Friday, May 17, 2013 11:30PM PST

The ICA is designed for post-secondary and secondary classrooms, distance learning and collaborative academic projects, though anyone who finds it useful is free and welcome to use it. The ICA runs on Nicenet's server and requires any web browser running on any platform and an Internet connection - there is no software to download and no server to configure. The ICA was intentionally designed as a low graphics environment to decrease the load time of each page. The queries used to fill the site with class-specific data take less than a second. A fully dynamic site, the ICA is customized at two different levels: 1.) the user and 2.) the class. Anyone can set up a class in minutes and allow others to join. After login, users are presented with a "heads-up" display of class resources.

The features include:

• Conferencing: Create your own private, threaded conferencing on topics you make for the class or opt to allow students to create their own topics.
• Scheduling: Put the class schedule on-line. With a seven day advance view on your class homepage, students will have a heads-up display of upcoming assignments and class events.
• Document sharing: Students and professors have the ability to publish their documents on the site using simple web-based forms. No knowledge of HTML is needed. Automatically integrated with scheduling, students are one click away from turning in their assignments on-line, giving their peers feedback on published papers and receiving professors comments.
• Personal Messaging: Similar to traditional email but fully integrated with document sharing and conferencing, personal messaging is a great way communicate with and between individuals in your class, comment privately on conferencing postings or give private feedback on published papers.
• Link Sharing: Share links to pertinent Internet resources sorted by topics that you create.

For professors and teachers who are uncomfortable with allowing students the ability to add any link they want to the system or create a conferencing topic at their own discretion, Nicenet has included preferences that allow these abilities to be turned on and off at the professor's or teacher's discretion.

Setting up a class on the Internet Classroom Assistant takes about 2 minutes. You will be asked to choose a username and password, then a name for your class, some contact information, and that's it. You will be assigned a unique 'key' for your class that you can give to your students so they can create user accounts and access your class. You can set up your class right now by following the link from our home page (http://www.nicenet.org).

If you would like to learn more write to info@nicenet.org. If you have heard enough and want to give it a try you can set up your class right now.

Money will not be solicited for using the system and advertisements will not be forced upon users - now and forever. The ICA is powered by Allaire's (Cambridge, MA) Cold-Fusion.

Organization Profile

Founded in 1995, Nicenet is an organization of Internet professionals who donate their time to provide services for the Internet community. One of Nicenet's primary goals is bringing communication tools and resources previously available only to those with large sums of money or substantial technical expertise to the education community.

You can also read the ICA FAQ

If you have more questions, direct them to questions@nicenet.org.

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