Wimba Voice
Duke Wimba Resources
DDI page about Wimba
Information about Wimba at Duke.
CIT Wimba workshops
These 90 minute workshops provide a hands-on introduction to the use of Wimba Voice in Blackboard course spaces.
Official Wimba resources
• Wimba Voice Home Page
• Wimba Voice Demos (login required)
Overview
What are they?
Wimba Voice is a collection of tools which can be embedded in a web page or Blackboard page to provide a means of allowing voice recording and/or playback "on-the-fly" within that web page. Depending on which tool is being used, visitors to the page will see a toolbar allowing them to play back or record and save audio, without using a special application other than Wimba.
Wimba Voice is licensed by Duke as a pilot for the second year in 2008-09. The full set of Voice Tools in use at Duke include:
| Voice Announcement |
allows the instructor to insert a recording into a course announcement, for playback by course members |
| Voice Board | the instructor can create a threaded discussion board that uses audio recorded directly on line, with additional typed comments if needed. The instructor can provide voice board access to the entire class or to individual students |
| Voice Direct |
creates a chat space for live, direct audio chatting online. Chats can be archived to a digital audio file for later playback and distribution |
| Voice E-mail | allows instructors and/or students to create a recording and e-mail a link to that recording to the class |
| Voice Podcast | allows instructors and students in the Blackboard course to record podcast episodes directly online or upload files created elsewhere. You can then create a podcast that anyone can subscribe to, even people who are not members of the course |
| Voice Presentation | the instructor and course students can display Web pages and record an audio narration of those pages directly online. Viewers can comment on the presentation by typing in text or by recording an audio response |
| Voice Recorder | allows the instructor to insert an original recording or digital audio file almost anywhere in the course, for playback by course members |
Key features
- Use existing voice board templates to create multiple new boards, so you don't have to start over
- Upload digital audio files to voice tools as needed
- Export voice tool content to your local computer as a digital audio file; for voice boards, you can export a single file or the full voice board
Who uses it?
Wimba Voice are licensed to a number of schools and institutions of higher education for use in conjunction with their course management systems (and in some cases, for Web pages that aren't in the course management system). Testimonials have shown Wimba Voice to be especially useful in distance education, language learning, and in any course in which recording of students or remote participants is useful. Examples in this category include interviews with off-site guest speakers, connections with students on study abroad or service learning and ongoing discussions with mentors or experts outside of the educational institution. Wimba Voice can also be a useful method for faculty to easily record audio feedback on student work.
How does it work?
Wimba Voice tools can typically be used either through an institution's course management system (Blackboard, at Duke), or outside the CMS in standard webpages. The Wimba Voice tools are embedded in or linked from the webpages, and the audio recorded and saved via those tools is stored either on servers maintained by Wimba (in the case of 90% of institutions), or on servers maintained locally at the institution.
At Duke, where Wimba is being piloted in the 2008-09 academic year, instructors of Blackboard courses can use the course control panel to add a Wimba Voice tool to any desired content area in a Blackboard course. The audio files created by each Wimba Voice tool are stored on servers hosted by Wimba, but instructors can save copies of those files at any time.
Duke staff or faculty who are interested in exploring the use of Wimba outside of Blackboard are welcome to contact CIT for more instructions and to set up an account.
Things to consider before using Wimba Voice
- Wimba Voice is licensed by institutions or groups rather than by the individual user.
- Java must be enabled in the Web browser for the tools to work properly.
- The desktop computer must be equipped with a sound card.
- A microphone that will work with the desktop computer is required to record sound.
- The instructor will always be able to access any recordings created from within their Blackboard course, but the student or user may not. This is because the sound file created by the direct Wimba recorder is stored on a server, not on the machine on which the user is viewing the Web browser. If a student wants to retain a copy of the recording, it is best to record a file in Audacity or on an iPod first and then upload that file into Wimba, or to remember to export a local copy of the recording after it has been created online.
- Some Wimba Voice tools features, such as podcasting, are not available in situations where an institution is using older versions of a course management system.
- In Blackboard, a user must have control panel access to be able to add a tool to Blackboard course content.
Uses as an Instructional Technology
- Direct feedback on student recorded assignments, such as a recorded performance or oral recording
- Audio feedback on student written work
- Recording of student response to a prompt, reading or media file
- Audio narration of Web pages & resources, with recorded responses and commentary
- Voice discussion boards with course guest speakers and other outside participants, or among course participants
Resources at Duke
- Wimba Voice is being piloted at Duke for a second year in 2008-09.
