Should we add a rapid video creation feature to Speechi or not ?

Nuvvo (a new learning management system) has just integrated Skype features. Nuvvo uses AJAX, which means (for dummies), that the interface quality matches that of a normal offline application (roll-down menus, drag and drops, popups are instantaneous as if the application did not use a distant server).

So Speechi is not the only e-learning tool that uses Skype. I actually anticipate lots of other "Skype" initiatives and also new "blog" initiatives, including a Speechi one, to help publishing the Speechi presentations to blogs seamlessly.

(From the excellent Skype Journal)

Following my latest ticket about Podcasts, I have found several Podcast resources sites in the educational area, featuring this very good one. It seems that in the UK and in the USA, professor (especially language professors) do priviledge the fact that students can take their classes along with them.

So I do think we are soon going to add a "Podcast" output format to Speechi...

To complement my tickets about e-learning and IPOD, here is a very interesting example of e-learning technologies applied to "normal" courses (litterature class at Georgia Colleget and State University). Those "blended" examples are the ones I like best because traditional learning still concerns far more people than pure e-learning so I believe there is more leverage in improving traditional learning than e-learning (other way to say this : e-learning is a very quickly growing area and that will remain so for a long time). As a consequence, "blended" learning is our real focus at Speechi and this shows, for instance, in the way we try to integrate "physical" devices (like interactive whiteboards) into the whole application.

I think the most interesting part of the experience is that some discussions could be placed on forums that could not have happened in the class room (because they were about sensitive religious issues). I see lots of other applications to that (shy students may give their opinions on forums, for instance).

I was blogging last week about our possibility to podcast Speechi sessions on an IPOD. But Speechi is actually not only sound but also animations, so ideally, Speechi viewers should have both. Everybody is now waiting for the video IPOD and a consistent rumour announces its release for january 2006 (in terms of development cycles, that's actually today for us). Rumor says that a firware enhancement should be enough to play video on existing IPODs.

Once video IPOD is released, all existing video competitors will be fighting for a small portion of the market (see my former ticket about Archos, sorry, it's in french), even if they have more features (for instance, you can record video with Archos and I doubt you can do that with firmware enhanced video IPODs).

So (almost) the same question again. Do you feel we should support that kind of devices (students just love them and there is even research showing that they can be very adequate for e-learning purposes) or do you think this would be just pure gadget / buzz, etc...

This idea has been litterally titillating us following a discussion I've had with François, who is now sold to the IPOD.