Collaboration | News

Watchitoo, Pearson LearningStudio Offer Real-Time HD Video Chat Option for Online Courses

• By Caitlin Moriarity
• 03/28/12

Watchitoo and Pearson eCollege have teamed up to add an integrated collaboration solution, including real-time video chat, to the Pearson LearningStudio SaaS online education platform.

Boston-based Pearson eCollege works with educational institutions to design and implement customized online learning experiences for distance education, via Pearson LearningStudio.

New York-based Watchitoo offers online video conferencing and collaboration, so now students and instructors using Pearson LearningStudio for online courses will be able to see and talk with each other by way of a real-time HD video connection.

The Watchitoo platform will let up to 25 simultaneous participants talk and share with each other in a virtual classroom. In addition to real-time video class discussions, students and instructors will also be able to interact with each other using:

• Screen-sharing;
• Chat;
• Whiteboard;
• Questions; and
• Polling.

Participants will be able to exchange various media--videos, PowerPoint presentations, slides, PDF and Word document, and images. Should the class size exceed 25, additional students would use text questions and audio to join in the discussion.

Students will also be able to download additional lecture materials, and even pre-recorded lectures, from the Watchitoo interface embedded inside LearningStudio.

Instructors will also be able to use Watchitoo's interface to drag and drop content for lesson plans, set up a "playlist" of media to be shared prior to each class, and use the Watchitoo software to track student attendance and class engagement in real time.

Watchitoo's partnership with Pearson eCollege is the latest in a series of technology collaborations with of third-party application providers that Pearson has embarked on: Pearson also has partnerships with Blackboard Collaborate, CourseSmart, and Ambassador College Bookstores, among others.

More information is available at Watchitoo's page for education solutions and Pearson LearningStudio's page for technology integration partners.