Programs for remote learning (today talking about Adobe Connect)

Learning is light, and ignorance means darkness?
Afanasy Polosukhin from the film “Seven Nannies” (R. Bykov, 1962)

Distance learning is gaining more and more popularity every year. Today it is necessary to pay attention to the software solutions for this type of training, in order to notice tomorrow the serious competitive resistance of software companies for a tidbit - universities, then colleges, and finally schools.

In continuation of the started topic “Remote learning programs (webinars)” by ArMikael's friend, I want to talk today about Adobe Connect - specialized remote learning software (and not just learning).
')
Attention: many letters and illustrations!

Adobe Connect

Adobe Connect is a specialized software based on Adobe Flash technology, designed for distance learning, interactive conferences, meetings, online customer support, information sharing and other equally useful functions. As you can see right away, Connect, like Flash, is the brainchild of Adobe, which means that the compatibility of these solutions is maximum. On the other hand, to work with Connect, the user must have Flash installed on the machine. According to the manufacturer, 98% of all machines contain Flash on board. If the user doesn’t have such (Flash) at the entrance to the software, the program offers him to install this application for free, and then returns to the page with Connect.

The main advantage of Connect is that the tool does not require the installation of additional software on the machines of the listeners and the organizer. Imagine a group of 50 students and an organizer-professor with a variety of machines, operating systems who still need to install something, set up ... - You can draw an analogy with the amenities on the street, they are, but not in the best possible way. There is simply no such thing in Connect.

In addition, the product is cross-platform; For the listener and the organizer, you just need a browser and access to the Internet. Another positive point is the support of IP-telephony and the ability to scale the solution.

Now let us imagine a real picture: a university, a group of students from the n-number of people in the correspondence department and one lecturer - a professor of the course, for example (there are many schemes and I took the first one from the head - simplified).

Tasks of the lecturer:

- preparation of educational material;
- transfer of educational material to students in the form of lectures;
- control of learning material by students - testing, questionnaires, etc.

Tasks of students:

- receiving educational material from the lecturer;
- self-consolidation;
- confirmation that the material was learned - passing the test, filling out questionnaires, etc.

To make the learning process more modern and more efficient, we integrate Adobe Connect software with the Meeting module into it.

Price

For integration, you must first purchase the tool. The price of Connect wants the best, but on the other hand the class of this software is much higher than its competitors: Cisco Webex, AT & T Interwise and Elluminate, which ArMikael spoke about .



Prices are for Ukraine, that is, there is an error. In the first paragraph, we see the cost of the license Adobe Connect - $ 20K.

The solution is installed on a local server from Win 2003 or 2008, which is administered by an Adobe specialist - this is a recommendation of the corporation, although there are other options (I do not know). Immediately it is worth noting that the “bare” Connect license is not needed by itself for the university, the university needs a comprehensive solution with modules that will work on the Connect platform.

There are two main modules: Adobe Connect Meeting Meeting and Adobe Connect Training. Yes, there is another module: Adobe Connect Events, but we will skip it. The invoice contains only a Meeting designed for 5 simultaneous connections - the minimum order (to understand the order of numbers), that is, only five students will be able to enjoy the lecture of the speaker online, the rest are waiting in line. There is a way out - the acquisition of additional licenses for the required number of students. The maximum number of listeners - 100 people, here and count. Module Meeting and Training for the same price.

Technical support for this entire farm will also cost a pretty penny.
Total in the simplest form (Connect + module Meeting for 5 seats + support) we have a budget of $ 30K. The price will grow in direct proportion to the needs of the university.

This is the position of its Adobe modules:

Adobe Connect Meeting - virtual classroom, web conferencing system:

- Multipoint audio and video broadcast
- Download and playback of video flash video (FLV)
- Demonstration of PowerPoint presentations with preservation of animation effects
- Broadcast computer screen and application sharing
- Collaboration on documents
- Communication tools: chat, file sharing, comments, polls, links
- Complete freedom to customize the appearance and contents of virtual classes, saving settings in templates
- Record meetings, edit notes, save notes on your computer
- Ability to use virtual classroom applications and electronic educational resources based on Adobe Flash - interactive workshops, simulations, games.
(Description taken from Adobe brochure)

Adobe Connect Training - Distance Learning System (LMS):

- Playing electronic courses created using Adobe Presenter, Captivate, or Flash (additional content creation software) or complying with SCORM 1.2 / 2004 / AICC standards
- Conducting electronic testing
- Creating curricula that combine classes in real time
under the guidance of a teacher and independent learning
- Subscription to the courses and curricula of students, both individually and as part of groups, as well as self-registration for optional classes
- Contact Adobe Connect Meeting - the ability to track work with educational materials inside the virtual classrooms
- Detailed reporting by student / group / program / course / virtual classroom.
(Description taken from Adobe brochure)

Then there are two ways of development:

1. at the university there is an administrator who creates the necessary virtual classes for a particular lecturer; The lecturer, in his turn, is a speaker and is engaged exclusively in the creation of educational material: presentations, video, polls, voting, knowledge testing, etc .;
2. There is no administrator in the university, and then the lecturer takes over his functions, who now prepares not only educational material, but also the place of his report - a virtual classroom.

