Staying Connected...

Staying connected with fellow classmates and instructors is important and you can keep the conversation going with ease using Wimba Pronto. Your college experience doesn’t have to end when the class does. You can chat anytime using Wimba Pronto, an instant messaging tool.

To activate Wimba Pronto is easy. When you enter your course, click the Connect & Learn link and click on Pronto. Be sure to create your account, download Wimba Pronto to your computer, and install. In 3 steps you’re in and can start chatting away!

Wimba Pronto displays students in your classes who are also using Wimba. You can customize your profile to include a picture and your email address as well. Wimba can notify you with an alert when a classmate is available or offline.

There are many possibilities to using Wimba Pronto. You can chat one-on-one or group chat. You can even use a microphone to chat via VoIP. Don’t miss an opportunity to connect with lab partners, discuss group projects, chat with classmates and instructors! Stay connected in and out of your classes using Wimba Pronto!

College Students Going Avatar?

Changes may be on the near horizon for online learners. The major giants of learning management system software have been negotiating with companies in the virtual world industry to extend new learning options to their postsecondary clients to enhance student learning experiences. Angel Learning unveiled its island in the popular virtual realm of Second Life in the spring of 2007. This free island was established to enable educators to experiment with learning scenarios, meetings, and other kinds of interactions that typify educational settings. Experimentation on Angel Isle allows colleges and universities to make informed purchasing decisions before committing to any one particular approach to learning. Angel Isle is not limited to the exclusive use of educators but can be used by anyone who wants to learn about the basic and advanced features of Second Life.

Angel Learning is not the only learning management system company to investigate the prospect of integrating virtual worlds into learning management systems; Blackboard has committed significant financial resources to the exploration of pedagogical and administrative issues in virtual worlds, including a $ 25,000 grant awarded to Ball University to foster and promote the use of virtual worlds in everyday teaching and learning. Less prominent companies in the learning management system arena have also funded the experimentation of educators in virtual worlds. Eduserv’s funding of research and development in virtual worlds has led to the successful integration of the learning management system MOODLE with Second Life. This integrated product, SLOODLE, supports the basic tasks associated with learning management systems, including taking quizzes and surveys, submitting assignments, recording chat conversations, and keeping track of academic progress. These tasks are accomplished through the use of learner avatars, which navigate virtual worlds under the control of the learner.

The integration of virtual worlds with learning management systems does present its share of challenges. While the advent of products such as SLOODLE might increase the learner’s capacity to interact with the learning environment, the typical online course will likely become less flexible. Implementing such products seems counterintuitive when students are generally attracted to the flexibility of online courses. The proliferation of android phones may present another challenge. Many students enjoy accessing their online courses with android technology. It is unclear whether these products contain the video capabilities to support virtual worlds such as Second Life; many desktops and notebooks do not. The integration of learning management systems and virtual worlds is also likely to change the way postsecondary faculty interface with online courses. College faculty may face challenges in providing students learning experiences as opposed as to learning materials. Providing students learning experiences represents an intuitive approach to establishing pedagogy in virtual worlds.

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Greetings and Hello!

Welcome to the Connect & Learn blog at the University of St. Francis. I’m Donna Eakle, Administrative Assistant for the Center for Instructional Delivery (CID) at the University of St. Francis. My colleagues and I will be posting to this blog to share our thoughts about online learning, technology, happenings at USF, and anything else that might interest you. Should you have any questions or topics you would like to see addressed, please leave a comment here or you can email us at cid@stfrancis.edu.

Coincidentally, I am also an online student. I obtained my bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership, which is a totally online degree, in 2009. I am now in the process of getting my Masters degree in Training and Development – another online journey. I love getting my education in the online venue as it makes working full-time and going to school possible.

I remember the first online course I took back in 2004. I wasn’t sure of the online venue, or how it would work, after having only taken face to face classes. What a pleasant surprise taking the class online was! Truly love at first sight. How refreshing, not to have to go to school after a long day work on a prescribed night, or devote a whole Saturday to a class. I was able to pursue the coursework on my schedule, any time of day or night that suited me. Any trepidation that I had quickly gave way, and I knew that finishing my degree online was not only plausible, but possible. I was pleased with my choice of major, the education I received and the course delivery. As I mentioned above, I am now in the process of obtaining another degree pursued solely online and am enjoying every minute.