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CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT (higher education)
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA
www.drexel.edu
Different Departments at Drexel
University Satisfy their Different
Collaborative Needs with Wimba
“Live chats with Wimba build learning community and serve to enhance and
integrate the learning, while I gain an additional dimension with which to judge
student performance - all while diminishing my administrative role.”
-Michael Scheuermann, Director of Online Learning, Drexel University
WIMBA PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
• Wimba Classroom
• Wimba Voice
KEY BENEFITS
• Nearly 90% of remote students felt
more involved via live instruction
• Satisfy Engineering and Nursing
needs for live instruction
While it is common knowledge that different
to show complex equations, whereas teaching a
schools have different needs, some tend to forget
language online requires the use of voice. How-
• Satisfy language needs for speaking
that different departments within a single school
ever, for many schools that use a single
and listening exercises online
often have different needs as well. While an arts
online instructional tool, they often find
school like the Rhode Island School of Design
that they could not satisfy all of these
specializes in one field of study, most schools
different needs. But now, thanks to the
have more diverse course offerings, many of
diversity available within the Wimba Col-
which have their own nuances and needs. Drexel
laboration Suite, different departments are
University is one such institution.
finding easy answers to their unique needs.
On the west side of downtown Philadelphia,
Michael Scheuermann, Director of On-
Drexel University is widely known for its Engi-
line Learning, in Drexel’s Infor-
neering, Technology, and Business programs, but
mation Resources & Technol-
its curriculum serves countless other disciplines
ogy (IRT) department, leads
as well. From Arts & Sciences to Education, to
a nine-member team that
Nursing, like many schools, Drexel offers many
supports 30,000 end-users at
courses across a wide spectrum of academic dis-
Drexel and five partner schools.
ciplines – face-to-face, via a hybrid approach, or
They support technologies such
online. While it is straightforward for faculty to
as Wimba, Blackboard Vista, their
teach these subjects in the face-to-face mode as
school’s standard course manage-
they always have, when it comes to teaching on-
ment system, and myriad others.
line, or incorporating technology in the teaching
His Online Learning Team is tasked with
and learning environment, many subjects require
implementing these technologies across the uni-
unique pedagogical constructs. For example, to
versity, training faculty and staff, and responding
properly teach Engineering online, it is important
to myriad end-user needs.
www.wimba.com
Michael Scheuermann
Director of Online Learning,
Drexel University
Until 2005, Drexel predominantly relied on Black-
On the synchronous side, he schedules four live
board Vista to be the hub of its online courses, but
chats via Wimba Classroom each term during
it realized that its different departments had spe-
which he will have approximately 10 students
cial needs that Bb Vista could not satisfy by itself.
logged in at once. He has found that having 7-14
For instance, students in its English As A Second
students per room is optimal for his subject mat-
Language courses need to practice speaking and
ter. These live conversations allow him to review
listening to English, while remote students in En-
material covered in class as well as provide in-
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
gineering and Nursing classes needed enhanced,
depth feedback to points raised in the Wimba
“The advantage of the Wimba Voice
Boards is that not only does everyone
hear their classmates’ spoken mistakes,
but they also get to identify the good
speaking,
real-time interaction with their instructors – needs
Classroom or previously in the course’s asynchro-
that Bb Vista could not satisfy. Thus, Wimba was
nous threaded discussion areas.
Scheuermann not only leads his OLT, but he is
to enhance and integrate the learning, while
-Reese M. Heitner, ESL Instructor,
Drexel University
also an adjunct professor of graduate-level Busi-
I gain an additional dimension with which to
ness, Engineering Management, and Education
judge student performance - all while diminish-
courses. He utilizes many of Drexel’s and IRT’s
ing my administrative role,” Scheuermann says,
technologies in his online courses, uniquely po-
when speaking of the advantages of synchronous
sitioning him in a first-hand end-user experience.
course elements specifically.
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA
www.drexel.edu
quickly adopted.
