We’re pitching a Panel for South by Southwest 2011 with one of our favorite authors and partners, Bijoy Goswami (and possibly a couple more authors too – authors contact me if you’re interested)! Please vote for us by clicking this image (you’ll need to create a SXSW account to do so):

Here’s the summary of our proposal:

Can Social Media Transform eLearning?

Social Networking and Media have progressed from the early adopter to mainstream stage with great speed. These technologies and tools have transformed information sharing, news dissemination, marketing and advertising – even politics. Yet, eLearning remains rooted in a Web 1.0 mid-90s mindset. How might a Social approach impact eLearning? This dual presentation takes a look at the question from two sides – that of an educator with content that was delivered in this model, and the experience of a company delivering such content on behalf of educators to students. What do Social Learning experiences look like? Are there types of learning more suited to this approach? How does this change the way an educator relates to the student? How does it change the way they relate to their content? Do students really want a social component to learning, or is it a distraction? What stumbling blocks were encountered? The dual presenters have direct experience delivering educational content in a Social Learning environment. One is an author and educator of entrepreneurs and bootstrappers, and has used this approach to teach teamwork and leadership skills; he will share his experiences from the educator’s perspective. The other is an entrepreneur who has built “Social Learning Experiences” for several educators looking to deliver their content in a new, highly engaged model; he will share learnings from students and users of these courses.

Questions Answered:

1. What does a Social Learning experience look like?
2. Do students really want a social component to learning, or is it a distraction?
3. Are there types of learning more suited to this approach?
4. How does this change the way an eductor relates to the student?
5. How does it change the way an educator relates to their educational content?

We’d appreciate your vote!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PR Log (Press Release) – Jun 04, 2010 – The Las Vegas School of Film has just announced the introduction of the world’s first online and interactive film school, powered by the Simversity platform. This interactive course will focus on teaching students the artistic and technical skills, as well as the entrepreneurial side of filmmaking.

Simversity’s platform is an online social learning environment designed to leverage emerging social media technology, mobile applications and interactive systems to create innovative online learning experiences.

“The filmmaking industry has changed significantly in the last few years – therefore, film education must also change. Given the extreme marketing power an popularity of social media sites like Facebook and hyper-syndication sites like YouTube, businesses are constantly looking for experienced filmmakers to create new content.” said Denny Morales, director of the Las Vegas School of Film. “This creates a fantastic business opportunity for anyone interested in film. However, not everyone has the time and money to enroll into a full-time film school. That’s where we come in.”

The school’s 90-day program brings together social media and interactive features to film school. It includes webcasts, video lessons, reading material, discussions and assignments. Students are grouped into learning teams to exchange ideas and work through problems using social networking features – then use a computer or their mobile devices to complete class “assignments” to “lock in” their learning.

“Today, becoming a filmmaker is within anyone’s reach because of significantly lower cost HD cameras. However, just owning a camera isn’t enough – high definition video doesn’t simply equate to a high quality film.” continues Morales, “To becomes a truly successful filmmaker, you need to fully understand camera configurations, lighting, audio, shot composition, casting, filming and editing.”

Adds Ron Areco, managing director at the school, “but equally important, you have to transform yourself into an entrepreneur – and learn how to motivate yourself, overcome objections, manage a diverse team, recover from set backs, pitch your film, market it — all the ins-and-outs of the business. We can help you transform yourself into this kind of filmmaker.”

To this extent, the school will offer an immersive learning program which covers the artistic, technical and business aspects of entrepreneurial filmmaking.

“Our platform enables anyone interested in filmmaking to learn anytime, anywhere – but never alone.” said Moneet Singh, Simversity’s President and CEO. “The film class content is not just ‘broadcast at’ students to passively read or listen to. Instead, students are directed to interact, discuss & debate with a group of peers interested in filmmaking – and encouraged to connect with mentors and teammates for assistance when they need it, not just during limited class time. This helps them learn both the ‘hard’ skills and ’soft’ skills needed to make it in a field that is both an art and a business.”

