WizIQ Blog

WiZiQ Live Class Module for Moodle Now Works with Moodle 2.0.2

Here is an update for WiZiQ Live Class Moodle Module users:

WiZiQ’s Moodle plugin 2.0 is available for Moodle 2.0.2 users

Some FAQs:

1. Is this update for 1.9 users, too?

It’s simple!

a) WiZiQ Moodle module plugin 1.9 is for Moodle 1.9 users.
b) WiZiQ Moodle module plugin 2.0 is for Moodle 2.0.2 users.

If you want to upgrade your current Moodle LMS 1.9 to 2.0.2, then you need to install the WiZiQ Moodle module plugin 2.0 in order to use Virtual Classroom and Content Library in your website.

2. I don’t want to upgrade my Moodle installation from Moodle 1.9.0 to Moodle 2.0.2. Can I still install this WiZiQ moodle plugin 2.0?

This new plugin is only for WiZiQ Moodle module users who want to install the new version, Moodle 2.0.2. If Moodle 1.9 users do not have a WiZiQ moodle plugin 1.9 yet, they can download and install from here.

Please note: To download the right version, you will get options to choose from, once you are registered and logged in.

For any queries or support, do write to us at support@WiZiQ.com

_________________________________________________________________________________

Annual Edu Conference - Connecting Online 2011 (CO2011) - February 4-6, 2011

Welcome to the annual Connecting Online 2011 (CO11), live online conference. You are cordially invited to participate at the live online conference starting from the 4th of February to the 6th of February, 2011.

Educators at all levels will find this conference very useful, as many eminent intellectuals from across the globe will be holding webinars (web based seminars) on a variety of topics that help you understand:

• The importance of integrating technology into traditional classroom teaching
• Social networking, digital learning and best practices
• Moodle and other APIs that augment existing LMSs (Learning Management Systems)
• Challenges that educators, administrators, students, and community members face in online learning/teaching
• Independent e-learning strategies, etc.

This is a rare event and happens only once a year. This event is not only useful to educators, but also to administrators, students, and community members. So, we suggest that you do not miss CO11. Register for the webinars by clicking the title links below:

WiZiQ Welcomes all Educational Users of DimDim

Salesforce has acquired DimDim, an open source web conferencing service, for $31 million. The news is all over the web, now. DimDim mostly targets the WebEx market - corporations that spend tens of thousands of dollars each year offering them with a cheaper solution. They also have an ‘educational version’ for the higher education market and have created a decent brand name, competing with WiZiQ (pronounced Wiz-IQ).

Salesforce plans to integrate this product within Salesforce.com and use DimDim’s real-time communication technologies in its social collaboration platform, Chatter.

Clearly with this move, DimDim is out of the education arena, unless anyone has ever heard of Salesforce selling to educators. The post-acquisition scene is that DimDim has frozen all the accounts. They are not taking anymore registrations - neither for the free account nor for premium ones. They will not renew any paid ones either, after they expire. They will let their API users use it till their accounts are up for renewal.

Is the thought that where will all these users go after this, upsetting? Clearly not!

With this move, if Salesforce does not come up with an educational offering, DimDim’s educational customers stand stranded. We suspected this to happen at some point in time for a simple reason that web conferencing solutions are inherently different from synchronous teaching solutions, both in terms of features and the business model (and pricing).

Let’s look at some facts:

WiZiQ focuses only on education - We are a part of Educomp, India’s largest education company. WiZiQ features that stand out for educational users:

• Designed for 1-to-1 student-teacher interaction or even for a very large audience (say more than 1000 students in a class)
• Special controls with teachers such as no private chat among students and a feature to block a specific student in the class
• Complete support for PowerPoint animations and sounds in slides
• Unlimited number of attendees in a class - even for free teacher accounts
• A smooth whiteboard with all the tools that a teacher needs - say to teach physics, math or other science classes

Business model and price designed for the education industry:

• If you want to use WiZiQ for free: Become a teacher on WiZiQ for free and use WiZiQ teaching tools to teach. Have unlimited attendees even in the free account. More can be learnt at http://www.wiziq.com/premium/
• If you are a Premium member: Start your membership at $9.95/mo/teacher. Have unlimited attendees in your class. Use features to teach, connect with new students, set up, list and sell online, asynchronous or face-to-face (in-classroom) courses and classes on WiZiQ. More can be learnt at http://www.wiziq.com/premium/
• If you are an Organization: Run your teaching business on WiZiQ from end-to-end. We offer organization accounts with co-branding, multiple teacher accounts, unlimited attendees, advanced features and immense flexibility to stimulate your teaching business. We offer customized packages for Universities, Colleges, Schools or other Large Size Organizations that have different set of needs. More can be learnt at http://www.wiziq.com/premium/#org
• If you use Moodle for your courses: Give Live Online Classes in Moodle with WiZiQ Live Class Web Conferencing Moodle plug-in. Schedule and give classes, upload content, view recordings - all inside Moodle. http://org.wiziq.com/moodle/
• If you use your website or an LMS (other than Moodle) to run your teaching/training programs: Schedule and Give Live Classes, Upload Content, View Recordings – All from your own website or course management system using WiZiQ's Virtual Classroom API. http://org.wiziq.com/cms/

Now with these facts in perspective and plans designed for the education industry, it is clear that WiZiQ is a better option. To validate this point even more, look at a quick comparison between WiZiQ and DimDim in the following presentation:

WiZiQ vs DimDim

More PowerPoint presentations from Admin WiZiQ

So, we welcome all educational users of DimDim to WiZiQ with a promise that we will serve them well.

