Would you like to make a decision using the EduTools Summative Decision Tool?
| Product Name | eCollege AU+ |
|---|---|
| Developer Name | eCollege |
| URL | eCollege |
| Review Date | April 12, 2005 |
| Forums | eCollege AU+ Discussions |
| Reviewer | Email Review Staff |
| Communication Tools | |
| Discussion Forums |
The software includes support for discussion forums. Discussions can be viewed by date, by thread, by author, by group, and by topics defined by the instructor. Instructors can associate a discussion with any course content. Instructors may create separate discussion environments for small groups. Instructors can limit discussions to specific time periods. Only the instructor may delete posts. Posts can include attachments, an image or URL. The entire discussion can be saved or printed for off-line reading. Discussion threads are expandable and collapsible to view an entire conversation on one screen. Discuss |
| File Exchange |
Students can submit assignments using dropboxes. Students can upload files to a shared course or group folder. Students can share the contents of their personal folders with their instructors. Instructors can upload files to the personal folder of a student. Virus detection technology is used throughout the file upload/download process Discuss |
| Internal Email |
Students must have an external Internet email address. Students can use the Internal email feature to email individuals and groups. Students can attach files and can spell check outgoing messages. Students use a searchable address book to email individuals and groups. Discuss |
| Online Journal/Notes |
Students can make private and personal notes about each of their courses. Students can make notes in a personal journal and may share them with their instructor. Students can print their study guide. Discuss |
| Real-time Chat |
The chat tool supports private rooms and private messages. The system creates archive logs for all chat rooms. Instructors can schedule chats using the course calendar. The chat tool supports unlimited simultaneous group discussions. The chat tool supports a structured way for students to ask questions and instructors to provide answers. Discuss |
| Video Services |
Course developers can integrate streamed Real audio and video into a course. Discuss |
| Whiteboard |
The whiteboard supports mathematical and scientific symbols, PowerPoint slideshows, graphing, polling, group web browsing, and instructor moderation. The software can archive a recording of whiteboard sessions for future viewing. Instructors can share snapshots of a running application through the whiteboard. The software includes support for application remote desktop sharing. Instructors can broadcast one-way audio presentations. The software includes support for voice chat. Discuss |
| Productivity Tools | |
| Bookmarks |
Students can create and categorize annotated bookmarks in a course folder. Discuss |
| Orientation/Help |
The system includes simulation-based, online courses that describe the role of students in online instruction, how groups work in an online course, and help students learn how to use the system. Students can access online help information, answers to frequently asked questions, and 24/7 email and phone support, with expected response in less than 24 hours. The system also includes an online student guide that covers time management and how to access the system help. Discuss |
| Searching Within Course | |
| Calendar/Progress Review |
Students can keep track of all their assignments, deadlines, and due dates in their personal online calendars. Students can view their grades on completed assignments and any instructor feedback and can view total points earned, total points possible and percentages per unit, per gradable item and overall course grade.Instructors can assign tasks using the online calendar. Discuss |
| Work Offline/Synchronize |
Students can download discussion group content into a format that can be printed or stored locally and synchronize their address book and calendar events with a PDA. Instructors can publish course content on a CD-ROM for use by students who do not have Internet access. Instructors can also publish course content on a CD-ROM that can be linked to dynamically from within the online course. Instructors can record synchronous sessions so that students can review them asynchronously at a later time. These recordings can be available in standard web media formats. Discuss |
| Student Involvement Tools | |
| Groupwork |
Instructors can assign students to groups. Each group can have its own shared group presentation folder, discussion forum, chat room, group email list, assignments, activities, assessments, group email list, and journal area. Discuss |
| Self-assessment |
Instructors can create timed or un-timed self-assessments. The system automatically scores multiple choice, true/false, and multiple answer type questions and can display instructor-created feedback and explanations. Instructors can create a database of questions that the system will randomize to create a unique self-assessment for each student. Instructors can also use the MathML equation editor to create mathematical notations in the self-assessment test questions. Discuss |
| Student Community Building |
Students can create online clubs, interest, and study groups at the system level. Discuss |
| Student Portfolios | |
| Administration Tools | |
| Authentication |
Administrators can protect access to individual courses with a username and password. The system can also authenticate against an external LDAP server. Discuss |
| Course Authorization |
The system supports restricting access based on pre-defined roles. Roles can also be customizedby the service provider. Instructors or students may be assigned different roles in different courses. Discuss |
| Registration Integration |
Administrators can add/enroll students in online courses. Students can self-register. Administrators can use the online registration feature to enter student information into the institutional student information system. Administrators can transfer student information bidirectionally between the system and an SIS (either in batch or in real time) using either flat files (CSV) or IMS Enterprise Specification v1.1 XML files or using secure ftp or SOAP web services. The system provides support for secure online tuition payment by check or credit card. Discuss |
| Hosted Services |
The product provider offers only a hosted system. The hosted system has uptime calculated in excess of 99.99%. The hosted system provides redundant hosting platforms located at a co-location centers with load balancing across all systems and provides 24x7x365 monitoring. The data centers have peerless connections to multiple Tier 1 networks and have standby generator capability to protect against power outages. There are no storage limits Discuss |
| Course Delivery Tools | |
| Course Management |
Instructors can selectively release materials based on specific start and end dates. Instructors can personalize access to specific course materials based on group membership and can link discussions to specific dates or course events. Instructors can link discussions to specific dates or course events. Instructors can design courses for instructor facilitated learning or system managed self-study. The system can synchronize course dates defined by the institutional calendar. Discuss |
| Instructor Helpdesk |
Instructors can access context sensitive help, take free online courses about instructional design strategies for online courses and how to use the product, and contact the 24/7 technical support helpdesk by email and phone. Discuss |
| Online Grading Tools |
