Making Authentic Connections with Elluminate Live
Presenters: Wendy Caplan & Wade Kelly
With its multiple functionalities, Elluminate Live has proven to be an effective tool used by the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta to support distance and on-campus learning, professional development, research collaborations and communities of learning. Its ability to provide a mechanism to increase both social and teaching presence enables us to create authentic and engaging learning spaces which enhance the teaching/learning process. Researchers using Elluminate have increased their opportunities and possibilities for collaboration. The positive response we get from our users reinforces our conviction that Elluminate Live brings added value to the teaching, learning and research environment.
Our presentation will focus on the implementation of Elluminate within the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta. Using Andersen and Garrison’s concepts of cognitive, social and teaching presence as our theoretical foundation, we consider how the various tools within Elluminate provide opportunities for users to build learning environments that encourage the inclusion of these elements. We will explore the innovative uses of Elluminate within the Faculty of Nursing which include:
Distance courses
Blended classrooms
Orientation and presentation of supplemental materials in on-campus courses
Enhanced learning activities
Graduate student supervision and collaboration
Support for research groups with local, national and international partners.
Throughout the presentation we will share the ways in which we are able to seamlessly provide access to Elluminate sessions as well as student’s feedback and lessons learned from our three years of experience with this synchronous classroom.
Wendy Caplan is the Coordinator of Flexible Delivery for the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta. With an M.Ed in Adult and Higher Education she has experience teaching adults in both face to face and on-line environments. For the past 10 years she has managed on-line learning programs and supported both faculty and students involved in teaching and learning on-line. Wendy’s research has focused on synchronous communication in formal learning environments as well as on building and sustaining communities of practice.
Wade Kelly has his Bachelor of Education and has been working with adult learners since 2001 in both public and private institutions. In the Faculty of Nursing he works with faculty members to develop and manager electronic courses for both distance and blended delivery. While working in Northern BC he was involved with the Wireless Writing Project, a one-to-one student laptop program, where he assisted in the deployment and management of over 3000 units. Wade has a passion for the arts and is a technology consultant for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.
Both Wendy and Wade are members of the On-Line Program Support Group (OPSG), a community of practice for staff and faculty who support elearning at the University of Alberta. This year OPSG was successful in their application to become an Elluminate Center of Excellence for 2008.