“Live chats build learning community and serve
He has used Wimba since Drexel adopted it in
2005 and never turned back, adopting many of
At the end of a recent term he asked for anony-
the newest features in the Wimba Collaboration
mous feedback from his students. Out of 30
Suite whenever they became available. Most
student responses, 26 recommended that he
recently, Scheuermann has been teaching an En-
continue to incorporate the live chats in his fu-
gineering Management graduate course online
ture course offerings. One student said, “No, do
– EGMT 581: Problems in Human Relations – to
not eliminate the [live] chats. I found these to be
students throughout the country with interna-
the best part of the course. The asynchronous
tional students in the mix, from time to time. He
threaded discussions can get exhausting reading
utilizes asynchronous and synchronous elements
through all of them. Having live people on the
in this course, relying heavily on a combination
line and the speed at which we discuss the top-
of threaded discussions via Blackboard Vista and
ics in the chats was great.” Scheuermann reflect-
live online chats via Wimba Classroom – actively
ed on that student contribution and feels that
using the synchronous audio and video features.
“When we are able to get to the point where the
He finds that this pedagogical construct markedly
students begin to see the value of an integrated
increases interaction among his students.
learning approach; educators have enabled powerful academic achievement indeed.”
“I have found a positive and statistically significant
correlation between the number of posts that the
Reese M. Heitner teaches English as a Second Lan-
facilitator makes and the number of posts that
guage (ESL) at Drexel to students from across the
course participants make,” Scheuermann says,
globe who grew up speaking countless languag-
having tracked and studied the asynchronous el-
es other than English. Heitner prepares his stu-
ements for years.
dents for the TOEFL exam, a national test which
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA
www.drexel.edu
ultimately verifies a student’s proficiency in Eng-
they know exactly what’s expected of them and
lish speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills.
can concentrate on their performance, not their
The speaking component of the test requires stu-
fears. Speaking in a nonnative language under
dents to spontaneously produce speech samples
unnaturally timed conditions requires both strat-
in response to a series of computer-prompted
egy and practice. Wimba allows us to maximize
questions. Students are understandably nervous:
our test preparation in a unique way.”
they are being recorded and timed by a conversa-
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“We regularly use application sharing
simply to show our students how to access internal resources. We show them
our own internal [online learning] website so we can show them all the software they can get.”
-Mary Gallagher-Gordon, MSN, RN, CNE,
insructor of Nursing Informatics in Drexel
University’s College of Nursing & Health
Professions
tional partner with the compassion and character
With Wimba Voice, Heitner and his students can
of a computer. For years, Heitner was frustrated
easily focus on grammar, pronunciation, fluency,
because he relied on audio cassette tapes to
and organization. And most importantly, since
review their speaking. “I started off with audio
Wimba Voice only contains a handful of buttons
tapes which were neither convenient to record,
and is integrated into Blackboard Vista, Heitner,
review, nor share,” Heitner says. “Then we moved
who is the first to admit he’s no tech whiz, has
on to mp3 digital voice files. They were easier to
an easy time. “I am no Wimba expert, but that’s a
record, review and share, but even mp3 record-
good thing [about Wimba’s ease-of-use] because
ings could not simulate the strictly timed testing
I could set it up, and my students can use it, so
conditions of the Internet-based speaking ver-
easily.”
sion of the TOEFL taken via computer.”
Now that he is mastering Wimba Voice, his inWorking closely with Julie Allmayer of Drexel’s IRT
struction is getting more creative and innovative.
department, the duo came up with a solution –
To get beyond ‘typical’ and ‘basic’ questions such
via Wimba – to solve this problem.
as ‘Where did you grow up?,’ Heitner has his students listen to mp3 files from NPR radio shows
By using Wimba Voice, and more specifically,
about the Sahara Desert and the future of new
Wimba Voice Boards, Heitner’s students are able
cell phone technology. Students learn to sharpen
to directly simulate the TOEFL test environment
their listening and comprehension skills and how
by posting their speech samples in pre-defined
to prepare spoken summaries regarding more
1-minute recording windows which automatical-
sophisticated academic questions. He feels this
ly close when the built-in timer runs out – just like
enriches their ability to listen to, think, and speak
the TOEFL test. “The power of the Wimba Voice
in English.
