The Hindu Business Line : Network

For all those who thought that social networking was only for the young and for meeting up with friends, it’s time to do a rethink. Check out WiZiQ.com, an online learning platform “focused on empowering teachers to make learning more effective, efficient and intuitive.”

Equipped with live audio-video communication, chat, content sharing, and session recording capabilities, it’s like any other social platform — only students and teachers network here to study and share study-related information.

Harman Singh, CEO, WiZiQ.com, says, “This idea of integrating technology and education is a very exciting one. That is why when WiZiQ was created we made a conscious decision to gear it more towards the needs of teachers and learners to deliver teaching and learning online rather than just another portal to connect.”

The virtual classroom is just one of the tools available for educators and students. It has other features such as an education content library, a test section, profiles of teachers, and a list of free upcoming live sessions by experts. Besides document and whiteboard sharing, and session recording capabilities, the Web conferencing tool is available for unlimited free use. The live session can be recorded and stored for a month so that students can revisit and run the session. It does not require any download since it works with any Web browser and on any operating system.

Members can log on and meet other teachers and students who are pursuing the subjects and topics of interest and connect and communicate with them via e-mail or through the live, online virtual classroom. They either search by topic or simply click on a tag.

As Singh says, “WiZiQ doesn’t hire teachers and market them to students. Students can explore the profiles of the teachers and select them according to their credentials. They can even invite teachers to start a session according to their convenient time.”

The Millennium Schools (Noida) provide a WiziQ platform enabling students to connect live anywhere in the world. The platform has clocked nearly 4 million online teaching minutes.

“We don’t charge anything for the basic teaching tools but we will earn subscription fee by offering premium services to teachers, which is due to be launched in the coming month,” says Singh.

paromita@thehindu.co.in