Instructors can mark exams online. Instructors can provide feedback on all assignments through links to the relevant course content. Instructors can create a comma-delimited version of the gradebook for export to an external spreadsheet program. Instructors can access all student thread responses from within the Gradebook. Instructors can assign partial credit for certain answers. Instructors can add the grades for offline assignments to the online gradebook. Instructors can view grades in the gradebook by assignment, by student, and for all students on all assignments. Instructors can manually edit all grades. When an instructor adds an assignment to the course, the software automatically adds it to the gradebook. Instructors can delegate the responsibility for grading assignments. The gradebook supports the creation of custom columns which can contain either grade information or other instructor-determined details. Discuss |
| Student Tracking |
Instructors can get reports showing the number of times, and time and date on which each student accessed course content or course units. Instructors can share tracking information with students. Instructors can get a report showing the duration of time each student, or all students, spent on specific course units, course content, discussion forums, course assessments, assignments, self-assessments, and course bookmarks. Instructors can summarize all discussion posts to date by group or by student. Discuss |
| Automated Testing and Scoring |
Instructors can create automatically scored true/false, multiple choice, multiple answer, fill-in-the-blank, and matching questions. Instructors can also create ordering, fill-in-the-blank, matching, and short answer/essay questions. Instructors can create test banks and the system can use these test banks to create tests for students. The system can randomize the questions in a test and the alternatives for multiple choice questions. Instructors can set dates when students can access tests. Instructors can set a time limit on a test. Instructors can create feedback messages. Instructors can also differentially weight tests and create grading rules. Instructors can use passwords to restrict access to tests. Questions can contain images, video, and other media files. Instructors can use the MathML equation editor to create mathematical notations in questions and answers. Instructors can create unit-specific tests or course-level tests. Instructors can override the automated scoring and determine how to communicate test results to students. The system supports proctored exams. Discuss |
| Curriculum Design | |
| Accessibility Compliance |
To comply with Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act, the software implements the following features: support for the JAWS and Window-Eyes screen reader technology, a Java applet and an HTML-based chat option that are usable with popular assistive technologies, and support for most screen magnification software. Help desk personnel are trained in the use of assistive technologies. Course developers and instructional designers on the staff of the product provider are trained in the use of Section 508 standards and development techniques. Course developers and instructional designers offer training on how to create accessible courses and can retrofit content to make sure it is accessible. Discuss |
| Course Templates |
Instructors can use templates to create announcements, calendar entries, course content, course units, discussion forums, instructor biography, links, and the syllabus and course descriptions. Discuss |
| Curriculum Management | |
| Customized Look and Feel |
Institutions can apply their own institutional images, headers, and footers across all courses. Instructors can change the navigation icons and color schemes for a course. Discuss |
| Instructional Standards Compliance |
The product provider self-tested the software and reports that it is compliant with IMS metadata specification 1.1. The product provider will work with the institution to migrate existing courses into the system. The cost for this migration service is dependant on future licensing agreements. The product provider also offers a fee-based, on-site workshop to train instructors to convert course content by using a proprietary migration/conversion tool. Discuss |
| Instructional Design Tools |
The service provider offers instructional design services to help instructors create their courses. Instructors can access information and tips, context sensitive help, and tutorials on instructional design. Instructors can create both linear and nonlinear learning sequences. Discuss |
| Content Sharing/Reuse |
The system supports sharing content across course and institution boundaries. The system provides a central content repository where course content files can be stored and accessed by other instructors. Instructors can designate their files to be private or publicly accessible. Instructors can create links to content files in the central content repository so that changes made to the linked content are automatically displayed in their courses. Instructors can describe course content using metadata. For any content in the repository, users can view reports displaying every course in the system that is currently leveraging the selected item. Discuss |
| Hardware/Software | |
| Client Browser Required |
For PCs, the software requires Internet Explorer 5.5+, and Netscape 6.2+ and for Macintosh, the software requires Internet Explorer 5.1+, Netscape 7.1, and Safari 1.2. Discuss |
| Database Requirements | |
| Server Software | |
| UNIX Server | |
| Windows Server | |
| Pricing/Licensing | |
| Company Profile |
eCollege was founded in 1996 and was previously named RealEducation. eCollege’s customer base includes public and private universities, career colleges, community colleges, school districts, and state departments of education. eCollege trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol ECLG Discuss |
| Costs |
There is an annual license fee for campus based programs and a per registered user enrollment fee for complete distance education programs. Technical support costs are included in enrollment fees. All software source code can be held in escrow. Discuss |
| Open Source | |
| Optional Extras |
The system provides support for secure online tuition payment by credit card. The optional campus portal product supports integration of the online learning application with various administration and registration systems, such as course catalog, campus library, bookstore, student services, and bursar systems. Administrative application modules include a portal calendar package that integrates all course calendars and personal items into one master calendar, which can be downloaded to a PDA, with color-coding and customizable features to identify courses and activities; a Web access package that provides access to headline news, online shopping, personal stock portfolio, and other Web resources. There is an optional community package to facilitate the promotion of on-campus activities and events that supports online interaction, information sharing and communication outside of the courseware through clubs and study groups; and an alumni package that helps institutions to maintain relationships with students after graduation, and serves the needs of alumni organizations. eCollege is now compatible with Impatica, a desktop tool that converts PowerPoint files for streaming over the Internet. Exams can be imported with Respondus, an offline exam authoring tool. eCollege provides technical consulting for custom projects, on-campus and on-line training, course development services, content manager, & online registration with online payment. Discuss |
| Software Version |
The current software version number is eCollege AU+. Because this product is a hosted service, all users always have the same version. Discuss |
This site is licensed under a Creative Commons License.