The Return of Online Learning?

After all the hype and hoopla of the dotcomm days, it is nice to see that online learning seems to be making a come back of sorts, at least in the press! The important change is that unlike in the early days a number of people are taking classes online at schools.

clipped from www.npr.org Online Courses Catch On in U.S. Colleges Listen Now add to playlist Morning Edition, November 28, 2007 · When today's college graduates get together for a reunion someday, they may decide to do it by computer. That's because right now, nearly one in five college students takes at least one class online, according to a new survey. For professors, the growth of e-learning has meant a big shift in the way they deal with students.

SkypeIn Rocks!

Skype has a SkypeIn facility which lets you pick a local number in your area code of choice. When someone call that number, your computer rings if you are online. However, the real power is the ability to forward the call to a cell phone. When you are traveling overseas (from the US) this is a terrific capability. The caller from the US pays only local phone charges while you pay the costs in the country where the call is received.

Google's File Storage Facility

The WSJ reported that Google is planning to announce storage facility for users to store their files online. It makes a lot of sense and would be an excellent addition to Google Apps, especially for small businesses.

It is interesting that this news comes out shortly after Microsoft announced its Home Server product. Both products are at clearly at two extremes of the spectrum. While one tries to minimize the use of hardware, the other sells greater hardware power combined with software.

New Website Lauched

I am happy to announce the launch of our new website. It is always a challenge to design and develop a new website, particular in this age of clicks and SEO. Thankfully there are new and improved technologies that help you measure where you stand with respect to your website. Besides, there is plenty of advice (for free!) available on the internet on the various trips and tricks one can follow to increase traffic on the site.

Our design this time around has been the result of some serious research on what works and what doesn't with regard to websites, keywords, and general usability. It has been a tremendous learning experience for us and hopefully you like the final result!

Technology in the Classroom

There is an interesting article in the NY Times about Technology in the classroom (cell phones, IM etc.). Considering that the current generation is "so distracted" maybe it makes sense to go in for Distance Learning! The fact that students are forced to sit in a class might be the cause for distractions. When you are out there in front of the computer with no "real" physical class in front of you, perhaps the focus would be a lot better?

Another very interesting mention in the article.

The Canadian company Smart Technologies makes and sells a program called SynchronEyes. It allows a classroom teacher to monitor every student’s computer activity and to freeze it at a click. Last year, the company sold more than 10,000 licenses, which range in cost from $779 for one teacher to $3,249 for an entire school.

Never heard of this, but sounds really cool!