With educational networking, you have access to a 24×7 online experience not unlike the connecting and sharing that happens face-to-face at conferences. But now, geography is no longer a constraint, critical mass of interest needed is lower, and time and cost to participate are significantly more affordable.

Here’s a great new white paper, “Educational Networking: The Important Role Web 2.0 Will Play in Education.” It was developed by our own Social Learning Consultant Steve Hargadon, who is also the founder of Classroom 2.0. The paper discusses social networking, Web 2.0, the emergence of educational networking, and its adoption for personal learning.

It also looks at how our LearnCentral social learning network for educators is taking educational networking a big step forward.We invite you to become part of the educational networking revolution. It’s free to join, and you get a free personal meeting room and access to a free public conference room for larger events.

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keep on Elluminating!

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication

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

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

- 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