eLearning eVolution

It’s the title of an article by Charlene O’Hanlon that was published in THE Journal in March, which is about the need for educators to adopt technology products for education. It’s not only good for the students, it makes an educator’s job even more interesting.

For me it means that it’s critical for educators to get on the bandwagon for using Web 2.0 and online collaborative technology–like Elluminate Live! and our soon-to-be launched LearnCentral social learning network–or get left in the dust.

If you’re going to NECC, stop by our booth #3542 to learn more about LearnCentral, as well as new enhancements to the Elluminate Learning Suite, like best-in-class breakout rooms.

Elluminate aside, there is so much wonderful educational technology out there, it boggles the mind! Now, I have to admit, all this blogging and twittering stuff put me off at first, but I’ve grown to understand the power and benefit of it. The same is true of tools that are designed to transform teaching and learning. So my advice, is to just jump right in. A good place to start is LearnCentral, where you get a free vRoom when you join. Tours will be starting next week.

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication

Facilitated by Project Tomorrow, the Speak Up National Research Project has collected and shared the ideas and views of
more than 1.5 million K–12 students, teachers, parents and administrators on education and
technology since 2003. The latest report talks about today’s students as a “digital advance team” leading the way about how to leverage emerging technologies effectively for teaching and learning.

Here is their wish list. Let’s see how many Elluminate can address.

1. Un-tether learning and leverage mobile devices to extend learning beyond the school day and
meet all learners in their own world. CHECK

2. Create new interactive, participatory learning spaces using such tools as online classes,
gaming and simulations, online tutors and virtual reality environments. CHECK

3. Incorporate Web 2.0 tools into daily instruction, especially those that develop collaborative or
social-based learning and provide unique opportunities for students to be content developers. CHECK

4. Expand digital resources in the classroom to add context and relevancy to learning
experiences through new media tools. CHECK

5. Get beyond the classroom walls and make learning truly experiential, such as using high-tech
science instrumentation and creating podcasts with content experts. AND CHECK

Looks like we are on the right track for the digital advance team. Your wish is our command!

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication

Many of you know that Elluminate integrates with many of the popular learning and content management systems, like ANGEL, Blackboard, Moodle, eCollege, and Sakai. But did you know that the virtual classroom is also integrated with a number of social networking and collaborative online communities as well?

Elluminate Community Partners, including Classroom 2.0, Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC), and the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA), have integrated Elluminate vRoom™ into their online communities, providing thousands of members with access to a virtual meeting room that enables them to expand educational boundaries and interact with more peers and experts. Learn more.

Get ready for EDU 2.0!

And keep on Elluminating!

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication

Gary here. Giving Beth a break today.

For those of you that don’t know, Seth Godin, marketing guru, has a blog. And he also answers all his e-mail. In fact, in one of them, he turned down the opportunity to use Elluminate gratis for some of his web interaction with his clients.

I got the feeling from his reply to me and from reading his posts and his books (and this is my feeling, not a quote or paraphrase from Seth) that Seth doesn’t like the “webinar format” because of some of the plaque surrounding the typical “bad” webinar:

• bad powerpoint
• no interactivity
• bad powerpoint
• and bad powerpoint

So when I saw this post by him, I was intrigued.

Has Seth begun to come around? Does he not realize that chat, sychronized with audio, is the beginning of true collaboration on the web? That web collaboration NEEDN’T BE ABOUT POWERPOINT?

It is kind of hard to get across that my product is really useful since I am vendor scum and people assume I will lie, but I and my peers live ALL DAY on Elluminate Live! and an as yet unannounced new product from Elluminate (ahem…) and I really HATE the phone. If I am on the phone with somebody doing work or teaching or even just shooting the breeze – I want to draw! I want to take notes! I want to see their notes! I want to make snide comments from the peanut gallery (when appropriate)! I want to show my desktop or a web page or an application I am working on!

Not to mention, that with my cool Yamaha PJP-25UR echo cancelling mic and speaker, I get better audio quality across VoIP on my PC than I do on my standard phone. (I feel like Liz Lemon on 30 Rock pitching Snapple.)

So Seth, the door is still open. Redefine the word webinar to yourself. In fact, throw it out! Use Elluminate (or, G-d forbid, another tool) on your Mac or your PC and truly collaborate in real time beyond your phone and text chat. Think the phone and text chat are great for creative thinkers and teachers? Wait til you take the next step.

Cheers,

Gary Dietz

The Elluminate Center of Excellence program recognizes achievement in live eLearning and web collaboration, highlights best practices, and showcases those organization on the “learning-edge” of adopting synchronous pedagogies for teaching, learning, and related business processes.

