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"I have found that many who dream of online learning somehow imagine a virtual school where the teachers are no more than those who load up the assignments and set up the learning management system. But by taking actual teaching out of the distance learning equation, we are dooming distance learning to mere correspondence course status." An interesting blog post on the need for teacher-student interactions in the world of online learning. But I would hasten to add that it doesn't have to be f2f or blended -- it could be in a video conferenced setting as well.

As usual, a good combination of interesting tech tools and suggestions for pedagogical uses.

Good articles on video conferencing and pedagogy of online teaching.

VIRTLANTIS is a Second Life-type community on OS Grid (a sort of open/free version of SL) used as a community for language practice. A virtual meeting takes place M-F noon GMT.

This video is helpful for those setting up a conference or online class. WiZiQ has some great capabilities, including videoconferencing, and it's still free.

This blog by Tom Barrett is an incredible wealth of information. One of the best teacher blogs I've seen. A lot of time and care goes into his many lesson ideas.

"The Google Teacher Academy is a FREE professional development experience designed to help primary and secondary educators from around the globe get the most from innovative technologies. Each Academy is an intensive, one-day event where participants get hands-on experience with Google's free products and other technologies, learn about innovative instructional strategies, receive resources to share with colleagues, and immerse themselves in an innovative corporate environment. Upon completion, Academy participants become Google Certified Teachers who share what they learn with other primary and secondary educators in their local region." To get into the Academy, you must submit a one-minute video--more instructions on the page.

This location takes you to a recording of the training class. WiZiQ is a great virtual classroom with many of the same features as the (not free) Elluminate app.

"Abstract: The course management system (CMS) reinforces the status quo and hinders substantial teaching and learning innovation in higher education. It does so by imposing artificial time limits on learner access to course content and other learners, privileging the role of the instructor at the expense of the learner, and limiting the power of the network effect in the learning process. The open learning network (OLN)-a hybrid of the CMS and the personal learning environment (PLE)-is proposed as an alternative learning technology environment with the potential to leverage the affordances of the Web to dramatically improve learning. Author Name(s): Jon Mott David Wiley"

"This year in February I moderated week 5 of Becoming a Webhead 2009. As a natural researcher I had to investigate these tools and their educational potential. Below you will find a list of the different tools that can make our teaching excel and our imagination grow. Be ready to create quizzes, online sheets, interactive exercises and online surveys." This looks like a set of very useful tools to use online and off.

Nik Peachey explains how to create lessons using video files. Create Quick Video Task Sheets Vidinotes is an interesting site that I spotted a few weeks back. It's a great way to produce instant (almost) video worksheets to go with YouTube videos. Basically, what it does is to convert an flv video file into a number of screen shots with a space next to each screen shot for the students to take notes."

This is a place for teachers to set up their own online courses. EC provides all the tools needed for online teaching: blogs, Skype and DimDim meetings, etc.

A webconferencing tool that allows you to upload files for interactive sharing. A Skype-friendly site. No registration, no downloading. Instructional video.

"This is a ning site dedicated to the support of a Personal Learning Network for Educators " Content includes podcasts and posting. The usual Ning interface, which is a little daunting--but there is a screencast tutorial.

A nice instructional video by Michael Coughlan. Links from this page will take you to other tutorials by Michael.

An audio Web service that allows recording from any phone, including Skype or an in-browser widget. Recordings can be shared with aFlash widget, embedding, RSS, download, etc. Staring at $4.95/month.

A free, ad-free discussion site

"Nicenet's Internet Classroom Assistant (ICA) allows virtually any classroom, even those with modest resources, access to powerful tools. Everything in Nicenet is offered free for public use, and Nicenet makes no profits from your participation." Sign in to create your own online classroom base.

A recent 93-page report on online education, conducted by SRI International for the Department of Education, has a starchy academic title, but a most intriguing conclusion: "On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction."

Looks to be an interesting community that uses WiZiQ and shares information.

"There are ten tasks and they can be done in any order, except for the tenth one which should be last. Please feel free to use and share these tasks and by all means leave any comments or suggestions for improvement. I will also be hosting a teacher development week using and discussing these tasks and the related tools from 7th to 15th December 2009 on the SEETA Moodle site: http://www.seeta.eu/ so by all means come along for that if you want to share ideas and learn a bit more together." These ten tasks are a nice resource for teacher trainers, or if you are a teacher and want your students to try out one or more of the tools (not all of which are really Web 2.0 tools, BTW). I've used most of these before, but it is a pleasure to use them on the IMac Intel-based with very high speed Internet. If you hit this site before December 2009, do join the SEETA discussion at their Moodle.