Tutorial Online

• WiZiQ + Live Class Module for Moodle
• YouTube: WiZIQ - The Free T&L Platform
• Via Patricia Donaghy

WHAT?
On WiZiQ educators and learners can connect live anywhere in the world from home using this FREE virtual classroom software. Inside the virtual classroom you share an interactive synchronized collaborative environment where you can communicate with each other on one-to-one basis using microphone, chat and share whiteboard (similar to blackboard in the classroom), presentation and documents.

FEATURES?
WiZiQs virtual classroom features include:

• Two way audio
• Text chat
• Multiple participants
• PowerPoint & PDF sharing
• Whiteboard
• Media files like gif, jpg, swf, png etc.
• All sessions are recorded
• Only you have access
• Review them later

LATEST UPDATE!
The free Live Class module for Moodle is now available. Moodle users can activate a block and an activity from within Moodle to schedule and launch sessions in WiZiQ’s virtual classroom.

Click here for detailed instructions on how to install it, which includes video tutorials.

REFLECTION
No annoying downloads are required, and WiZiQs Flash-based learning environment works in any web browser and on any operating system. Multiple choice WiZiQ tests have, recently, been also added to the site. In addition, free public sessions are offered on an ongoing basis and recorded completed sessions are available for viewing.

"In future, we will offer certain advanced features on WiZiQ for a monthly subscription fee. However, basic features on WiZiQ will always be free (Source)." Lets hope that also PowerPoint (or file) sharing and multiple participants (say up to 40!) will always remain free.

I have been waiting for years for a free easy-to-use Flash-based virtual classroom (synchronous learning) tool, which also has PowerPoint or file sharing capability. So, Patricia you have certainly made my day with that great news!

I suppose all the commercial virtual classroom alternatives (Centra, Adobe, WebEx, etc.) will increasingly need to be more creative about making revenue, at least in the education sector. Yeah, very soon Yahoo, Google and MSN (Why not add Facebook, too!) will have their own virtual classrooms with such capability, too.

WiZiQ thanks for initiating the battle for virtual classroom freedom, enabling all educators and learners around the world (with computers and Internet access) to synchronously collaborate, communicate, and learn online for free. I am surprised that Google and the Gang did not think of it before.

Yeah, now we can even integrate WiZiQ with Moodle as an Activity Module! This is the one learning tool really missing in Moodle! WiZiQ to the rescue! I love it :)

• Link to Wetpaint
• Wetpaint Videos

WIKI?
A wiki is a type of website that anyone can easily edit and help grow through collaboration.

WETPAINT?
Is a 100% Free wiki (collaborative) authoring tool (it claims to be! Visit Professional Services and explore.), which enables anyone easily to start a free wiki that they can share with students, colleagues, friends, family, etc.

FEATURES?
Wetpaint is a reasonably easy-to-learn/use wiki tool, which has an amazingly attractive look-and-feel (subject to subjectivity!). Yeah, I can tell you also that this tool has an amazing list of features, and they are adding new features all the time (according to them), so theres always something new to try. Here are some of the juicy features:

• 1-2-3 Simple Site Creation
• Public or Private Sites
• Pre-Populated Templates (Classrooms, Group Projects, Gaming Clans, etc)
• Easy Photo/Video Integration
• Page Level Discussion Threads
• Customizable Page Templates
• Spell Check
• Menu of Popular Widgets
• Private Onsite Messaging
• Address Book Upload
• Site Statistics (Google Analytics and SiteMeter)
• RSS updates
• Email Notifications
• Etc.

Except for the annoying Google Ads (which is probably the main source of income for Wetpaint), floating toolbars, and the clipboard bug (minor fix needed!), this tool I believe is going to be a global Wiki smash hit soon. Dont ask me why! Just try it out for yourself :)

• Link to More than 100 Free Places to Learn Online
• Jeff Cobbs Juicy Resources

"... There is so much available out there for free—even things that offer credit—and given how easy it is for non-technical subject matter experts to contribute content, it will only keep growing. Quality is all over the place right now, but I suspect competition among aggregators and the growing influence of the open education movement will drive higher quality over time. All of this suggests at least a couple of things, in my opinion:

• If part of your business strategy is to generate revenue from learning experiences provided to members, customers, or students and you haven’t yet considered how “free” impacts you, it’s high time.
• “Free” learning could potentially be one of the better forms of customer engagement in the world of the new Web—though this does not come without issues, as Stephen Downes and Lisa Neal have pointed out in a recent issue of eLearn Magazine... "

FREE LEARNING PLACES?
Major categories:

• Online Tutorials and How-to Sites
• Big Idea and Debate Sites
• Higher Education and Open Education Initiatives
• Free CE, CME, and CEU
• Topical Areas

I love the resources, index style and simple organization (I dont know why, but I simply love straight-to-the-point index style lists)! Of course you might be overwhelmed with such a huge list, but Jeff has done a splendid job in making it easier to actually find relevant and useful learning sites with categories and site tagging (e.g. T – Text-based offerings).

