webqem blog

We have some great eSeminars in October for beginner designers. Software that will be covered during these eSeminars include: Dreamweaver, Flash and Illustrator. We encourage you to register for these free eSeminars, even if your skill level is beyond a beginner, it is always useful to get back to basics. Check out the topics that will be covered.

October eSeminars Design for Beginners topics:

• Getting started with CSS 1st Oct

• How to create tabbed menus and AJAX controls in Dreamweaver 8th Oct

• Flash for Beginners 22nd Oct

• Getting started with Illustrator 29th Oct

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So it seems like the world of online education is growing. Yes, this is no surprise, as the internet is taking over our lives, but more surprising is online education for K-12 students, which according to Jodi Church’s online article ‘Is online education more effective than traditional learning?’, is becoming more prominent.

Recent studies have proven the benefits of online education, as Church writes: “According to a recent study conducted by SRI International for the US Department of Education, online learners perform slightly better than students in traditional face-to-face classrooms.” A key outcome of this report is that it will put an end to the myth that online learning is inferior to traditional learning, as well as generating greater interest in developing technology for education.

A client of webqem’s – Kaplan University, is at the forefront of developing online education. Kaplan is renowned as a giant in online university degrees, and is now offering programs for students in grades 6 to 12 – an area previously untouched by online education. One of Kaplan’s key technologies for online education is Adobe Connect Pro and Presenter, which they use to conduct online meetings and to develop high impact online presentations.

So how much further will online education grow? It seems like we have only scraped the surface of the possibilities as many education institutions are only now  just adopting online education, so lets just say there is still a long way to go.

There are some useful eSeminars coming up for users of Adobe’s video software: CS4 Production Premium, Encore, Premiere Pro, Photoshop or After Effects. A variety of topics are offered to suit user’s ability, whether beginner, intermediate or advanced – there is an eSeminar for you. Have a look at the topics listed below, find one that tickles your fancy, then go to the registration page & secure your free spot in the eSeminar.

September eSeminar Video topics:

• RED Camera workflow with CS4 Production Premium. 4th Sept.

• Encore – Authoring to BluRay and Flash using custom designed templates. 11th Sept.

• Using video with Photoshop CS4. 18th Sept.

• Audio tool for video production – including speech to text workflow. 25th Sept.

For all the photographers out there, there are some great eSeminars coming up for September.There are a wide range of topics for the beginners and the advanced. All of Adobe’s photography software are covered: Photoshop, Lightroom & Photoshop Elements. Best of all they’re free! All you need to do is register. If you still need more training, there is always webqem’s Photoshop training course.

Septemeber eSeminar Photography topics:

• Introducing LightRoom & ‘The Five Rules’. 7th Sept
• Lightroom’s Powerful Digital Asset Management Features. 14 Sept
• Fast Raw Workflow Techniques – PART 2. 21st Sept
• Professional photo galleries with Photoshop, Lightroom and Photoshop Elements. 28th Sept

Building studies and virtual classrooms? You would not think they go together. However, a keen teacher from Armidale TAFE in NSW, has managed to successfully put the two together with the use of Adobe’s Connect Pro. Graeme Wilton regularly uses Connect Pro to teach his teach his Certificate IV in Building Studies course to a range of distance education students in North-West NSW. His students “absolutely love it”.  He says that “It’s added an enthusiasm that I haven’t seen for a while, but I must say that part of that would come from me because I’m a little ‘g-ed’ up about the whole thing too,” he laughs.

This is another Connect Pro success story that the webqem team was instrumental in – Good work team! You can read the full report here.

The July ACUGA meeting was held on Tuesday 22^nd of August. Joining us all the way from his Adobe office in Ottawa, Canada, was Adobe Connect Pro expert -Alistair Lee. Alistair treated our ACUGA members to a very polished and well presented presentation on the best practices for using the Adobe Connect Pro Meeting module.

A recording of this meeting is available for viewing, so don’t worry if you missed this. The recording is available here or you can find it under the ‘Recorded Events’ on the connectusers.com website.

The next ACUGA meeting is being held on Thursday 20th of August, so make sure you are registered and we hope to see you there. Simply go to connectusers.com and register today. And be sure to join the ACUGA user group!

About ACUGA

Adobe Connect User Group, Asia Pac (ACUGA) was established by webqem in response to a community need for collaboration and delivery of best practice in online education and e-learning. ACUGA aims to provide a vehicle for sharing of ideas and future development based on the Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro Platform.

Blackboard is a leading provider of e-Education enterprise software applications and services, servicing schools, universities, corporations, governments and publishers. Blackboard’s online learning application, the Blackboard Learning System, is the most widely-adopted course management system among U.S.tertiary institutions.

Adobe has just announced that the Adobe Acrobat Connect/Blackboard Building Block (integration module) is now available to customers from the Blackboard Building Block website at http://www.blackboard.com/corp/objects/inc/B2Details.asp?ExtensionID=10314

Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro 7 provides a more integrated workflow to common tasks with Blackboard 7.3 and 8, allowing:

• Administrators to easily install the LMS integration module;
• Course Builders create and manage course-specific Adobe Connect Pro Meetings as part of their course offering;
• Students to see upcoming Adobe Connect Pro Meetings and Today’s Meetings.

webqem are the leading Australian Adobe Solutions Partner for Adobe Connect Pro, and will be attending BBWorld AsiaPac 08 in Adelaide on September 8 – 10, sharing knowledge in online learning solutions.

http://usc.edu.au/University/MediaPublications/News/MoreNews/GayleBeijing.htm

University of the Sunshine Coast business lecturer Gayle Mayes used Adobe Connect to bring the Beijing Olympics into her classroom.

Ms Mayes spent two weeks in Beijing for the Olympic Games, and organised live video links with her Sport and Event Marketing classes during their scheduled lecture times, covering the sports marketing topics discussed in her University classes.

Issues included ticket prices, politics and sport, drugs in sport, security, the cultural, economic, political and environmental impacts of mega events, and the challenges of marketing and managing an international event in China.

Ms Mayes uses experiential education as her main teaching strategy. This approach last year earned her a $10,000 grant from the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education.

Adobe Connect Meeting is giving students greater opportunities at Massey University Library to access research consultations with subject librarians.

One hour face-to-face appointments, normally required for this process, had often proved difficult in the past. Connect Meeting means that these can now be done virtually, freeing up travel time for all involved.

The ability to screen share during a Connect Meeting has enabled library staff to operate software on student’s computers remotely if required.

More information about how Massey University uses Adobe Acrobat Connect Meeting within their library can be found online at http://elearning.massey.ac.nz/connect/use/massey_university_library.html.