http://blog.umt.edu/xlscommons Hot topics, newsworthy events and inspirations from a team of higher education professionals. Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:51:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en By Diana Reetz-Stacey We hear a lot about nontraditional students, we frequently assist nontraditional students, and many of us (including me) are ourselves nontraditional students.  Who are they and what should we know as we work with them? If we consider a traditional student as one who begins a Bachelors degree immediately ... http://blog.umt.edu/xlscommons/2009/08/17/non-traditional-students/ Sometimes, it's not easy to select the right tool for the job. If you're planning a conference for example, the obvious (traditional) way to go is to setup a website. If you have the means, you may also want to include the ability for participants to enroll online and ... http://blog.umt.edu/xlscommons/2009/08/14/ningconference/ Rafting is one of my favorite summertime activities. It can be relaxing to drift and let the water maneuver the boat with the flow of the stream. However, to navigate the river, catch some air and avoid the dangers that come with whitewater rafting, each paddler needs to work together ... http://blog.umt.edu/xlscommons/2009/08/03/294/ As you can see, web conferencing has featured heavily this month. Elluminate Live! is available for faculty at The University of Montana, but would be web conferencers needn’t shell out a penny for a live, online classroom. Indeed, instant messaging systems such as Yahoo Messenger and Google Talk as ... http://blog.umt.edu/xlscommons/2009/07/30/free-webconferencing-tools/ The Annual Conference on Distance Learning at the University of Wisconsin is less than two weeks away, and I’ll be attending for the first time.  I’m especially looking forward to the one-half day workshop entitled Community of Inquiry Framework: Informing instructional design and learning being facilitated by Karen Swan and ... http://blog.umt.edu/xlscommons/2009/07/27/invitation-to-a-learning-community/ Web conferencing is the process of using communication tools such as text chat, voice, video and a white board for live meetings or presentations. Web conferencing systems integrate these tools into a single meeting ‘room’. Participants can access the room from their personal computers via a URL (Internet web address). ... http://blog.umt.edu/xlscommons/2009/07/20/web-conferencing-research/ Elluminate Live! is a web conferencing system that offers synchronous (same time) communication for online learners. Its “live session” interactivity can enhance the quality of teaching and learning in online courses in numerous ways. Elluminate can be used to: · Facilitate program or course orientation sessions · Hold virtual office hours · Conduct ... http://blog.umt.edu/xlscommons/2009/07/15/web-conferencing/ Accessibility. I thought I understood the extent of this concept until last week. That was when I realized that barriers to online learning for students with disabilities can exist in numerous places: the Learning Management System, the layout of the course content, the adaptive technologies, and even in the ... http://blog.umt.edu/xlscommons/2009/07/13/exploring-accessibility-issues/ This month's tool will not be much of a surprise to faculty who have been in the course development process for teaching online programs at The University of Montana. For several semesters now, faculty have used this tool to host live, same-time office hours, provide feedback on course content and ... http://blog.umt.edu/xlscommons/2009/07/08/illuminate-me/ Extended Learning Services (XLS) at The University of Montana provides access to live virtual classrooms through the Elluminate web conferencing system. These classrooms can be used to hold virtual office hours, discuss course content and/or facilitate collaborative work among students who cannot meet face-to-face. In a pilot study of the ... http://blog.umt.edu/xlscommons/2009/07/06/learn-central/