Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
News
Universities Add Voice to Blended, Distance Learning
9/26/2007
A number of higher education institutions have recently added voice capabilities to their online learning programs, including blended and fully online courses, according to Wimba, an education technology developer. The company said that eight universities and colleges have augmented their Collaboration Suites with Wimba Voice implementations.Wimba Voice adds voice and audio capabilities for online courses, including import and export of MP3 and WAV audio, and can be used for podcasting applications. Voice messages can be embedded in course pages and in threaded discussions, as well as live group discussions.
According to Wimba, some of the colleges and universities that have recently signed on to use Voice include Arizona State University; Trinity College; University of Illinois, Chicago; the Virginia Community College System; University of Sheffieldl University of Waterloo; University of Western Ontario and Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry; and Western State College.
Arizona State had previously been using Voice in one of its schools but has since expanded the implementation.
"We’ve been using Wimba Voice for a number of years in the School of International Letters & Cultures to add audio support to our hybrid language courses," said Peter Lafford, director of the SILC Language Computing Laboratory for Arizona State. "We were so pleased with the results that we encouraged the University Technology Office to license it and make it available to the rest of the university."
Read More:
About the author: Dave Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's educational technology online publications and electronic newsletters. He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com.
Have any additional questions? Want to share your story? Want to pass along a news tip? Contact Dave Nagel, executive editor, at dnagel@1105media.com.
Cite this Site
copy text (above) for proper citation
Recommended Reading
- Sun, Stanford Working To Archive History
In May in San Francisco, experts from leading universities, libraries, and research institutions around the world met as part of an ongoing effort to address a pressing issue: archiving the world's history, right up to today.
- The Quilt Coalition Rolls Out XO Communications for High-Capacity Network Services
The Quilt, a coalition of 28 regional network organizations, has added XO Communications Services to its authorized vendor list. The Quilt represents 200 universities and thousands of other educational institutions across the United States. With this new relationship, Quilt members can purchase XO's high-speed IP transit and network transport services at competitive rates.
- Wimba Classroom 5.2 Expands Classroom Capture Support, Adds MP3 Downloads
At the NECC 2008 conference in Texas this week, Wimba launched a new version of Wimba Classroom, the virtual classroom component of the company's Collaboration Suite. The new 5.2 release expands options for classroom capture and adds a variety of other functional and ease of use features.
- Automation Chimera: Education Is Not Management
The lure of automating workflow online so human intervention is minimized is continually reinforced in the minds of higher education administrators by examples of automated campus systems such as financials, student information systems, and other enterprise systems. But what's good for management is not always good for learning.
- Cognos Releases BI Software for Linux-based IBM System z Mainframe
Cognos, which IBM acquired in January, has released an update to its business intelligence software that will run on the Linux operating system on IBM System z mainframes. IBM Cognos 8 BI was being developed by the two companies prior to the acquisition, but assimilation of Cognos into IBM accelerated development.
- Facebook and Collegiality: A Serendipitous Social Niche
Facebook is a way to greet a colleague as if she or he is on your own campus: a wave at a distance, a hello at the corner burrito place, a honk as you both leave the campus parking lot. Informal collegiality has been extended over the miles.
