Interactive Networks Launches IM for Education

[Jeff]

Instant messaging has long been used by students for socializing and collaboration. Some teachers have even embraced IM as a way to communicate with their students -- creating a sort of extended "office hours." Unfortunately, this all happens in a haphazard fashion using public IM networks, with little or now managment capability available to the school.

For example, the teacher could not easily create IM groups for a class, limiting who could join. And the tools for collaboration vary depending on the IM system used.

Now Interactive Networks has introduced a special version of Intan-t instant messenger specifically for educational institutions. It provides many improvements and brand new collaborative features that benefit both educators and students.

Educators can create group tutorials and answer questions regarding exams or homework. They can share presentations with their students online, promoting interactivity. And they can collaboratively review documents.

Educational institutions can manage the whole IM network through a web based administration console, having the chance to add specific users to the student’s contact list, creating groups for different purposes.

Intan-t also provides multi-person chat with voice and video, making it easier for students to connect with each other and their instructors. This is ideally suited for distance learning classes, allowing students to put a face to the names of their peers and build a stronger sense of community.

"The changes that information technology brought to our societies promoted radical advances in educational environments, changing teachers' instructional roles in the classroom. It is a fact that our younger generations have embraced this technology, while for some educators it is seen as a threat to their role. Acquiring technology skills and developing new teaching strategies for integrating technology into educational institutions would change the dynamics of the classes, turning instant messaging into a collaborative tool for both students and faculty", said the company’s CEO, Pablo Salomon.

Educational institutions get a 50% discount over enterprise pricing. There are options for hosted or server editions, and four different versions, allowing organizations to select the features that meet their needs and budget.

Instan-t has a great solution for organizations who want greater messaging control and security in their organization. The product is competitively priced, and definitely worth a look for any organization looking to create their own private IM network.

Read more: http://www.interactiveni.com/Enterprise/learning.htm

[MrOats]

Sounds like a very interesting program.

My high school has Blackboard, but it is nothing compared to this.

I have used Blackboard for some courses I've been in, but a lot of teachers do not utilize the potential of Blackboard, in my opinion. All that they use it for, if even, is to post assignments, links of educational interest, or notes up on their course page, not much more than that.

Most of my teachers don't even have a page on Blackboard set up, it's a shame that they aren't utilizing the power of the internet and IM.

Our school does have a distance learning room, which uses cameras, A/V, and faxes to send tests back and forth, etc...

I believe there will be much more IM and computer-based communication in the educational system in the future.