Skype vs. Elluminate
So…..last night was my first live experience with Elluminate. I viewed Loren’s archived thesis, but the live experience was much more interactive and fascinating. Despite the many technical difficulties that we encountered, it was truly a great experience. Dr. Kahn had continuous issues getting his Firefox to display correctly through Elluminate, but overcoming such difficulties is the best way to familiarize ourselves with the software.
I find it much more productive than a Skype meeting as there are various venues through which to communicate that all uses take advantage of, including a chat, the visual platform (that was not working), and an optional video chat. While Skype does include some similar features, Elluminate makes discussion between several people much more productive as just one person is given permission to speak at a time. There is a mic icon, when clicked all attendees can hear the speaker and when unclicked, that speaker is done and the floor is open for the next person to speak. Get this……you can even raise your hand! Who needs a classroom?!
One of the most enjoyable parts was the time prior to the official start of the class. Myself and several other students “played” with the audio feature and became acquainted. It was a relief to speak with class mates in a casual setting.
Even though most of the hour was consumed with testing the technology, the level of interaction and obvious capability of the technology was truly a pleasure to experience.
What do you think of Elluminate?
on October 31st, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Hey Krista, this is a fantastic analysis of Elluminate, you do such a great job of showing its benefits over the features that skype provides. I think you bring up a great point about online courses in that they lack some of the casual relationship elements that are developed in traditional classroom settings. Great post, and I’m excited to try out Elluminate later this semester.
on October 31st, 2009 at 4:45 pm
I went to Skye and Elluminate, Since I have dial up I wasn’t able to take advantage of the technology.(too slow connection) However, I used a high speed connection and I felt that Elluminate could negate the argument that online courses don’t have the classroom interaction that regular class do. Brent Muirhead, a researcher stated. “Promoting and maintaining interactivity within online classes continues to be a vital concern among distance educators.” (Muirhead,2009)
His website has an interesting paper concerning this concept. ( http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jun_04/article07.htm )
on November 1st, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Thanks for your response Eric. I was entirely fascinated with the experience. Last night a friend of mine asked me if I thought that people view online programs as less credible, interactive, and legitimate than live programs and I explained to her how interactive it really is. I think Elluminate has the capability to create comparable interaction to a live classroom, and after we overcome technical difficulties, it is even more convenient.
on November 1st, 2009 at 6:24 pm
I will be sure to read his paper when I have a moment, especially since exposure to Elluminate has me thinking about online interaction versus live classroom interaction. It provides distance learning with a new scope of possibilities.