eLearning eVolution

Wondering what the future holds for eLearning? Well here’s the scoop, according to our Fearless Leader Maurice Heiblum.

Here are some highlights:
- Major factors that have influenced eLearning are the Internet, globalization, and social networks.

- The education paradigm has evolved from institution centered to learner centered.

- Today’s students want to be empowered to learn the way they want to learn with a personalized experience.

- Learning has to be flexible, offering a physical classroom, asynchronous eLearning, and collaborative online learning, portable learning, and more.

- The eLearning technology adoption cycle is speeding up.

- To build a success flexible learning framework, you need three foundational elements: infrastructure that leverages computers and Internet, learning and social technologies for all students, and professional development to facilitate online teaching.

Take the time to listen to the entire session recording. You won’t be disappointed!

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication

As a writer, I love alliteration, so I was attracted to the title above for its own sake as well as for the topic. The title comes from Niall Sclater of The Open University, an Elluminate customer in the UK. Read his entire posting. Plus, you can read how The Open University is deploying synchronous collaboration enterprise wide here.

The tips he passes on deal with planning, creating, practicing, delivering, recording, and getting feedback. Here are a couple of additional resources I’d like to add for getting the most out of your synchronous session.

- Elluminate Plan! enables you to create session content and script activities before the live session. Then during the session, you simply execute the plan to automate routine tasks. This enables you to concentrate on the interaction, which is the point of most live sessions. You can get a free 30-day trial of Plan! here.

- Elluminate Publish! enables you to create podcasts or standalone recordings of any Elluminate Live! session. So this gives you more ways to engage participants even after the fact. You can get a free 30-day trial here.

So the idea is to engage, empower, enlighten, and Elluminate. Sorry. Couldn’t resist.

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication

In today’s world of public relations, blogging, podcasting, and multimedia is where it’s at. While Elluminate and our new Elluminate Learning Suite received some much appreciated traditional media coverage, we also want to highlight some not-so-traditional recognition.

We’ve always been very proud of the awards we’ve received. But here’s a first! Susan Nash Smith, the eLearning Queen, has bestowed us with one of the inaugural Corgie Big Bark Awards that recognize innovations in eLearning. Bow WOW!

- In The Royal Treatment: Education Product Reviews and Interviews, Ken Royal presents a You Tube video with our own Gary Dietz demoing Elluminate Plan! at NECC 2008.

- Rod Murray of Thomas Jefferson University interviews Gary about our flagship Elluminate Live! products and our new Elluminate Next> bundle on Rod’s Pulse Podcast.

As you can see, the classroom is not the only thing going virtual!

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication

Well, NECC 2008 is over and by all accounts, our launch of the Elluminate Learning Suite is a resounding success! Why?

One reason, I believe, is that we are doing something quite unique. We have a comprehensive famliy of products that address live eLearning and collaboration, not just during the actual real-time, online session but before and after as well. We help you plan, and we help you publish. What a concept!

Second, we’ve also figured out how to help academic institutions facilitate adoption, even by those who are less-than-enthusiastic educational technology users. And we can intelligently connect with any LMS, CMS, or portal out there. We’re here to help - really.

Third, we have a full range of products from a free 3-seat virtual meeting to single-room environments for 10-200 partricipants to an enterprise-ready solution for thousands of users.

And last but not least, we have a great team of people who make it all happen! We actually believe in our mission of providing enabling technology that transforms teaching and learning on a global level.

Forgive me, but I am just feeling a bit celebratory today and really proud of my company.

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication

I love shoping, but I’m not a fan of those products that claim they are “one size fits all or most.” Because, quite often, they don’t! On the other end of the spectrum, I hate those stores that have so much product you can’t navigate the display floor. I find almost endless choices overwhelming.

At Elluminate, we’ve made some additions and changes to our products that enable us to have something for everyone.

- New to the virtual classroom. Begin with Elluminate vRoom, our free, 3-person virtual room.

- Need more seats? Try one of our new single-room, entry-level products. Elluminate vOffice is a personal meeting room for 10 or more participants that starts at $999 for an annual license. Elluminate vClass is a classroom for up to 200 students, with customizable meeting/moderator names.

- Once you graduate to multiple rooms, there’s Elluminate Live!, which easily scales from department to campus to multiple institutions.

- The next step is Elluminte Next>, with new Elluminate Plan! for packaging content and activities before the live session and Elluminate Publish! for creating audio podcasts and standalone recordings from session recordings.

So there you have it. Not too big. Not too small. Just right. If Goldilocks was looking for live eLearning and web collaboration, I think she’d be pleased!

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication

While live interaction in the virtual classroom is key to transforming teaching and learning on a global level, Elluminate understands that the eLearning landscape is evolving to include what happens BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER the live, online session.

We believe the “next big thing” in the real-time collaboration space is a solution that addresses an entire instructional cycle that includes the design, delivery, archival, distribution, and integration of interactive content and activities on a system-wide level. At the same time, this 21st Century eLearning solution must support communities of practice where experiences are shared, creativity is embraced, and innovative ideas are formed.

In the days and weeks that follow, I’ll be sharing what’s new at Elluminate with you. So stay tuned. We hope you’ll be as excited as we are about what we call EDU 2.0!

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication

If you think that Elluminate Live! is just for virtual schools. Think again!

Over the past 15 months, traditional classrooms across three continents have come together, using Elluminate Live! software, to brainstorm, present, and implement projects that help address critical social issues in local areas, such as climate change and poverty reduction. The program is called Fire and Ice , and it was recently profiled on CNN.com (“Children Plan for Planet’s Future”).

Using a simple computer, projector, webcam, speakers and microphone, traditional classrooms in Canada and remote locations in Brazil and Africa, were given a “window to the world” to showcase their creative projects to combat climate change. Projects included organic gardens, litter prevention programs, and campaigns to control CO2 emissions from idling vehicles parked in front of schools.

The interative classroom series also featured remote guest speakers, such as social entrepreneur Dave Irvine Halliday, co-founder of the Light up the World Foundation and a scientist from world reknowed Suzuki Foundation, who inspired the students that individuals can make a difference in driving social change.

And yes, Elluminate Live! really does work on slower Internet connections. A school from the tiny village of Massambara, in a remote, rural area of Brazil, was able to collaborate effectively with the equivalent of only a 50 kbps dialup connection. “Elluminate built a bridge for us,” said Massambara teacher Janice Gloria Terra Passos, “to take our project out of the school, to the community, to the country…to the world.”

- Stace Wills, Elluminate Director of Corporate Development

How do you deliver an interactive online meeting experience? This review by Mike Heck of InfoWorld explains how Elluminate Live! V8 does it.

Aside from the fact that this is a great review of our product, I love that Mike brings up what he calls the green factor of online meetings. Be sure to check out this related InfoWorld article. This is a really hot topic today. No question that going online eliminates the need for planes, trains, and automobiles.

In fact, I was just reading today about how frustrating air travel has been for business travelers with the recent wide-spread flight cancellations of some major airlines. With web conferencing technology, you can keep your cool and enhance your green factor!

- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication

Hi,

This post is a place for attendees (and viewers) of the August 7, 2007 vRoom Webinar to interact. The link points to the recording of the webinar.

Best regards,

The Elluminate team