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Wimba Voice Boards Added to CourseWorks12 Mar 07 Students and instructors in Columbia language classes are taking their
conversations online this semester, courtesy of a new voice discussion
board feature in CourseWorks, the University's course management system.CUIT implemented the new voice tool for all Language Resource Center courses; this project was sponsored by the LRC and Paul Anderer, vice provost for international relations. The voice board software is a web-based tool developed by Horizon Wimba, a commercial vendor. The voice boards allow students and instructors to communicate with each other at any time, using a threaded discussion board where they can read text messages, listen to voice messages, and record and post their own messages. The boards enhance and reinforce face-to-face classroom instruction by giving students more opportunities to listen and respond to spoken idiomatic language, improve their listening skills, and concentrate on rhythm and pronunciation. More than 625 faculty and students in 108 different foreign language courses are using the voice boards this semester. "Wimba is easy to use and non-intimidating even for those who are less familiar with such tools," said Dr. Mona Momescu, lecturer in Romanian language and culture. "Beginning students find it enjoyable and extremely useful in their pronunciation exercises, and intermediate students find it a very helpful interactive tool that allows them to add on to the texts, review their previous achievements, and be creative in the language they're learning." "Integrating the voice boards with CourseWorks is a great example of how technology supports teaching," said Carol Albertus, CUIT associate vice president for university systems. "CUIT's partnership with the LRC and the vice provost's office has brought a great new teaching tool to Columbia's foreign language community." For more information about the voice boards tool and how you can use it in your language course, send an e-mail message to voiceboard@columbia.edu. Maneesha Aggarwal Senior Developer, Teaching and Learning Technologies Related Links |
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