Elluminate and Sloan Consortium to Develop First of Its Kind Synchronous eLearning Best Practices Program
Pampano Beach, Florida., (September 13, 2004) – Elluminate, Inc., a leading provider of live eLearning and Web conferencing solutions for education, and Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C), an association of academic institution s and organizations that share information about effective online learning, announced today that they are working together to research and develop synchronous eLearning best practices. As part of the program, one of the first of its kind, the two organizations have instituted an ongoing research grant program for qualified academic institutions.
The recipient of the first grant, the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS), will use its yearlong, 25-seat Elluminate Live! Academic Editionâ„¢ license for a wide range of synchronous communication activities among students and faculty members, including an inter-institutional team teaching project with Chicago State University (CSU). The university plans to develop guidelines for implementing online team-taught classes across institutions or disciplines, which it will share via papers, conference presentations, and publication in peer journals. Using the interactive eLearning tool, UIS will provide synchronous content for a number of its existing asynchronous online classes.
“Our primary focus for this grant is to facilitate cross-cultural communication between two different student bodies, one an urban commuter campus in Chicago with a significant minority enrollment and the other a mostly rural student population from in and around Springfield,†said Ray Schroeder, professor emeritus of communication, director of the Office of Technology-enhanced Learning at UIS, and faculty associate at the University of Illinois Online. “We will use Elluminate Live! to establish a cohesive learning community where students from UIS and CSU will learn together online in team-taught classes.†Other applications may include bringing in “virtual guest speakersâ€, sharing modules between classes, and facilitating student advising and interaction with faculty.
Elluminate Live! is a synchronous Web conferencing, collaboration and eLearning environment, with the ability to support dozens to hundreds of users. Across a range of academic settings, the technology is helping to extend learning opportunities to students outside the traditional classroom.
“I’m pleased that Elluminate has commenced working with Sloan-C to support research grants that will add to our knowledge about how synchronous and asynchronous technologies can work together,†said John R, Bourne, Ph.D. and executive director of Sloan-C. “In this first grant, I expect we will find out many new things that we can pass on to our membership about how to use synchronous methodologies effectively.â€
“Elluminate and Sloan-C have an established history of collaboration, with both organizations sharing a commitment to high-quality online education,†said Elluminate’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing Maurice Heiblum. “We are proud to be working with Sloan-C to continue to educate academia about the benefits of live eLearning technology, and provide opportunities for institutions to identify and develop best practices.â€
For more information and to apply for a subsequent grant, interested academic institutions should email John.Bourne@sloan-c.org
About Sloan Consortium
Sloan Consortium is an association of institutions and organizations that promote online learning to help continually improve its quality, scale, and breadth so education will become a part of everyday life, accessible and affordable for anyone, at any time, in a wide variety of disciplines. Membership is open to academic institutions, corporate training organizations, and organizations that support quality in higher education. Sloan-C is located at Babson and Olin Colleges in Needham, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.sloan-c.org
About University of Illinois at Springfield
The University of Illinois at Springfield, one of three U of I campuses, is a small, public liberal arts university that offers 40 degree programs – 20 bachelor’s, 19 master’s, and the Doctorate of Public Administration. UIS has a special mission in public affairs and service and is known for extraordinary internships, a wireless campus, extensive online offerings, and a commitment to teaching.
About Elluminate, Inc.
Elluminate, Inc. provides live eLearning and Web conferencing solutions for the real-time organization. Its No User Left Behindâ„¢ technology design ensures the best user experience for all through superior-quality VoIP, communications that are in-sync regardless of connection speed, broad cross-platform support, and advanced yet easy-to-use ESP Moderator Tools. Elluminate products create a rich, collaborative environment for live remote training and online meetings, all while delivering lower upfront costs and strong ROI. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and Pompano Beach, Fla., Elluminate serves corporate and academic organizations such as T-Mobile, Interstate Hotels and Resorts, Penn State University, Johns Hopkins University and many more. For more information, visit www.elluminate.com
Elluminate Live! and No User Left Behindâ„¢ are trademarks of Elluminate, Inc.
