The Free Virtual Classroom on WiZiQ
WiZiQ’s Free Virtual Classroom at http://www.wiziq.com/Virtual_Classroom.aspx offers state-of-the-art free Web conferencing and Web2.0 education features for meeting, teaching and learning online. The Virtual Classroom facilitates real-time online collaboration and interaction using whiteboard, video and audio chat, and document sharing including PDF, and Microsoft PowerPoint, Word and Excel. Feedback is that the free Virtual Classroom on WiZiQ works better than expensive commercial options like Adobe Connect, Webex, Elluminate, Marratech etc. and WiZiQ is very focused on further developing the web-based tool with exceptionally easy-to-use & intuitive controls, and perfect usability options for education users.
Duration : 0:2:38
E-teaching
Can you teach music over the Internet? How? Can you teach with Youtube? Nirvana? Piczo? Audacity? Billboard? Newsfeeds? Can you teach in a way that is engaging for the learner?
What does it mean to be a learner-centered teacher of music in a technology-mediated context? I created this video to answer this question. The video is a knowledge mobilization outcome that is part of of a collaborative inquiry in which Andrew Mercer(the teacher profiled in the video) and Andrea Rose, School of Music, Memorial University are participating.
The project is funded through a grant for a Community University Research Alliance (CURA) on e-learning from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Canada. Visit http://www.killickcentre.ca for the project information. To discuss learner-centeredness of teaching with technology, visit http://www.learnercenteredeteaching.blogspot.com/
On a technical note, the original file was well in excess of the allowable 100 megs. I uploaded the converted wmv file of 17 megs to youtube which converts it to a swf-flash file. Unfortunately swf does not render the transitions very well.
You can view youtube videos of the e-teacher profiled in the video if you search under buckydurddle.
We have been relying on youtube to conduct reflective sessions and conversations about learner-centeredness in teaching. Why youtube? because it is a symbol of user-centeredness and of the democratisation of knowledge. Youtube is a part of the WEB 2.0 which provides so many tools for social knowledge construction and sharing (Blogs, Wikis, podcasting etc). Social knowledge construction and sharing is, I believe, at the heart of learner-centeredness.
If you’re interested in more, please contact me: emurphy@mun.ca
Duration : 0:9:4