rlebherz wrote: Alf,
Interesting article. I think the Cloud services and cloud infrastructure lines are a bit blurred, but I agree with most of what you are saying.
Dont underestimate the SLA's role in accountability. For companies that have dynamic requirements and no down time can be afforded, make sure you have very tight SLAs. For example, OpSource provides a 100% SLA in the cloud and 100%SLA around production application environments. Now 100% is ideally perfect, it comes down to accountability, yo...
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 10/10/07 -- e-Tutoring, a lifeline for students and a
powerful retention strategy in higher education, is fast gaining popularity
across the country as an online service, giving students immediate, often
24/7, access to the help they need to succeed.
Fueled by the success of e-learning, more than 100,000 students in more
than 50 North American colleges and universities have gained direct access
to tutors -- whether peers, paid tutors or professors in off hours -- via
AskOnline. Originally developed by a Harvard student to provide online
tutoring support to Boston area schools, AskOnline (www.askonline.net) is
now a leader in online tutoring systems for higher education and private
enterprise. It provides a highly structured, flexible environment for
institutions to connect their own qualified tutors with their students.
Online tutoring via AskOnline can take place in real time or asynchronously
via chat, whiteboard, videoconferencing, audio conferencing, discussion
boards and private messaging. The AskOnline student count increased by 675
percent in 2006, more than nine times the enrollment increase in online
college/university courses.
"Online tutoring goes hand-in-hand with e-learning. Although it's wonderful
when tutors and their students can get together face to face, there are
many occasions when the online approach is preferred, whether the student
isn't on campus full-time, is shy about asking for help in the traditional
tutoring setting, is dealing with special physical needs, or -- like
everyone else -- juggling an already packed schedule," said Lauren Moore,
Director for Academic Support Services at Mercy College. "The AskOnline
online tutoring environment dramatically improves access to support
resources for students and tutors. Students and tutors alike embrace the
convenience of the system. Now tutors can provide assistance to students
from anywhere they have an internet connection, rather than just from the
on-campus tutoring center."
In addition to giving more students access to more tutoring hours, online
tutoring gives students time to frame questions and absorb answers, then
capture key points for reference in searchable transcripts. For students
who may be hesitant to ask for help face-to-face, online tutoring provides
a safe, convenient way to receive the assistance they need.
An online tutoring system differs from a learning management system in that
it's structured around people and their learning needs, not around specific
course sections. Tutors often work across multiple courses, sections and
grade levels, and students sometimes need tutoring in more than one
discipline. AskOnline's flexibly accommodates these multidirectional needs
and is fully hosted, giving institutions, their tutors and their students
full access to the system via a web browser.
Some of the institutions using AskOnline to deliver tutoring services
include:
Berkeley College Houston Community College System
Bridgewater State College Mercy College
California State University-Los Angeles Palm Beach Community College
Cedar Valley College Reformed Theological Seminary
Coles College of Business - Kennesaw University of Memphis
State University University of New Hampshire
Fashion Institute of Technology University of Tampa
"So many students are getting the help they need, and the online
environment is one in which students are so comfortable in. Online
tutoring helps eliminate the obstacles of time, distance and access to
qualified tutors," said AskOnline CEO Lisa Philpott. "Colleges and
universities are increasingly turning to online tutoring as an effective
way to support their students and promote academic success. e-Tutoring is
the next chapter in the story of e-learning and one that is changing lives
every day."