This year’s 2009 Elluminate Centers of Excellence include:

- Broward County Public Schools for utilizing Web 2.0 and distance learning technologies to manage organizational change while implementing a structured approach to training to reach a large volume of individuals needing just-in-time training.

- Center for Distance Learning and Innovation for providing equitable access to educational opportunities to almost 1000 students in 113 schools throughout Newfoundland and Labrador in a way that makes distance transparent.

- eLearning Broward for significantly increasing attendance of live and recorded online workshops to include thousands of adult students, enabling them to improve academic skills, increase proficiency and confidence with technology, and increase number of diplomas earned.

- McMaster University for achieving an accelerated adoption rate of live eLearning and web collaboration technology system wide for distance education, research, and administration, while increasing efficiency and reducing costs for a number of high-profile projects on a global level.

- University Alliance for delivering professional development programs that lower training costs and reduce loss of productivity, while meeting or exceeding traditional face-to-face programs and maintaining level of excellence required by a Fortune 500 company.

- University of Hertfordshire for upporting mission of Blended Learning Unit to motivate and enable academic staff to transform their teaching and learning, engage with colleagues across the higher education sector, and participate in professional development activities.

Click here to read all about their individual achievements and view their recorded submission sessions. Prepare to be inspired!

Have you achieved real-world results using Elluminate technologies? Apply now for 2010.

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication

Teri and Aaron attend Tricentia Academy, a small school in rural Newfoundland. Because they are the only two students in their class taking French, their only option was to take an online class through the Center for Distance Learning & Innovation, an Elluminate customer. The students’ experiences were chronicled in a video by Elizabeth Murphy of Memorial University. Get the whole story and hear what Teri and Aaron have to say. Enjoy!

PS. Click here to view other videos by Elizabeth Murphy about learner-centered e-teaching.

Keep on Elluminating!

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication

It’s all about transforming education with new Web 2.0 tools and technologies. Learn more by viewing a new video presented by Rajeev Arora, Elluminate’s VP of Marketing and Strategy.

Plus, there’s more. Here are two other videos in the series:

- Online Instructional Cycle is about what happens before, during, and after your real-time, online session.

- No User Left Behind means global access even for those in remote areas or with disabilities.

More videos to come. Watch this space. We’ve even created an area on YouTube for Elluminate-related videos. Check it out.

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication

Times are tough all over. I was just reading an article, “BCC Faces Major State Funding Cuts” in the Bellevue Community College student paper about the school facing $838,000 in budget cuts for the 2008/2009 fiscal year, including decreasing faculty travel expenses by 50%.

So that means, like a lot of other schools, BCC has to get serious about reducing spending, innovative about meeting the needs of students, and creative about sustaining mission-critical initiatives like professional development. PD, in particular, has been on my mind lately as its often one of the first things cut from a strained budget.

Luckily, BCC will use Elluminate to replace some travel with web conferences. Here are some Elluminate resources that can help you make the case for online learning, meeting, and professional development.
- Top Ten Benefits of Using Elluminate Live!
- Top Ten Ways of Promoting Adoption of Elluminate Live!
- Top Ten Ways of Using Elluminate Live!

Keep on Elluminating!

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication

Here is some mythbusting about eLearning provided by Clive Shepard, a consultant in the UK. His blog is called Clive on Learning. These are Clive’s three synchronouf eLearning myths:

- Myth #1: One hour is enough for anyone. Evidently there’s quite a bit of evidence to the contrary.

- Myth #2: Classroom will always be best. Sometimes you can get better results in the virtual classrooom.

- Myth #3: Just one more death by Powerpoint. Looks like people are pretty creative when it comes to live eLearning.

Any additional myths about live eLearning you’d live to debunk?

Keep on Elluminating!

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication

Recently, we held another of our Elluminate Customer Advisory Board meetings, and one thing we heard a lot about was integrity. In other words, how do instructors and academic institutions prove virtual classroom students don’t cheat during exams? One solution is to have each students turn their webcam on for ad hoc monitoring. This is something to think about, and something we at Elluminate are going to research to be able to provide some best practices for you.

Then I saw this eSchool News article today, which opened an entire new can of worms! Entitled “Digital Debate: Prepare Kids for Exams or Life?” the article discusses the 21st Century version of the open-book exam. The question is: should students be able to use digital devices when taking tests? Read article here.

Looks like we need some serious discussion on the idea that the definition of cheating needs to be changed for today’s digital generation. In preparing students for life and work, is it more important to evaluate their ability to gather information than to memorize it?

As enabling technology transforms teaching and learning, must it also transform assessment as well? What do you think?

Keep on Elluminating!

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication