Wimba Blog

Obama Asks to Extend Unemployment Benefits for Persons Going Back to School

2009-05-08T14:47:51Z

Of all the initiatives that the new administration in Washington DC has put forward the last few months, one that is being considered today just caught my eye. The AP reported that President Obama has asked states to stop the practice of ending unemployment benefits if a person goes back to school. I personally think this is a necessary idea. Like so many of us, I too have been on unemployment and both times I considered going back to school - and both times realized that I wouldn’t be able to afford to if my unemployment benefits were simultaneously discontinued. After all, education doesn’t come cheap, especially for someone who’s out of work and making at most $405/week. Personally speaking, I hope this initiative gets the job.

Pictures from the SIIA CODiE awards ceremony

2009-05-07T19:54:30Z

So my colleague Kathleen Matthews safely made it to New York this morning after a day-long celebration in San Francisco for our CODiE award victory. Despite her plane being delayed 3 hours, she was still in good spirits when she showed up in our office a few hours ago just in time to send me these two pictures she took from the ceremony Tuesday night. Being named ‘Best Education Solution’ is something of which we’re all extremely proud - and now we’ve got some nifty hardware to show off! Enjoy the two pics.

Matt

We Won the SIIA CODiE Award for Best Education Solution!

2009-05-06T11:28:38Z

I was pleasantly awoken last night at 1:16am by Kathleen Matthews, our Director of Marketing Communications, who texted me the following message from the black-tie SIIA CODiE awards ceremony in San Francisco:

We won! Best Education Solution! (& last category of the entire awards ceremony).

Woohooo! In the software industry, the CODiEs are the equivalent to the Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, or the Super Bowl, so we couldn’t be more ecstatic. As a company that constantly prides itself on being 100% laser-focused on education, we’re certainly happy to have some affirmation. So…

I’d first like to thank the eight CODiE judges who patiently sat through numerous demos of the entire Wimba Collaboration Suite. They had to learn about Wimba Classroom, Wimba Create, Wimba Pronto, and Wimba Voice in a relatively short amount of time...but apparently they were blown away!

Second, since I work with our customers every day, I’d like to thank all of our loyal and supportive users who have worked so closely with us for nearly a decade. They’ve watched us grow and mature and have collectively become the most innovative institutions in the world when it comes to cutting-edge distance education. Without our customers, we’d be nothing. You’re the ones who find new and exciting ways every day to use the Wimba Collaboration Suite to increase engagement, improve outcomes, decrease costs, and increase revenue and retention rates.

And finally, I want to thank our Engineering, Quality Assurance, and Product Development teams who actually make the countless components of the Wimba Collaboration Suite. While our Marketing, Sales, Services/Support, and even Finance departments are the more visible departments of our company, our developers, testers, and product designers comprise the oft faceless engine of the company that keep things churning. Without their unrivaled knowledge and dogged determination I wouldn’t be blogging about our CODiE victory today. These guys don’t get enough recognition and their heads are usually too buried in millions of lines of code to look up. So congrats, all...savor this one...it doesn’t get any better than this!

And to Carol Vallone and Barb Ross, our new acting CEO and COO, respectively,...looks like you’ve stepped into a great place!

Now we patiently await for Kathleen to send us pictures from the ceremony (I promise I’ll post them soon...)

Woohoo!!!
Matt

What If They Closed the Campus? Wimba for Online Learning Alternatives

2009-05-05T18:39:45Z

Earlier today a colleague of mine sent out an email about preparing institutions in the event of a major swine flu outbreak. This got us - and our customers - about what measures are already in place in case disaster strikes. And I’m pleased that many schools have already thought ahead, and that they’re including us as part of their plan. From Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, disaster plans have been discussed and hatched thanks to being able to meet live online with Wimba Classroom and Wimba Pronto. In fact, Chuck Wright of the University of Utah just made this great YouTube clip about the University of Utah could carry on if it had to close its campus.

New CoSN Report Supports the Wimba Collaboration Suite Value Prop

2009-05-01T16:42:50Z

Earlier today, the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) just released its
2009 research report, Leadership for Web 2.0 in Education: Promise & Reality. This report takes a thorough look at how Web 2.0 technologies influence and shape all facets of today’s K-12 schools. And of course, several elements resonated with me, particularly with how they relate to Wimba.

First, CoSN reports that nearly three-quarters of respondents (superintendents and curriculum directors) said that Web 2.0 technologies had been a positive or highly positive force in student’s communication skills and the quality of their schoolwork. Over 50% of those same administrators believe that Web 2.0 has had a positive impact on students’ interest in school, interests outside of school, self-direction in learning, sense of community and culture, peer relationships, relationships with parents and family, and homework habits.

As a result, respondents feel that Web 2.0 tools help:
1.    Keep students interested and engaged in school
2.    Meet the needs of different kinds of learners
3.    Develop critical thinking skills
4.    Develop capabilities in students that can’t be acquired through traditional methods
5.    Provide alternative learning environments for students
6.    Extend learning beyond the school day
7.    Prepare students to be lifelong learners

Also, supporting the fact that Wimba Pronto is populated by and links to directly to a school’s existing course management system, over 60% of district administrators polled in the report believe that the use of Web 2.0 tools “should be limited to approved educational sites.”

