Aviation University Launches Worldwide Virtual Classroom
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, FL) has debuted EagleVision, a Web-enabled, collaborative virtual classroom designed for aviation and aeronautical education.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, annually offers more than 30 degree programs for more than 32,000 graduate and undergraduate students. These students are distributed across residential campuses in Prescott, AZ and Daytona Beach, FL, more than 130 education centers in the United States, Canada, Europe and the Middle East, and via online course.
The geographically distributed learning environment meant Embry-Riddle required infrastructure that could deliver voice, video, data, and graphics functionality.
“Being able to deliver coursework and classes to our worldwide students is the growth engine for the university, our global expansion and online program development,” said Marty Smith, chancellor of Embry-Riddle’s worldwide campus.
To create that infrastructure, the university tapped Saba (Redwood Shores, CA), a developer and provider of "people management" systems to enterprise environments. Saba provided collaborative and interactive technologies and integrated them with Embry-Riddle's existing apps, such as Oracle, Blackboard and Microsoft Office. The resulting EagleVision platform delivers apps such as classroom Web conferencing, online events, online meetings, VoIP-based audio conferencing, and recording capabilities.
Using Saba’s Quick Start deployment services, the university's first EagleVision classes started in May with six instructors and approximately 18 locations across the country, and this summer has seen a wide rollout across the university.
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David Kopf is a freelance technology writer and marketing consultant, and can be reached at david@dkcopy.com.