tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22055982.post814644746675165464..comments2024-03-28T15:53:35.595-07:00Comments on eLearning Technology: Looking Back at 2007Tony Karrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15408035995182843336noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22055982.post-34943489077422364162008-01-05T23:23:00.000-08:002008-01-05T23:23:00.000-08:00I recommend you take a look at www.wiziq.com Intro...I recommend you take a look at www.wiziq.com <BR/><BR/>Introduction<BR/><BR/>WiZiQ is an online teaching platform, which provides a free virtual classroom environment for teachers to interact online and teach students in real time. Teachers can also build a profile, keep an availability schedule, and maintain a content library, which is associated with their profiles, by uploading PowerPoint presentations and PDF Files.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Importance in Education<BR/><BR/>Education like any other field, is evolving and e-learning is fast gaining significance in this domain. Web 2.0 has catalyzed this more and with a host of new tools, which can be deployed in teaching and learning, education will never be the same. WiZiQ has been a pioneer in this space with the free virtual classroom among other useful Web 2.0 features for educators and students like profiles, networking, content library, tests etc. As an online education platform, WiZiQ is focused towards education by actively participating in education technology networks, getting feedback from teachers and students about usability and using all this information to evolve further.<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>Free Online Virtual Classroom<BR/><BR/>WiZiQ's free Virtual Classroom is an online internet mediated classroom where the teacher and the students are connected to share a common workspace. In this online session, they make use of audio-video conferencing, text chat, whiteboard, and content sharing capabilities. There are no costs for using the virtual classroom. The sessions are recorded and are available online on WiZiQ, which can be accessed for later review or reference.<BR/><BR/>Attendees can join a session with privileges to converse verbally with others; draw and write on whiteboard; and share Presentations, PDFs, Flash and Images. The teacher may withdraw or re-assign these privileges to the attendees. A Teacher can withdraw privileges from the attendee in terms that the attendee can not converse, or upload anything to share on whiteboard; in this case, the attendee is a spectator. An attendee can also request for rights, in which case, the teacher can click on the attendee’s name to transfer control.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22055982.post-83225219451875452482008-01-02T11:25:00.000-08:002008-01-02T11:25:00.000-08:00Virginia - this is a REALLY important comment abou...Virginia - this is a REALLY important comment about the challenge facing us. It goes far beyond education though, but certainly that's a place where it needs to be addressed as well.Tony Karrerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15408035995182843336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22055982.post-59852726295693876852008-01-02T08:36:00.000-08:002008-01-02T08:36:00.000-08:00Tony, as I read through your predictions, I couldn...Tony, as I read through your predictions, I couldn't help but wonder if one of the reasons changes aren't happening as quickly as you thought is because students coming out of our schools (high school and college) don't have the creativity and technology skills that we assume they have. As a result, training and consulting companies are having to use a push rather than pull strategy for the use of new technologies. New, younger employees are not prepared to use technologies in a business setting the way it is used in their personal life.<BR/><BR/>As a professor at a college, I was shocked that many of my students did not even know what a blog or wiki was, much less know how to use it. I was the only professor, for most of them, who was even using these tools in class (or even using the computer for anything more than wordprocessing or powerpoint presentations).<BR/><BR/>In addition, I have found that students that come in to my class are waiting to be told what they should know, rather than being prepared to identify what they know and work on those areas they need to know. The test-based system of education is now evident in my new students (most of the freshman were part of the first "fourth grade" tests developed in our state). Many have little knowledge of how to analyze data, develop creative solutions (that have not been taught through a formula), or identify sources of information. In addition, the testing in our schools are still pen and paper based to technology is considered an "add-on".<BR/><BR/>Finally, I think part of the problem with finding programmers is that most companies are looking for those employees that can start the job running, rather than finding those people that perhaps don't have the degrees or the program languages, but have the creativity and ability to learn new innovative processes. I remember a project I worked on in Hungary just after the fall of communism in which we could not find good competent book-keepers or accountants to work at our center. Finally, we decided to look for employees who had experience working with foreigners, were not afraid to try new things, were willing (and wanted to) go through training. These later groups of employees were our most loyal, competent employees, coming up with creative solutions to very complex problems we had as the Hungarian economy and political structure was reorganized (problems such as how to get money to the program when there was no such thing as corporate bank accounts and some of our funding came from federal funds which required organizational bank accounts).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com