If you ask me to suggest three (3) sites to explore to stimulate new ideas and learn from some of the most creative, innovative and successful (in that respect!) people on this planet, I would refer to Jeffs growing list and link you to:

• BigThink
• FORA.tv
• TED

I got to admit that Jeff Cobbs Mission to Learn blog is increasingly becoming one of my favorite destinations to discover and learn. Last week I discovered his new Learning 2.0 eBook, and now this excellent index of free learning resources. Whats next :)

URL: http://courselab.com/
Download: http://courselab.com/db/cle/root_id/download/doc.html
Showcase Samples: http://courselab.com/db/cle/root_id/examples/doc.html

"CourseLab is a powerful, yet easy-to-use, e-learning authoring tool that offers programming-free WYSIWYG environment for creating high-quality interactive e-learning content which can be published on the Internet, Learning Management Systems (LMS), CD-ROMS and other devices...It can be used in a variety of learning initiatives including technical training, soft skills training and compliance certifications.

• Familiar PowerPoint-like authoring environment;
• WYSIWYG environment for creating and managing high-quality interactive e-learning content - no HTML or other programming skills required;
• Unicode support - use any font and encoding supported by the Windows® operating system, including double-byte character sets;
• Object-oriented Model allows constructing e-learning content of almost any complexity just as easy as you put together the building blocks;
• Objects are highly customizable;
• Dynamic HTML based output can be played by most browsers - no Java® or other special player software required for playing created e-learning content;
• Built-in assessments and tests creation capabilities;
• Software Simulations - Embedded Screen Capturing mechanism (without using Adobe Flash® technology) (Costs $99);
• Import PowerPoint® presentations into the learning material (Costs $99).
• Additional module templates pack (Costs $9 Only)"

Having been away from researching learning technologies for more than one year, I am really thrilled with all the new free learning tools available to educators and learners. During this period of technology ignorance, I have been struggling learning the art of higher-order thinking skills and teaching (or coaching) it to students. Not sure if I have learnt that much, except for asking questions in a more systematic way using tools such as six thinking hats and CoRT.

CourseLab got me excited first (due to its easy-to-use authoring environment) and the super claim posted on its home page "100% FREE e-learning authoring tool! No time limits. No demo versions (What about no cost for Extras?)", provides the kind of happiness that can turn into frustration if you do not read between the lines.

However, when you realize that you need to fork out a whopping $198 (or 207) to get the really juicy features enabling you to do things that you really want to do (Check the bullets above in red). Although, CourseLab might argue it is not deception or against the law to state that the authoring tool is 100% , it could make it a bit more obvious that you need to pay if you really want to get the juicy stuff (Extras). They might argue that the authoring tool is free, but you need to pay for the Extras. Though, to me the extras is really the reason why I would be interested in using this tool in the first place. In short, the Extras is the real deal. Also, one could argue that this is a great marketing strategy, but overall it is better to get people excited (about 100% free) without indirectly tricking them into it (otherwise they might give CourseLab negative publicity like now). We all know that a company needs money to survive, and that is understandable, but dont use misleading statements such as "100% FREE e-learning authoring tool", which is perhaps legally right, but in my opinion it is an unethical misusage of the original meaning of this phrase.

However, for those of you who do not find the CourseLab Extras important or can survive without them, I do recommend using CourseLab. Though, if you are going to spend money, I would actually recommend that you add a bit more (a few hundred) and invest in either Adobe Captivate or Articulate :)

Note to CourseLab: I really like your authoring tool, and hopefully you could be more creative about your marketing catch phrase (get rid of the 100% nonsense), I would support and promote this product more. Yes, if you make the Extras free and create sufficient revenue using another creative approach then you would have the education world at your feet.

Link to 701 e-learning tips
"Thanks to The MASIE Center?s TRENDS readers and e-Learning Consortium Members, over 1000 e-Learning tips were received, analyzed, and categorized. These tips are from senior managers and training professionals from major corporations around the world. We have edited and compiled 141 pages and 14 chapters covering the ABC?s of getting started to global implementation strategies. We hope you enjoy this free digital book !"

Great! The complete book is a bit heavy (13.3 mb, PDF). However, the wait is worth every second, even on a dial-up. Masie Elliott is a knowledge sharing genius. He must surely give Brandon Hall and Bersin a real headache. With this, you have a enough e-learning tips to ponder upon for the next couple of months. Print out page 138, which has Elliott Masies 12 Personal e-learning tips, and read them 12 times .