WebRTC is coming of age (it's 5), and it is taking over!
WebRTC?
It stands for Real Time Connection and it is an amalgamation of old web technologies, and a few new ones, that let people connect directly to one another over the web.
What is the promise of WebRTC?
Tons and tons of interactive tools that go well beyond discussion boards and clicker questions.
Why have I not heard of this before?
For the first four years of WebRTC development, browser support (and especially inter-browser support) was spotty; this made WebRTC somewhat unattractive for developers of cool new tools because it meant that most of the people who tried to use it would have a bad time.
What does the coming of age of WebRTC mean for me?
It means that there are going to be an endless stream of super cool, interactive tools flooding the market; such as Kahoot and YouSeeU.
Kahoot is like clicker questions on steroids. It provides the ability for users on any device to participate locally, remotely, alone, or in groups, LIVE, with other students and educators. It is easy to set up, it is free, and getting started is a breeze.
As you may know, YouSeeU allows students and educators to engage in real time, rich video chat and numerous live communication assessment types.
As more and more tools like Kahoot and YouSeeU get built on top of WebRTC, the gamification of education will begin to come alive and the sense of being involved with a group of people (when engaging in long distance learning) will get stronger and stronger.
Very cool! Will read more about this!
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