This weeks installment of the weekly blog is the recent class that used Elluminate. The details are fairly simple: Elluminate is an extremely advanced version of MSN where people enter a chatroom like atmosphere but anyone can type, talk (in turn), or get on a web cam to show their face while talking. If this technology ended there it would be pretty boring. But wait, there's more. A moderator can bring up pictures, files, projects, and have the rest of the users view it and modify it. This holistic approach to interaction is much more powerful than systems such as Firstclass, Webct, or Blackboard.
After the online class there are some issues as well. For starters the free reign chat got out of hand while the Moderator (Kevin) was talking. Thankfully it was still on the topic of assessment but I'm not sure how relevant it was to what was being said. I also noticed that it was much much easier to get distracted on the online class. I was writing a paper while listening to the class which I could not readily do in class; or if I was a home cookies and other little treats are very real distractions. I suspect that due to our first use of this system many of us were not in the proper mindset. I saw a hand was raised a few times but paid no attention to it. I, myself, am not a big fan of microphones online. If I have a text editor I am more inclined to use it as I can think of what I want to say before I press enter.
Although we didn't use the white board/editing features that much I can imagine it is a very powerful tool to augment learning. If the entire class is focused on a single document or entity it might help concentrate the learning. But the best part is definitely how the class can be recorded and review at a later time. Hence, an important idea or concept can be review on my own time. This is multitudes more powerful than reviewing my notes as I can listen to what the instructor is saying while I look at the image or concept.
One last thought: As it is completely online, I can fulfill my dream of going to class in my underwear. Just have to cover the camera just in case =)
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