Distance Learning Interviews
We had the
opportunity to interview Professor Eva Monheim
via Wimba about her course Fundamentals of
Horticulture. Follow the link below to log into
Wimba as a guest to watch her presentation!
Professor
Eva Monheim's Interview
Wimba Session, enter your
name to view this session as a guest participant.
There is no need to enter a login id or
password.
Wimba Pronto
There’s a new tool in
online teaching from Wimba! Wimba Pronto is an
instant messenger program that allows students
to instantly talk to their instructors and each
other. Instructors have
the
ability to invite students from a class list
into a chat room, where students can have group
discussions or work together on group projects.
For more information and to
download Pronto visit
http://www.wimba.com/products/wimba_pronto/
Library Express!
Library
Express!
Online search tools and library services
provide students with rapid access to the
intellectual content necessary for meeting
your learning objectives. Integrating them
into
Blackboard provides
convenient access. Let Temple's librarians
create customized course guides for the
unique needs of your class.
How To:
Enable and
Disable MP3 and MP4 Downloads in your Wimba
Classroom
One of the main benefits of online learning is
it allows students to schedule their classroom
time more flexibly than a traditional course.
Wimba makes online learning even more convenient
by giving students
the
ability to download archived classroom sessions
in MP3 format for audio and MP4 format for
video. These files can be downloaded and stored
on an mobile device, such as an MP3 player or
cell phone, meaning that students no longer have
to be tied to their computers to view their
course content. Studying can be done on the go,
without the need to access a computer.
To make sure your class
content is available for your students to
download, follow these steps:
- Navigate to your Wimba
Liveclassroom through Blackboard.
- The archived sessions
will be listed at the bottom of the page.
For the session to be downloadable, the dot
under the Access heading must be
green. If it is orange, click the dot to
change the setting and allow that session to
be accessed.
-
Click on the Settings button for the archive
you want to work with. Find the Portable
Media Settings section and click to open
it. The default setting allows MP3 and MP4
files to be downloaded- if you do not want
to allow downloads, uncheck the boxes.
-
For MP4 files, you can chose what type of
content you would like to include in the
download. Under the heading What content
is most important in your MP4?, you can
select whether you would like to include
video camera content along with the AppShare,
slide and eBoard content.
Helping Your Students with Online Learning
Technologies
In August 2009 the Office
of Distance Learning polled students about their
experiences with online classes. One of the
topics we asked about was the online learning
technology and what it was like adapting to this
style of learning. When asked if they felt they
received adequate instructions for setting up
and logging on to their online courses, 91% of
students agreed that they did. However, 27%
said that they still had some kind of trouble
actually logging on and accessing the material.
Even with good instructions for accessing their
courses, the technology can sometimes be tricky
to navigate. This is especially true if it's
the student's first time with this technology-
55% reported that they had never before taken an
online course. 7% also said that they were
unaware of the course's technological
requirements beforehand, something that would
definitely affect their ability to log on and
access the material.
To help your students move
as smoothly as possible through the technologies
of online learning, there are a number of
resources you can provide them.
-
Support for Wimba is
available from the Wimba Tech Support line,
a help line that’s open 24 hours a day for
any trouble students may have with Wimba.
The number for Wimba Tech Support is
866-350-4978. Students can email:
technicalsupport@wimba.com
-
For help with parts of
Temple’s website, such as Blackboard and
TUmail, the Help Desk is open for students
to call at 215-204-8000 or submit and
track an online tech support request
at:
https://tuhelp.temple.edu/Default.aspx?a=login
-
For their convenience,
all students enrolled in an online course
now also are enrolled in the Distance
Learning Program Blackboard Community. They
now have 24/7 easy access to tech support
numbers, tips on how to purchase textbooks
online and on managing their online course
work, and access to Temple University's
Computer and Network Security Policy and
Student Code of Conduct.
Make sure to tell your
students about these valuable resources!
Upcoming Events:
PA/DE/NJ
Distance Learning Association Meeting
Next Meeting:
January 12th
http://www.padla.org/
Online Teaching
Strategies
Next Meeting:
January 29th
Tech Center, room
111
Main Campus
9:30 a.m. to 12:30
p.m.
http://oll.temple.edu/events/jan29.htm
Conversational Series & Useful Information:
Please
join us during the Spring semester for a
virtual coffee hour,
where you can discuss online learning with other
faculty members! The virtual coffee hour will be
held every Thursday from noon to 1pm.
To join, simply visit
This Liveclassroom Link. You can also
join the room via telephone by calling
(201)-549-7592 and entering 15915387
as a pin number. No login id and passwords are
needed to join this live classroom.
