There has been a massive amount of work done already on the new online school site and a lot of the features are ready to go. However we still have a lot of work left to do before all the content is ready.
So, to whet your appetite in the meantime, here is a brief introduction with some screenshots to give you an impression of what you can expect.
First off, the main school site is online and functional. It is not accepting students as yet but if you want to take a look at the sign on the virtual door, you'll find it here:
www.bobtait-online.com
Once there you'll see the general layout of the frontpage. Most important is the login link for new students which will allow you to login and access your private course area:
From here you have access to your course list, your profile tools, personal blog, latest news, course calendar and your webmail account (which every student will receive for the duration of their enrolment).
Accessing the CPL Perf course brings our demo student to the main course page:
Here you will have access to all the course materials such as the latest textbook as a fully searchable E-Text:
There are also more informal "Time out with Bob" segments where Bob chats about certain features of the material. Just as if you were having a coffee together after class...
There are also "In Class with Bob" segments which feature actual in-class audio footage re-presented online with animations based on Bob's in-class materials:
When you're not "in class" with Bob, you'll be doing "lessons" with me where other material from the book is presented with multimedia, animations and mini-quizzes to make sure the information in Bob's book really sinks in.
Both the "In Class with Bob" and "Lesson" elements include a fully searchable transcription of the spoken narration which we hope will be a major help to foreign students (or for those midnight study binges when the family is already in bed and you've got the sound down).
The course includes a large question bank which will feed numerous randomised quizzes and exams. Bob and Ben have been churning out questions like dervishes.
Finally, when you pass, you will receive Cyber Exam credits for Bob's Perfomance Cyber Exams as well as a nifty little certificate for your own satisfaction.
In the next post, I'll talk about the "Social Learning" aspects of the online school. We want students to feel they are part of a wider community of colleagues and interaction will be encouraged (and rewarded) via forums for example.
I'll also give you a closer look at the quizzing system and the way you can use our randomised quizzes to get your knowledge and confidence into top form ready for the CASA exam.
Stay tuned and feel free to post any questions or comments
