I attended from a distance today, mainly because I wanted to try out Elluminate. It was actually superior to the distance learning software used at National when I was there. I forget the name of the program they used, but I remember it including real time instruction with both audio and video elements. I didn’t enjoy it much, and preferred straight online courses as a student. The system was a brand new idea then, and after attending training via Elluminate yesterday, I can see that the quality of those programs has improved quite a bit. It was clear, and felt very organized.
Perhaps my favorite part of cosoti was hearing from Francine, an experienced online English teacher. I wanted to pick her brain for some specific details, like how to facilitate class instruction, and how to manage curriculum. She was a pretty awesome communicator, and I found her “nuts and bolts” approach to be both helpful and applicable.
I want try-out Elluminate also. I was at COSOTI every day physically.