Dr. Cohen, a visiting assistant professor in the College of Education , has been using Wimba Live Classroom to conduct online presentations and meetings with her EDHI students. Dr. Cohen testified about Live Classroom from the student’s perspective, “Students often approach the experience with scepticism and even anxiety. However, they are quickly won over by the easy, intuitive, user-friendly platform.” One big plus of Wimba Live Classroom is its ease of use. One hour’s training will ensure effective use of this tool. A brief orientation from the instructor will also put the students at ease with Live Classroom. Faculty and students don’t need to install any software on their computers. The tool can be accessed right inside the ELMS course space.
Dr. Cohen continued to attest that “Wimba Live Classroom enhances learning outcomes in a virtual learning environment which has interactivity, flexibility, and high-level participation .” Her students describe the online classroom made possible by Live Classroom as “adventuresome, meaningful, and challenging.” They especially appreciate the comprehensive nature of the experience. “I do enjoy multi-tasking. Being able to communicate in so many different ways was fascinating,” enthused one student.
“The chat function allowed us to have multiple collective conversations going on that we would not have been able to have in a traditional classroom.” Instead of the stiff, artificial conversations they had anticipated, students were rewarded with conversations that were surprisingly rich and meaningful.