______________________________________________________________________________________

WiZiQ Makes Teaching in Moodle More Exciting Now!

Now access content from your own Moodle site in WiZiQ's Virtual Classroom

Here's a very exciting feature update for WiZiQ's Live Class for Moodle module users. Where teachers had to wait for content to upload, and they had to upload the same content every time they held a class for the same topic, it now gets super easy with uploading content in advance and simply using the uploaded content again and again without having to wait for uploading and subsequent file conversion.

How it works

Now you can manage files and folders from your own Moodle site in WiZiQ's Live Class for Moodle module with ease. You can upload a variety of file formats to the content library -  maintain them, organize files in folders, and use them whenever you need those files in your Virtual Classroom sessions. Also, instead of uploading files directly from your personal computer to your Virtual Classroom whenever you hold a session, you can upload the files to your content library much in advance, store them, and use them in all your future live classes. By uploading content to your content library in advance, you are actually saving on file processing time, thus saving your own time. Below are some more details about file formats, and useful tips for managing content:

Here are some screenshots:

Figure 1

A list of folders and some files in the snapshot above.

Figure 2

From the image above, you can see a file organised inside the folder, IIT_JEE. Just click on the image for a magnified view.

Supported file formats:

1. Presentations : ppt, pptx, pps, ppsx
2. Documents : pdf, doc, rtf, docx
3. Spreadsheets : xls, xlsx
4. Video : wav, wms, flv, mov, avi, mpeg, wmv
5. Audio : mp3
6. Flash : swf

Single file size limit :

• Documents, Presentations, Spreadsheets : Less than 20 MB
• Audio and Video: 50MB
• Flash: 20 MB
• Each pdf document should be less than 100 pages

With this new feature added, a user can:

• Create and name the folders that are relevant to specific courses
• Upload files in appropriate folders
• Use the content in your live classes from the content library rather than uploading it from your desktop every time
• Delete folders/files when you don't need them anymore

Some tips for managing your content:

• Upload your content well in advance as the built-in software in WiZiQ's Moodle module takes some time to convert your files to Virtual Classroom compatible format
• Create folders and give names that are easy to remember and relevant to the subjects you teach. Naming content appropriately makes your browsing easy.
• Upload as many files as you want (please look at the 'single file size limit' section at the top)

'Schedule Now' option

Along with this new feature there is another update to the 'schedule class' section of WiZiQ's Live Class for Moodle module. If you have to schedule and start a class right away, you can now simply check an empty box that you see right opposite the 'Schedule Now' field.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

The New Virtual Classroom is in Action on WiZiQ

The much awaited new Virtual Classroom has been finally launched. All the classes that you have already scheduled, will now open in the new Virtual Classroom by default. We sincerely thank all the teachers who have helped us with their valuable feedback and suggestions for the new look and feature-rich Virtual Classroom. The new Virtual Classroom has been designed specially for teachers and students, and offers ease-of-use, a rich look-and-feel experience, and smooth interaction.

If you have not attended past demo classes, we suggest that you start getting acquainted with the new Virtual Classroom right away to get a seamless experience in your future classes. You can send a request for a demo and one of our technical support executives will get back to you ASAP to help you on the new Virtual Classroom. A personal invitation will be sent once you confirm your slot for the demo. So please reserve your slot at the earliest by writing to us at support@wiziq.com.

What's new?

Here are some enhancements:

1. Improved Audio and Video

• View videos of four participants simultaneously
• Enjoy much improved, latency-free audio

2. Feature-rich Whiteboard and Interface

•     Cut/copy/paste, group, un-group, bring objects back/forth, or rotate the shapes on     the whiteboard
•     Rename whiteboards
•     Change the background colors of the whiteboard
•     Add a grid to the background for drawings
•     Minimize or move windows within the whiteboard area
•     Use emoticons in your chat
•     Handle the new ‘File’ and ‘Edit’ menus
•     Extend the class time and set an alert with the new timer option at any time during    the class

3. New-look Media Player

•     Select videos from your playlist history in the content library

4. Auto screen adjust

•     The new Virtual Classroom adjusts to your screen resolution automatically on    launch

We look forward to your feedback and hope that the new Virtual Classroom fulfills all your online teaching needs.

P.S. Our new virtual classroom works with flash player version 10.0.42.34 and above. You can download and install the latest flash player from http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ for version 10.1.53.64

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Now Conduct an Online Class/ Session/ Webcast/ Web Conference with 500 Attendees - For Free

Yes, you got that right.

WiZiQ, is now the only platform in the world that lets teachers, presenters, experts, workshop organizers, conference speakers and consultants to hold online classes or sessions with as many as 500 attendees - free of cost.

As of last week, you could conduct an online class with 50 attendees after signing up for free with WiZiQ. All it took was a valid email address. This limit of 50 attendees per class was already higher than other similar offerings in the market. And now, this limit becomes even more flexible. You can now have up to 500 attendees in your online class/ session/ conference. All you need to do is: register for free with WiZiQ>>schedule a class>>invite attendees and conduct the class. If it sounds simple, it is.

This enhancement is in keeping with continued addition and refinement of features available to both Free members and Premium members on WiZiQ. We plan to add and refine more features, over the coming month. So, keep watching this space :-)