Both ways are real and have both positive and negative points. But today is not about that. Yes, and do not forget that this is a very simplified scheme.

Functionality

Now let's take a look behind the scenes of Adobe Connect in a pair with the Meeting module and look at its functionality from the perspective of the administrator-speaker. We click on the Connect icon, after which a gray window appears - this is the workplace of the administrator-speaker.



What does this Connect do? All of his "buns" are in the functions of its module.



Then I open all the functions-modules at once in order to demonstrate them visually. The administrator-speaker opens only those modules that he is going to use in the upcoming lecture.

Meeting module functionality:

I want to note that this module is only part of the correct solution for the university, designed to conduct training on the air.

Sharing

Allows you to show everyone your desktop and, accordingly, all actions and windows that take place on it; allows you to work with files, for example, we have a drawing over which everyone can put their notes;

Visitor List

Allows you to track listeners live; was Petrov-Sidorov at a lecture or not the lecturer can easily detect;

Camera and voice

It's all very simple, the lecturer performs live with the transmission of the video stream of the lecture with sound; It is not always interesting for students to watch “dry” presentations, graphics, because it is more interesting to listen to the lecturer “live” - there is such an opportunity;

Chat

Ability to conduct direct correspondence during the lecture; for example, the lecturer asks: “Have questions?”, and you write him quietly, he reads and at the end of the lecture answers; forget the questions he does not work, because they are already spelled out;

Note

A module that allows you to write a note, for example, to thank everyone for their presence;

Poll

The knowledge test tool, it allows you to interview students and conduct testing on the material passed, and then get acquainted with the statistics;

File sharing

The usual file sharing service is located in the classroom, the lecturer transmits additional materials for self-study, and the students in turn can transfer the work done;

Web links

Here, too, everything is simple; during the lecture, the speaker cites a specific example and immediately gives a source link, for example, about a new technology with a link to the website of the developers of this technology; nothing “military”, but on the other hand a very useful function;



Let's go further - the organization of the meeting, what does the speaker need to do for this? The lecturer should go to the top menu “Meeting”, then “Access and access control”, then “Invite participants ...”, after which the mailboxes (invitations) will fall into their invitations with a link that will take you to the virtual classroom for a lecture to the speaker



“Class! I was invited by our professor to listen to his lecture, ”the students will say.

In the “Collection” menu there are other useful functions that allow you to manage the meeting, change the appearance of the room, see the statistics, adjust the connection speed, etc.



The "Submit" feature allows you to set a variety of statuses that correspond to specific capabilities.



Function "layouts". With its help, you can hold a lecture in the form of a presentation, conference, collaboration or create your own logical version. These features are duplicated in the lower part of the Connect working window.



Also at the bottom of the screen there is a button to adjust the sound during the lecture.

The opportunity to enter into debate when you click on one of the buttons, to make or not to make a decision, to applaud, laugh, etc.

During the preparatory process, the speaker will have the opportunity to work in a mode invisible to listeners by clicking on the “Preparatory mode” button.

And if the speaker is hard to understand any of the functions, Help will always help him!



A listener who has entered the virtual classroom will see the following window with limited functions:



In the window all modules will be visible (see above), which the speaker will install at the time of the lecture. And the listener can only enter into the debate when you click on one of the buttons, make or not make a decision, applaud, laugh, etc.

Afterword

And so, at the exit, we were able to conduct remote training for external students. Personally, I see a great future in this technology, since immediately tried it on himself. Yes, of course, the turnout of students in the "real" should be mandatory for the speaker to be able to establish contact with his students, conducting test tests / exams / various defenses; on the other hand, the same students do not need to throw out 3-4 weeks from their work schedule in order to attend a lecture - they need to go to university for 1-2 times to pass the test in the disciplines (there are many schemes, but this is the paraffin of university management) . The lecture can be listened to / viewed in the recording at any time convenient for the student (morning-day-night), and then, as an anchor, pass the test, conduct preliminary protection.

PS

As far as I know, Adobe Connect Pro is already used in Russia: Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics and Informatics (MESI); Institute of Educational Information Technologies UFU; I found only positive reviews!

Pss

The product is heavy and it is too hard to describe all the nuances in one post for general understanding. If it will be interesting, I will continue ...