Therefore, I couldn’t help but love how all of these findings support the rationale for adopting Wimba Pronto and the rest of the Wimba Collaboration Suite at K-12 schools. The Suite is most comprehensive source of Web 2.0 and additional educational collaboration tools that help students learn in different ways. Some students are visual learners, other are audible learners, and while some learn better in formal online settings, others need more informal instructional methods. The Suite covers it all - and CoSN’s report definitely agrees.

Using Wimba For Meetings, Advising, and other Non-Instructional Uses

2009-04-30T16:37:57Z

Yesterday, Hollyanna White of Chattanooga State University and Kathrine Bailey of Austin Peay State University (TN) presented as part of our new ‘Brown Bag’ subset of the Wimba Distinguished Lecture Series. While they both detailed how their respective institutions utilize the Wimba Collaboration Suite, what I thought was particularly remarkable was the sheer number of non-instructional uses of Wimba they’ve both found. In addition to offering courses via Wimba, they’ve both truly considered the entire institution when planning on how to maximize online collaboration technology. For example, Austin Peay alone uses Wimba for:

Virtual Academic Support
Faculty Training
Presidential Listening Meetings
Corporate Meetings
Depositions
Guest Speakers

So as you look for ideas about how to expand your usage, definitely look to the examples set by Chattanooga State and Austin Peay - think big! The breadth of Wimba Collaboration Suite is far-reaching, so start reaching far!

West Virginia Stares Itself in the Face to Achieve

2009-04-29T12:24:01Z

In the latest online version of T.H.E. Journal, writer Dave Nagel explores a speech given at the FETC Virtual Conference & Expo by Steven L. Paine, state superintendent of schools for West Virginia. According to Nagel, Paine noted that 21st-century learning is not an option; it’s a necessity for students who must go out and compete on a global level. “Students deserve it. The world demands it," Paine told the virtual audience, and to make it happen, he said that changes need to be made in the way K-12 institutions assess students and in the way teachers are developed.

I thought this was particularly rousing for two reasons. First, the fact that Paine was critical of himself and his own team in West Virginia was quite admirable. As we know, change can only truly occur when one honestly assesses oneself. It certainly appears that Paine has done just that and is now on the way to making necessary adjustments. Second, the fact that Paine recognizes the imperative role that technology now plays was quite appealing. While it’s easy to declare that technology is important, to have a specific understanding of why it’s important and what role it can play is the true test. But I’m happy to report that West Virginia Virtual School is one of the leading technologically-based schools in the country, and even world-renowned West Virginia University utilizes Wimba not only for only classes, but even for recruiting students from all over the world as Rick Bebout explained last week during the Wimba Distinguished Lecture Series.

So my hat’s off to the folks thoughout West Virginia. A little honesty and a critical look in the mirror can make quite a difference!

On the Road at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)

2009-03-11T16:45:12Z

A few days ago my long-time friend and colleague here at Wimba, Mark Bevenour, met with a large group of educators in the Baltimore-Washington DC area on the campus of University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). He gathered several UMBC faculty, IT staffers, and instructional technologists for two hours to have open discussions about best practices of online collaborative learning - and it was all recorded and posted on YouTube. All 2+ hours of best practices and real-life examples of using collaborative technology can be viewed here on YouTube. Thank you so much, UMBC!

Walking in a Wimba Wonderland

2009-03-04T12:47:13Z

For the many of us who live up and down the eastern seaboard of the United States, we’re still busy shoveling out our cars and slogging our way through a foot of snow on the way to work and school while enduirng sub-freezing temperatures. Yep, it’s been of those weeks ever since we got nailed by a huge snowstorm Sunday and Monday. So while I sit here in my home office (ok, my living room) waiting for my landlord to come and check my radiators - as I write this I’m literally wearing a hooded jacket and a blanket - I stumbled upon a wonderful blog posting about some folks in South Carolina who used Wimba because they couldn’t make it to a conference due to inclement weather. Even though so many of us now take web conferencing via Wimba Classroom for granted, we tend to forget its true breadth. While many predominantly use Wimba Classroom to hold live online classes, office hours, or meetings, a few of the presenters at the The Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education Conference beamed out their presentation so others not at the actual conference could attend virtually. Great thinking!

Ok, now where is my landlord?...If only Wimba could also be used to heat a New York apartment!

Wimba Named an SIAA CODiE Award Finalist

2009-02-25T18:05:23Z

I’m happy to announce that the Wimba Collaboration Suite has been named a finalist for the SIAA CODiE Awards in the category of Best Education Solution - Best Collaboration Solution. We always like to crow about such good news! According to SIIA President Ken Wasch, “The competition is particularly steep this year during the 24th Annual SIIA CODiE Awards, making selection as a CODiE Finalist a real achievement.” Wasch further added that “All the companies on this year’s list of CODiE Finalists should feel justifiably proud of their accomplishment in making it to this stage, and have much excitement to look forward to regarding the upcoming CODiE Awards voting!”

