This week was my first opportunity to use the Elluminate collaborative learning online software in my Digital Learning Theory class, and I have to say that I was impressed. Despite everyone living in different cities and the wide variety of computer equipment that I imagine was being used the session went off with little in the way of technical problems. I would classify most of the problems as beginner user error.

As a source of collaborative learning Elluminate has untold numbers of possibilities and I can see software such as this transforming the teaching world. The main stumbling block is not the software or necessarily the hardware. It is the Internet connection. A stable and solid one is required, and I have to wonder what a session would be like on an older computer on a 56k modem. I can just imagine a student living in a rural area with slow and unstable Internet trying to take part in a class and falling behind. It seems a bit jumpy for me on cable Internet when the instructor was screen sharing and just using audio.

Ideally there would be broadband for all but that is not the case. It’s quite the dichotomy; those who already have broadband do not see the need to expand services, mainly because they already have it, thus leaving those who are not so fortunate behind. I believe this is a shortsighted viewpoint. Broadband and the Internet are rapidly becoming the one of the most important public utilities for our nation and the future of it, and we cannot let a sizable portion of the country to fall behind technologically just because we think it might increase our rates in the immediate future. It has reached the point that the first place our government and companies point to for assistance is their website. It doesn’t matter if it’s tech support for a printer or signing up for unemployment, it’s all there on the web and if they don’t have to talk to you they won’t.

By denying broadband you are in effect denying citizens their right to a public utility. Let’s play fair and work for the good of all, not just the lucky chosen few.

15 thoughts on “Reflective Musings on Elluminate and the Internet LRND 5660

  1. Eric Calvert said:

    You make a good point on the problem of inequity of broadband access. It seems like people living in remote areas (with less access to colleges/universities, libraries, museums, etc. vs. people in more densely populated areas) could potentially benefit the most from the growth of online learning. Yet, at the moment, they’re less likely to have access to the fast, affordable broadband needed to participate in media-rich online learning experiences. It’s an unfortunate paradox, isn’t it?

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