webqem blog

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.

webqem’s Larry Adler and Gavin Perry will be in Hong Kong next week attending the International ITC Expo at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Expo runs from 14 - 17 April 2008.

While the two will be manning a booth at the Expo, Larry is also part of the speaker line-up - presenting the topic “Rapid E-Learning with Adobe Connect Professional” on Tuesday afternoon.

webqem has recently opened offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Auckland.

The International ITC Expo is one of the largest information & communication technology exhibitions in the region with product and service providers exhibiting from 18 countries and regions. Details for the International ITC Expo can be found online at http://ictexpo.tdctrade.com/index.htm

Congratulations to Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin of True Green for the release of True Green Kids, their third True Green book launched this week in Sydney by Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, AM MP.

webqem worked with Kim and Jenny to produce the True Green @ Work E-Learning Program, creating it with a number of Adobe products including Adobe Flash and Adobe Presenter.

Visit the True Green site to read more http://www.betruegreen.com/

The role of technology in linking students together is discussed today in an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, where Adobe Connect Professional is mentioned as one of the ways that teachers and students can collaborate online.

Adobe’s John Treloar, well known to educators here in Australia, is one of the people quoted in the article that covers how a variety of different technologies are being used to engage students online.

Using Adobe Connect to involve students in a collaborative environment rather than a passive one-to-many online seminar means that the learning process is more engaging - that the student has the ability to contribute and to be part of the learning experience.

Read more in the Sydney Morning Herald article entitled “Dial-up duxes”.

Adobe have released a public beta of the next version of Adobe Acrobat Connect. Code named “Brio”, the beta is both a web meeting and a online collaboration tool based on the Flash Player intended for small business and individuals. The Brio beta can be evaluated online for free, applying for a Brio meeting gives users the opportunity to:

• Host unlimited online meetings with a maximum of 3 participants using:
  • Screen sharing
  • Chat
  • Camera and VoIP
  • Whiteboards
• Share documents and files with participants
• Have a personal Brio meeting URL

Beta means that Brio is still in development. It currently doesn’t offer the same meeting feature list as Connect but is still worth trying out as you’ll find that it is already a good performer - and a good insight into the future of Adobe Acrobat Connect. Apply for a free Brio account now at http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/brio/

Tests last week at webqem resulted in a live video feed from a TV tuner card streaming within an Adobe Acrobat Connect Meeting Room’s Camera pod. The implication for folk hosting Connect online meetings is the possibility of being able to display video material directly from either a DVD or VCR. Want to know more? Contact us via the comments section below.

The Event module for Adobe Connect allows you to track Event registrations by campaign URL, giving you the ability to determine campaign effectiveness through analysing the sources of your registrations.

When managing an event you select the “Enable Campaign Tracking” option from the Registration Questions page to activate this option, then locate the URL for the registration page.

Copy the URL and modify the address, adding “?campaign-id=” to the end with an additional unique identifier and use that new URL in any correspondence you use for the campaign’s registration pages.

This process is explained in further detail in an Adobe TechNote: http://www.adobe.com/go/c886a790

Peter Ryce, Adobe’s Connect product evangelist or “connectionist”, is well known as the presenter of various demonstrations for the Adobe Connect product range. We recently discovered that Peter had done a video interview with well known blogger Robert Scoble on Connect.

Entitled “Demo of Adobe Connect” it runs for almost half an hour. It’s a worthwhile view as Scoble’s interview with Peter Ryce is thorough, giving an excellent insight into the product.