Social eLearning Software Blog

Welcome to the Interactyx Blog!

There is so much going on at Interactyx that people need to know, we decided to create this blog.  Here you will see updates about our eLearning 2.0 solution - TOPYX, events we support, major developments, partnerships, our Green initiatives and much, much more.

We will regularly have information about the eLearning challenges corporate trainers are facing from our TOPYX Trainer team.

For those interested in increase their sales and expanding their market reach, we will have posts here from our TOPYX Mentor team that you will find valuable.

Anyone trying to enhance their eLearning offering, build fund raising, incorporate the best of Web 2.0 social networking features into their academic programs, we see helpful material here from our TOPYX Academic team.

Plus, we will be releasing exciting new developments concerning TOPYX Mobile, the TOPYX Test Drive and more on this blog, so make sure to check back regularly!

There any many exciting things taking place at Interactyx, so stay tuned...

By 2008, over 4 million students were participating in on-line learning at institutions of higher education in the United States. Many higher education, for-profit institutions, now offer on-line classes. About half of private, non-profit schools offer eLearning. Private institutions may become more involved with on-line presentations as the cost of instituting such a system decreases.

Properly trained staff must also be hired to work with students on-line. These staff members need to understand the content area, and also be highly trained in the use of the computer and Internet. eLearning is rapidly increasing, and online doctoral programs have even developed at leading research universities.

The worldwide eLearning industry is estimated to be worth over forty-eight (48) billion dollars according to conservative estimates. Developments in internet and multimedia technologies are the basic enabler of eLearning. eLearning 2.0 is a catch-all term that covers a wide range of instructional material that can be delivered on a CD-ROM or DVD, over a local area network, or on the Internet. The term e-Learning 2.0 is used to refer to new ways of thinking about eLearning inspired by the emergence of Web 2.0.

From an eLearning 2.0 perspective, conventional eLearning systems were based on instructional packets that were delivered to students using Internet technologies. The role of the student consisted in learning from the readings and preparing assignments. Assignments were evaluated by the teacher. In contrast, the new eLearning places increased emphasis on social learning and use of social software such as blogs, wikis, podcasts and virtual worlds.

The term eLearning 2.0 is used to refer to new ways of thinking about eLearning inspired by the emergence of Web 2.0. From an eLearning 2.0 perspective, conventional e-learning systems were based on instructional packets that were delivered to students using Internet technologies. The role of the student consisted in learning from the readings and preparing assignments. Assignments were evaluated by the teacher. In contrast, the new eLearning places increased emphasis on social learning and use of social software such as blogs, wikis, podcasts and virtual worlds.

The first 10 years of eLearning (eLearning 1.0) was focused on using the Internet to replicate the instructor-led experience. Content was designed to lead a learner through the content, providing a wide and ever-increasing set of interactions, experiences, assessments, and simulations. eLearning 2.0, by contrast (patterned after Web 2.0) is built around collaboration. eLearning 2.0 assumes that knowledge (as meaning and understanding) is socially constructed.

Learning takes place through conversations about content and grounded interaction about problems and actions. Advocates of social learning claim that one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it to others.