Board is not only that we have all the advantages
of digital recording, sharing, and reviewing, but
If learning a language online before Wimba was
that we have an Internet-based interface that
a challenge, so was teaching nursing. Nursing
closely simulates the strictly timed testing condi-
contains complex ideas and terminology and be-
tions of the actual TOEFL test. This is crucial for
comes difficult to teach well when students are
test preparation.” In addition, then, to practicing
isolated and on their own. Again, this is where
and internalizing the criteria the TOEFL judges
the lively nature of Wimba comes in.
use under real exam conditions through a “stopand-go” review of grammar, vocabulary, and flu-
Fran Cornelius, PhD, MSN, RN, CNE, CIN and Mary
ency, Heitner’s students experience being timed
Gallagher-Gordon, MSN, RN, CNE both teach
by an unforgiving recording window. “This way
Nursing Informatics in Drexel’s College of Nursing
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA
www.drexel.edu
& Health Professions (CNHP) to working nurses
their final presentations,” says Gallagher-Gordon.
enrolled in the RN-BSN completion or Masters
Each presentation is conducted virtually.
Programs. While many of their students are located throughout the United States, their course
Since they have 40 to 60 students from different
roster boasts students from Lebanon, China, and
sections in a given term, they also schedule ad-
several European countries. Although Cornelius
ditional time to meeting online via Wimba Class-
and Gordon utilize Blackboard to present course
room. “I found that Wimba works very well for vir-
content and assignments, they rely heavily on
tual office hours,” Cornelius says. “We meet three
Wimba Classroom to offer real-time instruction.
times per term live but I’m available during the
week for regularly scheduled ‘virtual’ office hours
For example, in one class they post a webpage
as well, just like I would be if I was on-campus.” To
from the Center for Disease Control and Preven-
accommodate multiple course sections, Cornelius
tion (CDC) and then give their students a “virtual
will set up guest links to one meeting room and
scavenger hunt” during which they give their stu-
place these in the other course sections. “This
dents 10 minutes to navigate the CDC website
way, all students can enter one ‘virtual office’ to
to find resources they’ll need in their nursing ca-
meet with me. This works very well and the stu-
reers. After 10 minutes they bring everyone back
dents are very appreciative of the additional op-
to the main class to discuss CDC. It is this lively,
portunity to ‘connect’ with faculty” They’ll even
instructor-led interaction which proves so valu-
archive each office hour so students who were
able for their geographically dispersed students.
unable to attend can listen to the archive and
benefit from the Q & A and demonstrations that
ABOUT WIMBA
Wimba develops web-based collabora-
In addition to meeting live to discuss class and
clarify class assignments.
tion software designed for online educa-
nursing resources, they regularly use application
tion, language learning and live interac-
sharing simply to show their students how to ac-
Cory Schmitt of the School of Education at Drexel
tive communications. Our collaborative
cess internal resources at Drexel. “We show them
is an authority on video production and likes to
applications enable learning profes-
our own internal IRT website so we can show
push Wimba Classroom to the limits. He and his
sionals to fully embrace the new wave
them all the software they can get,” says Gallagh-
team create high-end video presentations which
of teaching and learning opportunities
er-Gordon. “We also give them a virtual tour of
they stream live via Wimba Classroom. From in-
afforded by the Internet; regardless of
our Health Sciences library. Because some of our
terviews with authors, to conference panels and
geographic location, bandwidth or op-
students are far away, we want to show them the
fireside chats with the Dean, Schmitt feels that
erating system. Our classroom collabora-
opportunities they have in our library. We show
video should be utilized more often to bring the
tion solutions enable educators to con-
them how to do searches and how to find other
Drexel community closer together.
duct live, online classes, meetings, office
resources in the library that are beneficial to them.
hours and other collaborations, and our
We take them on virtual excursions.”
During these high-end video pieces he’ll have an
instructor or moderator monitor the chat box in
language learning tools add oral interaction directly into course content, web-
Further, besides formal live online class time
Wimba Classroom in order to pass audience ques-
pages, study groups and assessments.
and school resource sessions, at the end of each
tions along to the interviewee. He has used his
With simplicity and power, Wimba adds
term they’ll give their students presenter access
multi-camera video techniques in scores of class-
new dimensions to online, accessible ed-
so they present their final group projects to the
es online to geographically dispersed students.
ucation, enhancing the learning experi-
rest of their classmates. “They enjoy it, they have
“Our big question is, how do we engage our stu-
ence for both students and instructors.
control of that situation at that time and they give
dents online to create a sense of community?”