Online Language Skills Acquisition and Course Community Building with WIMBA

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Thursday, 21 July 2005
This presentation is part of J-8: Online Language Skills Acquisition and Course Community Building with WIMBA
Online Language Skills Acquisition and Course Community Building with WIMBA

Description: Pima Community College combined WebCT instructional materials and activities with skills-based online exercises to ensure oral/aural competence in online Spanish courses. Course faculty developed language exercises and activities for students with WIMBA, a web-based voice tool. Students taking introductory-level online courses are using WIMBA to create community online as they discuss course-related issues in their own voices. An economics instructor adds verbal explanations and materials to what would be an otherwise text-intensive study of macroeconomics.
Presentation Format: Showcase
Topic: Enabling learning: Effective instructional practices and flexible design models
Target Audience: Course Designers, E-learning Managers, Faculty and Other Instructors
Appropriate Audience Level: Beginning or new users of WebCT, Experienced WebCT users
WebCT Version:
Abstract Text: How can we ensure our online language courses provide skills-based activities for students to demonstrate speaking and listening skills in Spanish? How can we increase personalization and community in text-intensive online economics courses with adult learners? This session describes Pima Community College's use of the web-based voice tool WIMBA (from Horizon WIMBA) that incorporates voice components into online courses. The college's Center for Learning Technology used WIMBA to add voice emails, threaded voice discussions called “Centro Comunitario”, sample pronunciation, instructor-student voice comparisons, and files of audio conversations for student practice and review for speaking and listening in Spanish 101 and 102. The tool is also being used in a pilot project with native-language speaking university students and in Wuhan, China, where they get an opportunity to practice speaking and understanding English with Pima tutors in real-time. Students in Economics 202, Macroeconomics, use WIMBA to listen to the instructor's verbal explanations of systems and concepts often expressed in graphs, tables, or figures in the course text or other materials. One such example in Macroeconomics is the concept of scarcity and the idea of trade-offs and the Production Possibilities Curve. Community building within the course occurs via threaded, voice-enabled discussions between students and faculty. Come find out how you can apply Pima's use of this valuable voice tool at your institution in language and other courses.

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Description:	Pima Community College combined WebCT instructional materials and activities with skills-based online exercises to ensure oral/aural competence in online Spanish courses. Course faculty developed language exercises and activities for students with WIMBA, a web-based voice tool. Students taking introductory-level online courses are using WIMBA to create community online as they discuss course-related issues in their own voices. An economics instructor adds verbal explanations and materials to what would be an otherwise text-intensive study of macroeconomics.
Presentation Format:	Showcase
Topic:	Enabling learning: Effective instructional practices and flexible design models
Target Audience:	Course Designers, E-learning Managers, Faculty and Other Instructors
Appropriate Audience Level:	Beginning or new users of WebCT, Experienced WebCT users
WebCT Version:
Abstract Text:	How can we ensure our online language courses provide skills-based activities for students to demonstrate speaking and listening skills in Spanish? How can we increase personalization and community in text-intensive online economics courses with adult learners? This session describes Pima Community College's use of the web-based voice tool WIMBA (from Horizon WIMBA) that incorporates voice components into online courses. The college's Center for Learning Technology used WIMBA to add voice emails, threaded voice discussions called “Centro Comunitario”, sample pronunciation, instructor-student voice comparisons, and files of audio conversations for student practice and review for speaking and listening in Spanish 101 and 102. The tool is also being used in a pilot project with native-language speaking university students and in Wuhan, China, where they get an opportunity to practice speaking and understanding English with Pima tutors in real-time. Students in Economics 202, Macroeconomics, use WIMBA to listen to the instructor's verbal explanations of systems and concepts often expressed in graphs, tables, or figures in the course text or other materials. One such example in Macroeconomics is the concept of scarcity and the idea of trade-offs and the Production Possibilities Curve. Community building within the course occurs via threaded, voice-enabled discussions between students and faculty. Come find out how you can apply Pima's use of this valuable voice tool at your institution in language and other courses.