THOMASVILLE — Thomas University offers students an innovative and convenient approach to education with its new Elluminate technology.

Elluminate is the latest in distance learning, using video, online presentations and real-time student/professor interaction in college courses. “Elluminate is web-conferencing technology that’s very enriching and engaging,” said Dr. Mary Prentice, academic technology specialist at TU.

“It allows students to interact with their professor in a virtual classroom. They can see and hear their professor live, and they are able to share content,” Prentice said. “With our growing distance learning program, Elluminate allows us to give personal attention to our online students.”

Many of Thomas University’s academic programs are now taught completely online or through a hybrid learning model – a combination of classroom and online coursework. This year, TU’s MBA program went entirely online, and the university now has Georgia’s largest online Criminal Justice programs.

“This technology helps our mission in a lot of different ways,” Prentice said. “This empowers our students to use the virtual classroom to get a first-class education with a personal touch. It’s convenient in that it fits easily into some of our students’ busy schedules. The content will be there when the student is available.”

Bei Zhang, assistant professor of biology at TU, said she and her students enjoy using the technology.

“It opens so many new windows for online education. Our students want a real person to talk to, and they learn more efficiently by using Elluminate,” she said. “It has re-ignited my passion for teaching.”

Criminal justice student Grady Sanford is taking an environmental science course through Elluminate this semester.

“This is the first time I have participated in a class with this type of online, live interaction with my professor and classmates,” Sanford said. “It has been a great experience, allowing me to ask questions and receive feedback in real time, which has given me a better understanding of the material being taught.”

Students Brandi Holton and Lashundra Jones, who previously commuted from Camilla and Albany, respectively, said having the online classes have saved them time and money by not having to travel as much.

Another feature of Elluminate allows live classes to be recorded and replayed so that if a student misses a class, they won’t fall behind in their studies. Research papers, presentations and other documents can be uploaded and transferred through the technology by students and professors.

Special presentations by guest speakers at TU can be transmitted online through Elluminate, as well as tutorial sessions, faculty meetings and lectures by professors. Student advisors and faculty can post virtual office hours and “meet” online with students. Prentice said TU is constantly finding new applications for the technology.

In a recent student survey, results showed that more than 90 percent of TU’s online students see Elluminate as an efficient way of online teaching and learning. The technology is now used in some way by every academic division at the university.

“It’s the cutting edge of what we’re doing in distance learning. We want to be on the cutting edge, but we also want to offer personalized, engaging sessions, where students feel like they are part of a learning community,” Prentice said.

For more information on Elluminate technology, contact Prentice at (229) 226-1621 ext. 270.