Heads-Down at Wimba

2009-02-19T13:40:18Z

Wow, I think this may be only my second or third posting in 2009. But I have an excuse, and the title of this posting explains it all. The bottom line is that we’ve been heads-down here at Wimba since the start of the new year, as all departments are cranking out numerous projects.

For example, our Marketing team here at Wimba has been busy prepping for Wimba Connect 2009, sending out numerous newsletters, and organizing/leading numerous regional webinars and Distinguished Lecture Series presentations. Our Engineering and Product teams are working their tails off getting new products ready, and our Services folks have been cris-crossing the globe in order to train and implement the Wimba Collaboration Suite at K-12, further education, and higher education institutions worldwide. Phew!

Looking Ahead to 2009

2009-01-06T12:51:22Z

Over the last few weeks we’ve been inundated with best-of-2008 lists as well as with what’s-ahead-in-2009 lists. Well, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, so I just want to quickly point out an interesting tidbit from Inside Higher Ed’s list of 2009 predictions. Among other prophecies, the writer, Lev Gonick of Case Western Reserve University, believes that video conferencing and web conferencing will play an important role inside the classroom this year. What better way to connect students and faculty while reducing one’s carbon footprint, saving travel time and gas, and increasing enrollment and retention rates? I agree with Lev 100%! You can obviously learn more about online video conferencing via Wimba Classroom here. Here’s an excerpt from Inside Higher Ed: Smile, Interactive High Definition Video Conferencing moves from the Board Room to the Research Lab and the Lecture Hall Facing budget pressures and public pressure to go green, corporations around the world are investing in next generation video conferencing. Moving operating dollars into infrastructure investments in this collaboration platform technology has led to significant reductions in travel costs, better space utilization, and a growing conscientiousness about carbon footprints. As businesses continue to look for capabilities to support global operations, video conferencing has become a daily part of many companies. The logic facing corporations now confront the university community. Over the past 18 months some public universities have been mandated to reduce their carbon footprints. Most everyone else is facing growing operating pressures pinching travel and other budget lines. New students care about pro-active green initiatives as part of their university experience. Over the next 12 months look for double digit growth in campus adoption of next generation video conferencing tools, including integrated collaboration technologies.

More from the Wimba Wild Wild West

2008-12-18T18:20:27Z

I once again want to thank Cory Stokes of the Utah Education Network, Diane Stonebrink of Estrella Mountain College (AZ), and Peter Lafford of Arizona State, each of whom gave wonderful accounts of their creative usage of Wimba during a presentation on Tuesday.

Diane talked about ESL instruction via Wimba Voice, Peter discussed language learning via Wimba Voice and even led the audience in a rousing rendition of the ASU fight song (he’s like a songbird), and Cory recounted the numerous ways that 15 colleges and 40 K-12 school districts in Utah use Wimba Classroom for everything from live classes to online meetings. Cory perhaps made the most powerful statement of the 45-minute presentation when he mentioned how several autistic students better interact with their teachers now.

And on the non-instructional side of things, he told how the Blanding campus of the College of Eastern Utah - in very rural southeastern Utah - is saving a great deal of money because it no longer needs to have its staff drive 4-to-5 hours to get to meetings in Salt Lake City (which, of course, entails a 4-to-5 hour trip back and often an overnight stay). He says that the savings Wimba has brought to that small branch campus has made Wimba a very compelling service to everyone throughout the state. “The cost of a [Wimba] license saves the state more money than the cost of the license itself.”

Wimba in the Wild Wild West

2008-12-12T19:10:13Z

I noticed that several of my recent blog postings have focused on our customers near our New York and Cambridge (UK) offices, so I don’t want our Western customers to feel left out. In fact, there’s some remarkable stuff happening in the mountain states that everyone should know about. On Tuesday, three of the leading instructional minds out West will co-present as part of the Wimba Distinguished Lecture Series as they give details about how their schools have been doing extremely creative things with Wimba. Cory Stokes of the Utah Education Network will reveal how his team implemented Wimba at 15 higher education institutions and 40 school districts throughout Utah, Peter Lafford of Arizona State will discuss how he’s long used Wimba Voice for online language instruction, and Diane Stonebrink of the Estrella Mountain College will discuss English-As-A-Second Language (ESL) instruction via Wimba Voice. The three of them are definitely some of the West’s heaviest hitters. And this presentation will be even more exciting because Diane and Peter will both give longer presentations at Wimba Connect 2009 in April in Scottsdale - so this promises to whet your appetites. Have a great weekend, everyone! Matt

Wimba’s Participation in Speak Up

2008-12-02T13:05:19Z

If you’re a K-12 teacher, student, or parent and have opinions about technology can shape learning over the next decade, then Speak Up! You have 17 more days until Speak Up, an annual national research project and survey facilitated by Project Tomorrow, will be available.

The purpose of the Speak Up project is to:
-Collect and report the unfiltered feedback from students, parents and teachers on key educational issues.
-Use the data to stimulate local conversations.
-Raise national awareness about the importance of including the viewpoints of students, parents, and teachers in the education dialogue.

So please, Speak Up now!