For detailed information about the LearnFilmOnline program, please visit: http://www.learnfilmonline.com/

Educators and self improvement authors wishing to learn more about Simversity and creating social learning experiences can visit the company’s website here: http://www.simversity.com/

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Simversity is a an online social learning environment platform provider. Our social learning platform leverages emerging social media technology, mobile applications and interactive systems to create an innovative and immersive online learning experience.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PR Log (Press Release) – Apr 27, 2010 – Simversity’s platform is an online social learning environment designed to leverage emerging social media technology, mobile applications and interactive systems to create an innovative online learning experience. The Company aims to bring eLearning to the multi-billion dollar self-help and self-improvement industry, which has traditionally relied on books, DVDs and seminars. Educators and authors who deliver content in areas such as dating and relationships, sales training, entrepreneurship, fitness and weight loss, spirituality, financial planning, or teamwork and leadership can now create online “learning experiences.”

“Our platform provides tools to create immersive learning experiences that help students achieve lasting change.” said Moneet Singh, Simversity’s President and CEO. “These learning experiences bring together the social media and interactivity that we’ve all grown used to – YouTube-type short videos, Facebook-style social networking discussions, blogging and Twitter-like information sharing – but modified to provide an environment focused on self-improvement education.”

The platform creates a unique course structure, enabling key learning points to be delivered in the medium best suited for that message. Using a unified multimedia approach, including video, audio, blog posts, “tweets,” social networking discussions and mobile apps, students can go to one place for all course knowledge, interactions and feedback. Coaches, mentors and peers provide support to students through the system’s social networking features.

Mr. Singh states that “through Simversity, content is not just ‘broadcast at’ students to passively read or listen to. Instead, they are directed to interact, discuss & debate with a group of peers – and connect with mentors and teammates for assistance when they need it, not just on a fixed, limited schedule. It’s been proven that when people interact, their learning retention drastically increases, which benefits both content authors and students.”

Launching on the Simversity platform is the Ars Amorata program, which is produced in partnership with Zan Perrion. Mr. Perrion is a renowned dating coach who teaches men to achieve healthier and stronger relationships with women in their lives.

“I’m excited to be the first program launching with Simversity. I’ve been in the self-improvement space for quite some time. Previously, I delivered my courses using DVDs and eBooks, which end up pirated in days. I have done workshops and seminars, which are just a few days long, so students find it hard to apply the key learnings in their daily lives. Creating Ars Amorata as a learning experience – rather than simply learning ‘material’ – is a huge benefit to my work,” stated Mr. Perrion.

Using Simversity’s platform for course delivery, Ars Amorata students follow a 90-day curriculum comprised of webcasts, video lessons, reading material, discussions and assignments. Students are grouped into learning teams to exchange ideas and work through problems using social networking features. They blog about their personal experiences and challenges, allowing their peers to see their progress and encourage them to change. Finally, they can use their mobile devices to complete assignments to “lock in” their learning anytime, anywhere.

“My students,” continues Perrion, “now have the opportunity to interact with each other and my team of instructors regardless of where they live. They can access my entire course using a smartphone – giving them the opportunity to instantly ask for advice and feedback from me and from their peers. The classroom follows them wherever they go and is accessible to them the moment they need the content, not just when they are at their computer.”

For detailed information about the Ars Amorata program, please visit: http://www.arsamorata.com/

Educators and self improvement authors wishing to learn more about Simversity and creating social learning experiences can visit the company’s website here: http://www.simversity.com/

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Simversity is a an online social learning environment platform provider. Our social learning platform leverages emerging social media technology, mobile applications and interactive systems to create an innovative and immersive online learning experience.

This is our first blog post! We want to welcome all of you to the our new blog and company website.

This blog is for authors and publishers of self-improvement content in specific, as well as anyone interested in the future of Social Learning courses and e-Learning in general.

We’ll be posting tips and techniques on the design, production and management of Learning Experience courses, plus links to articles from around the web we find of interest related to e-Learning, along with news and updates on our company progress.

We look forward to hearing your comments and hope to have great discussions about building effective self-improvement courses.

Cheers,

The simversity Team