| Such things merely describe what is possible within a school or class in this world. Global collaboration might have been possible back when my grandfather entered school in 1912 but not to the degree, speed, and pervasiveness that it occurs in today-s world. Instead of using postal mail or the telegraph, students will now send a chat message to a friend as a reminder of an assignment that is due or perhaps ask for advice on recommended resources. They can even use a virtual world to personalize the discussion. Alternatively, they might write a paper as a team using an online collaborative tool, which allows them to work on the same document at the same time. Their concerns and worldly questions insert as voice or text comments and annotations. In effect, technology enables a new vantage point on the journey into worldwide science and ultimately learning. What makes this more exciting is that as archaeological research has progressed during the past few decades, few archaeologists have visited those regions in Afghanistan. If they are ambitious, they might later submit that paper as a chapter in a collaboratively written wikibook or resource with others around the world. Illinois is a vital stop for anyone wishing to understand the state of elearning in the world. If you were to travel across North America, you would likely see the impact of e-learning. You could see the Worldly Tower in Minneapolis, home to the second tallest building in the state and names after its major tenant, Worlds University. Global International, if you have not guessed it, is a fully online university. You also open most any newspaper, magazine, or community guide and find something related to a training course, program, or initiative, which is part of the world. You see online learning options in many training fliers or email announcements. For college students walking across their campuses, they would see options to take classes online when time does not permit a live experience. Those entering classroom buildings will taste the changes in the world when they look at the walls for course announcements. There is no denying that the beneficial impact of this second opener is immense. Fortunately, she added, presence- and location-aware technologies are emerging that can create online learning experiences that are comparable to face-to-face ones. |