Q&A with Jeff Wendt of ‘Today’s Campus’
September 24, 2009
Barb Ross
Chief Operating Officer
Wimba
She was a co-founder of WebCT, which was sold to Blackboard in 2006 for $180 million. After time out to write a soon-to-be-published mystery novel, Barb Ross came to Wimba in 2009 to blueprint Wimba’s future as a next-generation education tools provider.
What undergraduate experience in the 1970s still serves you well as a businesswoman today?
I often say I’m a poster child for the value of a liberal arts education. I studied English literature at the University of Pennsylvania and learned to analyze what I was reading, recognize the structure, draw conclusions, organize my thoughts and communicate them well. I use those skills in business every day.
What is your job and how do you spend your time?
Because Wimba has grown rapidly - and continues to do so - it’s my job as COO to keep each part of the company moving forward to meet the needs of our customers. Our customers are remarkably sophisticated technology users. They expect a high level of service, and I spend much of every day insuring they get it.
What are the necessary components of a virtual classroom?
A virtual classroom must support all the ways people teach and learn. That includes the traditional ‘sage on the stage’ lecture. It also includes the ‘mentor at the center’ which includes discussions, group work and peer-to-peer learning. Included also are the ‘guide on the side’ faculty office hours, tutoring, writing center, IT and research help. Technology should remove barriers and enable us to do things we can’t do in the physical classroom.
What are some additional niceties?
Many of our customers achieve ROI on the technology by saving on faculty travel and time for meetings and training. Many of our customers find additional uses for our technology. For example, University of Maryland has found it possible to include virtual learning in its emergency plan for pandemic flu.
Would the characteristics of Facebook be an asset or a limitation in the delivery of online learning?
Facebook’s ubiquity and ease of use are potential assets to learning. However, I’m watching to see if students will make the transition from ‘OMG, my mom is on Facebook’ to ‘OMG my professor is on Facebook, and he knows I’ve been goofing off all weekend.’
What about the text-heaviness of Facebook?
I think a more multi-modal environment provides a richer learning experience. Audio, video and text - both synchronous and asynchronous - are critical to productive engagement.
Might that be a permanent or temporary limitation?
In technology, everything is temporary.
Among English-speaking nations, who are the U.S. leading or following in the successful delivery of higher education?
I always look to Australia as a leader. The distances there are so vast that they’ve been supporting education with technology since the short-wave radio. The U.K. often lags behind the U.S. in early adoption, but they often pull ahead of us as solutions mature.
Who are some of the American standouts, and why?
Auburn University uses collaboration across the curriculum in all academic departments. West Virginia University has increased enrollments significantly by reaching rural and international students. University of Georgia’s College of Agriculture and Environmental Science saves $20,000 annually in unused mileage reimbursements and 1,000 person-hours per semester by conducting staff meetings online.
Do you see a killer app on the near horizon?
The killer app we need will be used with very little modification from kindergarten through graduate school. I don’t see it on the horizon, but I suspect someday we’ll wonder how we did without it.