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British Universities Collaborate on Bio Sciences
10/10/2007
Earlier this year, three universities in the U.K. formed an alliance for collaborating on biological and biomedical sciences called the South West London Academic Network. Now the collaborative alliance is deploying technologies to deliver a series of courses that share resources between the three participating universities.As part of a one-year pilot program, the alliance will implement a shared learning environment using Wimba's Collaboration Suite between its member institutions: Kingston University; Royal Holloway, University of London; and St. Georges, University of London. The idea is to "create new opportunities in biological and biomedical sciences, leadership, and management education for health professionals and inter-professional practice and learning."
The Wimba Collaboration Suite includes four of Wimba's communications tools: Live Classroom (a virtual classroom environment); Pronto (an instant messaging and voice chat tool); Wimba Voice Tools; and Course Genie (a utility for converting Word documents to LMS-friendly formats).
"We're preparing our students, faculty and researchers for the future," said Cherie Woolmer, project manager for the South West London Academic Network, in a statement released this week. "Our National Health Service, the publicly funded health system in the U.K., and public sector workforce must be well trained and flexible, and our institutions offer unparalleled coursework and content. With the Wimba Collaboration Suite, we all benefit--students, teachers and professionals across three institutions--and can truly learn from one another and hone much needed skills for the future."
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About the author: Dave Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's educational technology online publications and electronic newsletters. He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com.
Have any additional questions? Want to share your story? Want to pass along a news tip? Contact Dave Nagel, executive editor, at dnagel@1105media.com.
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