http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/ en mwasowski@wimba.com Copyright 2009 2009-05-08T15:47:51-05:00 http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/obama_asks_to_extend_unemployment_benefits_while_going_back_to_school/ http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/obama_asks_to_extend_unemployment_benefits_while_going_back_to_school/#When:14:47:51Z 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.     2009-05-08T14:47:51-05:00 http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/pictures_from_the_siia_codie_awards_ceremony/ http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/pictures_from_the_siia_codie_awards_ceremony/#When:19:54:30Z 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 2009-05-07T19:54:30-05:00 http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/we_won_the_siia_codie_award_for_best_education_solution/ http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/we_won_the_siia_codie_award_for_best_education_solution/#When:11:28:38Z 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 2009-05-06T11:28:38-05:00 http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/what_if_they_closed_the_campus_wimba_for_online_learning_alternatives/ http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/what_if_they_closed_the_campus_wimba_for_online_learning_alternatives/#When:18:39:45Z 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.  2009-05-05T18:39:45-05:00 http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/new_cosn_report_supports_the_wimba_collaboration_suite_value_prop/ http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/new_cosn_report_supports_the_wimba_collaboration_suite_value_prop/#When:16:42:50Z 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 school2.    Meet the needs of different kinds of learners3.    Develop critical thinking skills4.    Develop capabilities in students that can’t be acquired through traditional methods5.    Provide alternative learning environments for students6.    Extend learning beyond the school day7.    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. 2009-05-01T16:42:50-05:00 http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/using_wimba_for_meetings_advising_and_other_non_instructional_uses/ http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/using_wimba_for_meetings_advising_and_other_non_instructional_uses/#When:16:37:57Z 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! 2009-04-30T16:37:57-05:00 http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/west_virginia_stares_itself_in_the_face_to_achieve/ http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/west_virginia_stares_itself_in_the_face_to_achieve/#When:12:24:01Z 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! 2009-04-29T12:24:01-05:00 http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/on_the_road_at_university_of_maryland_baltimore_county_umbc/ http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/on_the_road_at_university_of_maryland_baltimore_county_umbc/#When:16:45:12Z 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! 2009-03-11T16:45:12-05:00 http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/walking_in_a_wimba_wonderland/ http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/walking_in_a_wimba_wonderland/#When:12:47:13Z 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! 2009-03-04T12:47:13-05:00 http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/wimba_named_an_siaa_codie_award_finalist/ http://www.wimba.com/community/blog/wimba_named_an_siaa_codie_award_finalist/#When:18:05:23Z 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!” 2009-02-25T18:05:23-05:00