Online conference a first
The University of Calgary’s Continuing Education department is breaking new ground by using cutting-edge technology to host an online conference.
 Offered by the Teacher Assistant Certificate Program (TACP),
the conference was the first on campus to use Elluminate Live!,
a real-time delivery mode.
“This technology is certainly much superior to teleconferencing, which is one of the ways the TACP had been delivered in the past,” says Ruth Lambert, TACP program director.
The program uses Elluminate Live! technology to deliver nine
courses online to students who, primarily, live in western
Canada, although some have enrolled from as far away as
Ontario, India and Japan. Students sign on at specific times
and attend class in real time online along with the instructor
and classmates.
This was the first time at the U of C that
the technology was used for a conference. Presenters, including
one from Australia, participated from their home offices; participants
also signed on from home.
All involved said the delivery mode
allowed for lots of interactive participation. The conference,
Teacher Assistants…Their Spirits Within, began on Friday, Oct. 13 with a keynote address by Johanne Frapet, a doctoral student in the Faculty of Education. It continued on Saturday and included a total of five presentations.
The TACP Fall 2006 Conference was devised as a way to reach
teacher assistants outside of the Calgary area without the
expense of having participants travel to the city and stay
overnight. All 26 participants remained online until the closing
remarks on Saturday.
“With the assistance of Joanne Carruthers from the U of C Teaching and Learning Centre, the endeavour to hold an online conference has been a labour of love for those involved,” says
Lambert.
More information on TACP can be found at www.conted.ucalgary.ca/tacert/
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