Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/55943
and learn about cloud computing and search engine opti- mization. At the same time, they become familiar with the knowledge management tools many large and small busi- nesses use today, such as Google Apps, Google Analytics, Yammer, and Delicious. An undergraduate leadership class in the organizational theory department uses some of the same methods and tech- nologies, but blends them differently. This two-unit class is anchored by two face-to-face weekend meetings. In between meetings, students watch narrated mini-lectures in Voice- thread and engage in online discussions using a threaded dis- cussion board in Blackboard. They also take two self-paced quizzes in Blackboard and receive immediate feedback on their scores and individual answers. A trimesterlong decision science course allows students to gather for four hours per week for ten out of the 14 weeks of the class. During the fourth, seventh, tenth, and twelfth weeks, when students do not meet face-to-face, they work asynchronously to solve problems set by the professor. The teacher uses simple screen-capture tools such as Camtasia or Jing to prepare short videos about solving each of the prob- lems; students can watch these as often as they like. Students also use the Internet to collect data they need to address complex real-world business problems. The students aggre- gate and share the data in different ways; many use Deli- cious, a social bookmarking Web service for storing, sharing, and discovering new Web bookmarks. They record their own solutions, also with the help of screen-capture tools, and the professor provides individualized feedback on each video. An economics class uses an internal social network called Yammer to engage in hearty, asynchronous discussions. Because Yammer relies on a conversational style similar to that of Facebook, students find it easy to use. Discussions tend to be highly interactive as students ask each other ques- tions, debate specific points, and expand on each others' ideas. And because each post displays the author's picture and name, students and professors develop a close sense of community, even when they do not meet face-to-face for weeks at a time. These four examples demonstrate that blended learning can be personalized, interactive, experiential, and applied— and that no one type of blended learning will suit every pro- fessor, discipline, or school. Measuring Success Despite their versatility, blended learning techniques can be considered successful only if assessment measures prove that students are actually learning. Research suggests that they Tools to Enhance Distance Learning Multisite audio/videoconferencing: Polycom, Tandberg, Cisco Telepresence, and LifeSize Synchronous desktop videoconferencing and online meetings: WebEx, GoToMeeting, Skype, Elluminate Live, Adobe Connect, Elluminate VCS, Yugma, DimDim, ooVoo, Vidyo, and many more Asynchronous (and synchronous) collaborative spaces: Google Docs, Spreadsheets, and Presentations; Microsoft Office Web Apps; Zoho; ThinkFree; OpenOffice Classroom capture: MediaSite, Tegrity, CourseCast, Echo360, Camtasia Relay Screen capture: Camtasia, CamStudio, Adobe Captivate, Jing Social media, networks, and bookmarking: Voicethread, Slideshare, Ning, Twitter, Yammer, Socialcast, SocialWok, CubeTree, Delicious, Zotero, Digg Course and learning management systems: Blackboard, WebCT, Angel, Desire2Learn, Sakai, Moodle BizEd NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 31