New York – (April 15, 2008) – Wimba®, Inc., the education technology company that helps people teach people, today announced that K-12 schools spanning the country, and Canada, are turning to Wimba to foster interactive learning environments. Wimba technology provides the platform for teachers and students to collaborate with each other in an interactive online learning environment. The following schools recently selected Wimba technology solutions to enhance their education programs and join Wimba’s existing K-12 client base in effectively using collaborative learning solutions:
• Arkansas Virtual High School, AR
• Chinook School Division, Saskatchewan, Canada
• Kamehameha Schools, HI
• Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, AK
• Myron B. Thompson Academy, HI
• Virtual Virginia – VA Department of Education
Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii, the largest independent school system in the United States plans to integrate Wimba’s applications into its high school distance learning program. The school is already using Wimba Voice for a new distance learning program for parents, caregivers and adults to learn about the Hawaiian culture and language.
The Magnolia Independent School District, one of the fastest growing districts in Texas serving over 9,000 students, and a customer since 2006, is an example of Wimba at work in K-12.
“Magnolia ISD utilizes Wimba Classroom for meetings at every level of the district, serving the upper administration, the curriculum department, the support personnel, and the teachers with professional development needs,” said Charlie Brown, Distance Learning Facilitator of the Magnolia Independent School District, Texas. “Additionally, teachers use Wimba for after-hour tutorials, synchronously and asynchronously, and the Special Education Department employs the convenience of Wimba to bring homebound students back into the classroom.
Throughout the country, K-12 schools have started to use Wimba learning solutions to better address the educational needs of traditional, home-schooled, at-risk, and gifted students. Wimba’s usefulness extends beyond the obvious subjects like foreign languages and speech, enabling teachers in every content area to communicate personally, above what can be accomplished in text alone.
“Technology has enabled many new educational opportunities, including support for different learning styles and providing greater access to high quality coursework,” said Yancy Oshita, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Wimba. “We are pleased to be part of this process and helping to further elementary and secondary teaching and learning.”
The Wimba Collaboration Suite™ includes Wimba Classroom™, Wimba Pronto™, Wimba Voice™, and Wimba Create™. These enterprise solutions facilitate the use of online video, voice, chat, application sharing and white boarding. The integration of these tools into typically static, text-based online courses or the traditional classroom enhances the learning experience through greater collaboration and interaction. Real-time communication around rich content, visualization using video, and participation through voice in an otherwise text-based course compels active involvement to facilitate the learning process. Wimba enables greater teaching opportunities by allowing teachers and students to express their most important asset – themselves.
For more information about the Wimba Collaboration Suite, visit www.wimba.com.