Wiki-Tutorials on Windows Azure

Azure is about to redefine elearning experience.

Introduction

 The internet is flooded with articles that teach you things, how to do things, and then there are Q&A sites. The information they provide are merely instructions or sequences of images of steps that should be followed to solve the problem. They all lack interactivity between the learner and tutorial. What I am suggesting is a website that acts as a wiki for creating interactive content. Place where learner can move lines and circles around, work the problems step by step with feedback at each step in other words a place where you won't doze off while learning.

The System

This is a system where teachers and other who want to share their knowledge can come and prepare learning content online.

For example, with relate to computer science and mathematics, adding a node to a binary search tree and re-balancing it can be taught in an interactive way.

Content creator can select elements from a range of symbols, circles for nodes and lines for edges in this case. Then place them on the screen to prepare the initial tree. Now comes adding a node, in this case they can place a set of graphical commands to perform necessary steps, for instance content creator can tell the system to activate "recording mode" and place the node at some point. When in recording mode system tracks and stores the changes. Further more, content creator can use action lines to specify the movement of nodes, just like in Microsoft PowerPoint.

Or to make it more interactive, content creator can ask learner to do the tree balancing steps after adding a new node. Each step is evaluated and given constructive feed back in a separate feedback pane. This way learner can practice what is learnt in theory.

The applications are limitless all that require is looking at things without limiting oneself.