TEACHING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING AT A DISTANCE
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The real power behind Elluminate Live! is that it enables real-time communication.  This benefit can be used in many ways for instructional purposes.  For instance, going back to the concept of using a parallel program to explain programming concepts, a computing educator could use the tool to write the example program with the students in the virtual classroom.  Students can immediately ask questions and receive answers from the instructor, while the instructor uses the Application sharing utility in Elluminate Live!.  If a student missed the virtual class, he could view t recorded class session at a latter time in an asynchronous modality.

      Another fine example of the use of this tool is for virtual office hours.  If a student was in a predicament, such as a syntax or logic error, the student could log into
Elluminate Live! during the virtual office hours, load the source code for the program, and allow the instructor to help the student debug the program.  Even for unscheduled office hours, the instructor and student need to simply click a hyperlink, load the program, and can interactively address the programming problem.  The alternative at most institutions of higher education is to exchange emails, telephone conversations, or having students come to campus (defeating the purpose of a distance learning course).

      A final consideration is using Elluminate Live! to test and assess students in learning programming concepts.  Some computing educators like to use oral assessments as a way to verify that a student completed the programming assignments independently and understood what they did instead of using traditional written exams.  Students could simply log in at a specified time for their oral exam, which allows computing educators to conduct thier oral exams.

      Web conferencing technology, such as
Elluminate Live! for computer programming instruction.  For more information about the academic version of Elluminate Live!, visit their website at the following location: http://www.elluminate.com/academic_edition.jsp.
 

© Albert Ritzhaupt 2006