DENVER, 2009 EDUCAUSE Annual Conference – November 3, 2009 – Wimba® Inc., the education technology company that helps people teach people, today announced that the Wimba Collaboration Suite™ 6.0, unveiled in April, is now available for Moodle.
By creating a highly personal and dynamic environment for online learning, thousands of higher education institutions and K-12 districts around the world rely on Wimba’s technology to improve outcomes and increase student retention. Customers now have access to innovative new capabilities of Wimba Classroom™ 6.0, Wimba Pronto™ 3.0, and Wimba Voice™ 6.0 – enhancements that include advanced MP4, whiteboarding and assessment functionality.
“Wimba is an enterprise solution for UNC Charlotte – supporting both our academic and administrative objectives,” said John Champion, Operations and Systems Specialist at University of North Carolina Charlotte. “While our education program is greatly enhanced by Wimba’s collaboration capabilities, we also gain flexibility and save both time and money by its use for online meetings. Seamless integration with Moodle was also critical in our selection of Wimba.”
The robust integration between the Wimba Collaboration Suite 6.0 and Moodle ensures a seamless user experience. Using a single sign-on, students and faculty can access the Wimba Collaboration Suite 6.0 the same way they would any other tool in Moodle – no additional usernames, passwords or URLs required. Additionally, Moodle administrators are able to save time and increase efficiency due to the fact that accounts are automatically created from within Moodle. Wimba contributes its Moodle integrations to the open source community.
Wimba Classroom 6.0 – Do more with your MP4
The new MP4 functionality of Wimba Classroom 6.0 gives instructors the power to distribute MP4 files, featuring digital audio and digital video streams of lectures and discussions, to course management systems (CMS) as well as to YouTube, iTunes University, Facebook or other content management systems. Students also gain tremendous flexibility in accessing content online or offline – not only their computers, but from their iPod, iPhone or other MP4 players. Providing content for review anytime, anyplace and irrespective of a student’s location, is no longer an option but required to effectively engage and retain today’s 21st century learners.
The ubiquitous use of computers and mobile devices on campuses all over the world and the increasing range of students who now fit the profile of a 21st century learner make this enhanced functionality especially significant in engaging students. These students have expectations of accessing classroom or lecture content with the same immediacy and flexibility with which they listen to music and obtain information from the Internet.
Wimba Pronto 3.0 – Let the Whiteboard out of the Classroom
Wimba Pronto 3.0 enriches teaching and learning by making the whiteboard accessible outside of the physical classroom and allowing students and professors to illustrate learning concepts during impromptu group study sessions, tutoring and informal help. The Wimba Pronto whiteboard now includes the Wimba Instructional Gallery (WIG) – a collection of learning objects and background templates such as the periodic table, calendars, maps and graph paper – improving the traditional whiteboard and taking collaborative learning to a new level.
Wimba Pronto is the only collaboration platform designed specifically for education that combines rich collaboration such as application sharing, instant messaging, blended audio and video conferencing, queued chat and now, a state-of-the-art whiteboard.
Wimba Voice 6.0 – Keep the Discussion Going…and Graded
By using Wimba Voice to add comments to a discussion board, students can continue their discussions even after class has “officially” ended. The new 6.0 release of Wimba Voice allows instructors to not only grade a voice discussion board from within Wimba Voice, but to automatically add these evaluations to their CMS gradebook. Assessment and timely feedback enrich the learning process and the efficiency of this workflow means instructors can focus on teaching rather than cumbersome administration.
“Customer reception of the Wimba Collaboration Suite 6.0 has been outstanding and we are pleased to now offer these new capabilities to the Moodle community,” said Barb Ross, Co-Chief Operating Officer at Wimba. “These new enhancements equip educators and empower 21st century learners to effectively teach and learn beyond the walls of a physical classroom, resulting in the very tangible benefits of greater student engagement, retention and ultimately improved student outcomes.”
For more information on how the Wimba Collaboration Suite 6.0 can impact teaching and learning at your school or campus please visit:
- Solutions for K-12: www.wimba.com/solutions/k-12/ [1]
- Solutions for Higher Education: www.wimba.com/solutions/higher-education/ [2]
About Wimba®
Wimba® is a leading provider of collaborative software for distance and blended learning. The Wimba Collaboration Suite, recently awarded the 2009 “Best Education Solution” CODiE award by SIIA, enhances learning, improves outcomes and increases student retention. By combining interactive technologies such as voice, video, podcasting, instant messaging, application sharing, polling and whiteboarding, learning communities are empowered with a unique collaborative environment that fosters dynamic student-to-instructor, student-to-student, and instructor-to-instructor interaction. Our seamless integration with leading course management systems ensures that users have a simplified and familiar workflow. Wimba. People Teach People. www.wimba.com [3]
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