Elluminate, Pros and cons

Having lived in another less developed country for many decades, I am only too aware of the possibilities that this learning medium can present given the right conditions. When you think of children unable to go to school because the river they need to cross on foot is full for the better part of two weeks; when you think of long distances that some children travel to and from school to get an education; when you think of students that never see a computer throughout their schooling days; then you may better appreciate what "learning while you are at home" means. This is what Elluminate means to me. It bridges the distance gap and brings the whole class and instructor right in to your home. It's simply marvelous! It has taken distance learning to a totally new level!

Hopefully one day we might just see technologies of this nature being spread throughout the world.

Imagine an expert teacher from Paraguay, coming to a home classroom, to teach children from 5 different countries at the same time! Imagine the savings that will be entailed. Poor countries do not need to go through the same struggles that developed countries have experienced. This technology enables us all to share our resources and improve the lives of all of us. It enables all of us and everyone to move together as one world community!

One idea that springs to mind, nearer home, is to enroll all school administrators (by district or county) in a short intervention program that will teach them about Carl D. Perkins legislation and the very latest developments attending to it. There is absolutely no reason now why some school administrators still remain unaware of the benefits of this legislation and of how they may implement it for the advantage of their students and their communities.

Anyone of us here, who have taken this course from Dr. J. can easily mount, facilitate and run a teaching program of this nature through Elluminate. How feasible is this proposition? Is there anyone who might like to investigate this with me? :-)

Elluminate Live

I would love to use Elluminate Live with broadcasting students. I remember when I first began to edit. I had to call my "mac" mentor and communicate over the phone while editing and asking him questions. He had a mac with the same program and so he would answer my questions while we both looked at the software. All of this was done while we both had crooked necks from using the telephone against our ears. How nice it would have been to use the Elluminate system to work together with the new speaker/headsets. As a student, I have found Elluminate to be a great tool for learning. As a teacher, the resource would be a great tool for teaching. The interaction of a classroom or a program would encourage both learning and teaching. Broadcasting is already technical, so to incorporate Elluminate, seems natural. I can envision this software for my students. I could help them with problems and assignments when they are editing outside of the classroom. Not only would my students have interaction with me and other students regarding the lessons, but they would be fine tuning their "online" application skills.
One thing to consider is that not all students have access to computers. Maybe the software could be used in the classroom initially to train the students. After that, those students that have access to computers could benefit at home. Those who don't have at home computers could use computers in the public library or other hopeful options, such as a relatives home.
I would teach the main lesson in the broadcasting lab at school. Alternative learning and additional training could be done after hours for those who had access to a computer. I find that not all of my broadcasting students want to edit. Some prefer filming, anchoring and scriptwriting. Hopefully, the true editors will find a way to access the additional learning time via Elluminate.
I would initially set up with my students the Elluminate program. We would have in class training. The school would provide the headsets. After this we would establish a time for "group learning" online. Those students that need financial aid for headsets, I would provide out of the broadcasting budget. Since Elluminate is on the computer and editing is done on the computer, I can think of many activities to work on with the students. We could learn how to edit together and troubleshoot problems. We could investigate other websites that teach filming and editing tips and share them. One more idea is to work on scriptwriting together. You could visualize the script and discuss it via the internet. This new program venture would develop via trial and error. The reward awaits for those students who make the time and effort to take hold of the opportunity.