Free+online+course+management+tools.

With the recognized cost of learning management systems, text books, paper and other materials in education our group decided to explore some free tools for online course management. These included synchronous meeting and presentation software, along with synchronous/asynchronous tools to manage course work and materials.

It was important for us to choose tools that were free and reasonably well known among students and faculty to explore the educational opportunities that are available. These three tools (Adobe ConnectNow, Facebook, and Twitterfall) keep students active and accountable while enabling teachers to monitor participation and foster online learning communities.

Educational, Economical, and Efficiency… Educational – Allow users to demonstrate/train audiences globally in a virtual classroom with audio/video. Economical – Users who are financially constrained can easily use an internet connection without the use of buying software to connect and interact with many users nor worry about traveling. Efficiency – Easy to use with a huge learning curve with built-in tools to allow Web 2.0 plugability.