Of all the things we learn when attending college, none might be more important than organization. Scheduling classes, managing time, juggling course materials, balancing school and a social life – university is as much about getting your act together as it is about preparing for the future. Students, teachers, and everyone within a book’s throw of a learning center need a little help.
Startup Unilica aims to make college easier for everyone by offering a course management system and social network that together build a coherent learning experience. Rather than keep our social selves and academic interests separate, Unilica.com sees them as naturally complimenting one another.
Your Virtual Learning Environment
Unilica unifies a number of elements that currently exist piecemeal on any campus – online, offline, and across various departments. Once an institution has opted to participate, students, teachers, staff and alumni may access their Unilica accounts to take advantage of a wide array of learning tools.
Students may enroll in courses, keep track of all important deadlines on one calendar, and receive important updates on a newsfeed. They may also open lecture materials and submit assignments. Students may track their grades here as well.
Of course, on the flip side, professors may streamline their courses through Unilica. They may distribute assignments, share lecture materials, manage homework (from assigning to collecting then grading to returning), administer surveys, and handle grades. Instructors may use a shared newsfeed to give important updates, supply additional content not covered in class, and keep conversations going after the bell rings.
Collaboration
Increased collaboration is at the heart of the Unilica platform. A social network (that should look familiar to anyone who’s glimpsed Facebook, i.e. everyone), intends to keep all campus participants connected. A newsfeed provides a visible, common ground for everyone to share important information and events. Hashtags allow members to hone in on trending conversations and the most prominent developments on campus even faster. Furthermore, “Collaboration Spaces,” make it easier to communicate regarding specific topics or projects while sharing relevant files.
Other learning management systems such as Blackboard tend to compartmentalize courses and restrict access to conversations. This creates extra, time-consuming hurdles as well as inhibits interdisciplinary connections. Unilica cleverly brings not only students and professors into a shared online space, but university staff and alumni as well. The online door to the classroom is always open.
As the traditional structure of schooling continues to allow for more flexibility and to embrace technology, a management system (which must look slightly different for each person because of different course loads) is essential. Unilica takes advantage of our social networking skills to best use online learning tools. Unilica is free to all students, universities, colleges, and schools. Fatih Aydin is the sole founder and developer.
Let the ideas circulate!
Photo Credits
Unilica | CollegeDegrees360 | NWABR
