The Collaborize Classroom team (I am the digital media + pr manager for them) is back home in Santa Rosa from the CUE Educational Technology Conference in Palm Springs (and SXSW in Austin)
We had a booth at the CUE Confrence and not to brag... But we were a HIT. We had a great time, gave away a TON of swag and of course, hosted a great tweetup.
We had many questions from the teachers that visited our booth and so I wrote a blog post on the Collaborize Classroom Blog with the answers to some of the questions we recieved the most...
Is it really free?
Yes, Collaborize Classroom is a completely free online learning platform for teachers and students. We won’t pull a bait-and-switch and start charging after a year. Our online learning platform will always be free.
We are starting to plan the next big educational technology confrence - ISTE 2011 in Philadelphia and I am excited to show off some social media contests I have up my sleeves!
The latest press release to come from the Marketing Team at Democrasoft!
Democrasoft, Inc. (OTC PINKSHEETS: DEMO) the creator of Collaborize Classroom™ (http://CollaborizeClassroom.com), a free online learning platform, announced today their collaboration with the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development to make educational technology available to K-12 students in all Alaska elementary, middle and high schools.
With over 30% of its population living in rural areas and reliable transportation often lacking, Alaska’s smaller schools struggle to stay connected to the rest of the state. The Alaska Department of Education & Early Development is working with students and district technology coordinators to provide all of Alaska’s schools with an economical solution that can help overcome geographic challenges, while alsostudents how to communicate effectively online. Collaborize Classroom has become a valuable tool to help introduce high tech, blended-learning technology to schools across the state and the vehicle to help pilot the Alaska Student Voices Online Forum, where Alaskan students are asked for input on educational issues.
“In today’s educational environment, schools must reach students in ways that are relevant to them,” said Democrasoft CEO, Richard Lang. “Collaborize Classroom gives every student a voice and encourages participation from all students, including those who normally don’t participate in class, allowing them all to participate on their own time."
Collaborize Classroom provides Alaska’s teachers with a free online learning platform to help students feel connected and become a part of the decision-making process. Collaborize Classroom is designed to complement, not replace, classroom instruction, and engage students in online activities, assignments and discussions that will teach them valuable technology skills and online communication, a practice that will benefit them throughout their careers.
Last month I had the pleasure to work with my old Hamilton Partners co-worker and friend, Pete Stringfellow on a video for my company Democrasoft on our flagship product, Collaborize Classroom! We interviewed English teacher Catlin Tucker about how she has used Collaborize Classroom to transform her classes and get her students excited about writing. Hearing her story makes me think about how much I loved how much my own English teacher in high school pushed me to love learning (even if I may not have felt that way while IN high school)... Coincidentally he works WITH Catlin at Windsor High School!
Get your curriculum off to a running start for the 2011 Spring semester.
Whether or not you’ve signed up for your free Collaborize Classroom site, you can learn more about the ins and outs of Collaborize Classroom, an online learning platform that blends in-class activities with a structured and private online community.
Find out about how easy it is to use Collaborize Classroom to engage your students with online learning activities that will increase participation and inspire them by signing up for our free webinar.
You’ll also learn:
How to get your first question/topic/assignment posted and your students on the platform within minutes
About the unique questions/topic types and the structured discussions that drive student engagement
How to simply incorporate media into your online lesson plans to get the most out of your private online classroom
How to successfully engage your students in an online space from a teacher’s viewpoint
A few days ago, the flagship product from the company I work at, Democrasoft, was featured on my favorite social media news website, Mashable.
Collaborize Classroom made Mashable's list of the best tools for incorporating social media into the classroom. As you all know, I am a huge social media nerds so it was a huge honor to be recognized by them. From Mashable:
"Democrasoft, the company that developed Collaborize Classroom, clearly field tested the product with their other business-targeted products. The site is simple and effective; it’s clear how to ask a question, invite class members and send messages. The service is free for one year."
"As high school English teacher Catlin Tucker points out in a video (see below), “Class discussions seem to be dominated by about five to seven students. The same kids talk, the same kids don’t speak at all…” For some students, however, online discussions are less intimidating to participate in."
"This app gives teachers four discussion format choices. Students can either agree or disagree with a statement, answer a multiple choice question, post responses, or have the choice between adding a new response or voting for someone else’s response. Teachers can add photos or videos to their prompts and all of the discussions take place on one class page."
The other education focused companies that were featured in the article ranged from video sites, to blogging tools to teaching project management tools, are all great social media tools to bring technology inside and outside the classroom.
As school budgets are cut, teachers have larger class sizes and less time to get more done, tools can help teachers face the challenges of today's education system. Technology is a way for teachers to engage students in a way that is known to them, via online activities. Democrasoft recognized the need to support education and we are looking to keep our product free for teachers in the immediate future.