On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.
Occassionally I get spam that attracts my attention. A notice from AskOnline.Net started out “We build online tutoring centers for colleges and universities where your students will work with YOUR tutors. Harvard, Duke and Berkeley College are already realizing the benefits of giving students access to tutors over the internet.”
Although systems like Blackboard, Instant Messaging, WebCT, etc, provide some of the underlying services, the online tutoring environment provides some nice administrative and support features that don’t come about with the “environmental” features to support a tutoring center. An online “tutoring” invironment might be an interesting addition to things like the CTL’s Dr is In program, the Library Reference Desk, the Writing Center, the Writing program, etc …
More thoughts on the Academic Computing Blog
Image source and context: Marymount University, Library and Learning Services, Virtual Tour. Not quite a virtual center, but a virtual tour of a place center.