I think this would be an excellent way to engage students in learning. No, not by encouraging fantasy football sessions, but rather participating in online presentations. My professors always used to say that everyone learns differently, and that’s the truth. Students need to be able to engage in their learning to be better prepared for the life that awaits them. What better time to do that then now. Start collaborating with your students with the help of Elluminate’s FREE vRooms! You can access your free vRoom by quickly signing up HERE. AND GO PATRIOTS!!!

Amber Koskela

Hi there, Amber here,

Today I want to talk about a new experience I had here at Elluminate. Granted there are plenty of new experiences having only worked here for about 4 full weeks now, but this one was particularly awesome! Wow, four weeks, happy anniversary to me!

I was sitting at my desk, quietly getting my work done, when Staples arrived with a package for me. I signed for the package not realizing the bundle of fun that had just been placed into my hands. I opened up the package and looking back at me was a Logitech quickcam.

Immediately I began opening the package and installing the necessary software. Once it was all set I opened up my Elluminate virtual office and invited a colleague to join me (you can sign up for your own free virtual office here). This was really a great way to learn the features available with Elluminate. Below is a picture of me conferencing. I took this picture with the same web camera thanks to its snapshot capability.

Ok, I know that I might look a little like a telephone operator but it was important that I turned off the microphone on the webcam, and used the mic with my headphone. It just sounds better that way. Regardless, this was still really cool. With Elluminate I could change the color and condition of the video feed depending on my bandwidth so it wouldn’t slow anything down.

I can see a lot of uses for this application. There may be times in class where showing a picture or explaining what you are talking about just isn’t going to cut it. Sometimes, all you need to do to get your idea across is demonstrate. I can see moderators using this feature often as a way to engage with their participants. It’s even just a great way to stay in touch with friends.

If you already have your own vRoom, I would highly suggest giving this helpful tool a try. If you don’t have a vRoom yet, you can easily sign up for Elluminate’s free 3 user vRoom today and start Elluminating!

That’s about all I have for you this week. Until next time bloggers…keep on bloggin’

Amber Koskela

Hi there, Amber here,

It’s been a few days since my last post, so I hope you haven’t missed me too much. I have been engaging in the elearning community the last couple of weeks and I must say, it’s been rather exciting.

It’s incredible to think how closely knit a community such as this can be even though the internet is so massive. It’s like being part of a huge club where everyone knows everyone else and where we all have an equal chance to be heard. All of these new networking sites if used well enable us to become more involved in our community. We can all stay connected and interact with each other more then we ever could in the past.

I have been in the process of brainstorming different ways that Elluminate could bring this group of professionals together and engage with each other. I thought that all of us meeting together in an Elluminate session and collaborating could make this happen. And it could be really fun!

But it turns out that Elluminate already does this. We will be hosting the 2007 Elluminati Community Conference in Seattle, WA on October 22nd. The 8:30am to 6:00pm event is going to be a great opportunity to meet with your fellow Elluminati, (noun plural. 1. Elluminate community of users. 2. Where bright ideas meet.) and share your best practices. This day is already jam packed with new ideas and motivating speakers including the on site key note speaker Stephen Laster, CIO of Harvard Business School and online keynote NACOL President and CEO Susan Patrick. Save the date for this event – whether you plan to attend in person in Seattle or online using Elluminate!

You can click here to find out more information about about how to register for the 2007 Elluminati Community Conference. I hope to see all of you there, and meet with you in person!

Until next time bloggers…keep on bloggin’

Amber Koskela