Reflection on relevant literature

After sifting through heaps of literature, I found the following two papers extremely useful and relevant to my area of research:

·       “Using Wimba live Class room for Student Engagement at a Distance” author Larry Moore, Columbus State University; published in Perspectives in Learning: A Journal of the College of Education & Health Professions Columbus State University, Volume 11, Number 1, Spring 2010

·       “Pedagogical Usage of Wimba” author Joanna ( Xuan) Zhang; published in DEORACLE@UMUC, An Online Learning Magazine for UMUC Faculty, Centre for Support of Instruction, March-April 2009

What experiences have others had with similar technology?

Almost all the experiences have been favorable. Guest speakers and lecturers from anywhere in the world can be invited into your Wimba Class session bringing students exposure to expert content specialists. Many learners who participate less in traditional settings participate more in the virtual world of synchronous online interactions. Many instructors who have used Wimba live recommend a gradual phased approach of incorporating the various tools into the virtual experience. The technique of progressively incorporating new Wimba tools into the live class sessions will prevent students and teachers from being overwhelmed by all of the technology (Rich, Cowan, Herring & Wilkes, 2009)

What about the pedagogical approach?

Overall, the Wimba classroom has a variety of pedagogical uses. The most important one, access to sessions both synchronously and asynchronously to enhance learning at a distance. My pedagogical approach is of blended learning and developing a hybrid learning program where both traditional face-to-face sessions and Wimba classroom sessions are combined to facilitate learning and ensure student success.

Did you get new ideas from discussion in Moodle?

Discussion on Moodle was stimulating but it was not specific to any single technology. Some of the suggestions were useful and I had already incorporated them in my lesson plan.

What questions remain open?

Few questions still remain open and will continue to surface as we I continue to use Wimba classroom and try new tools each time. Currently, my biggest question is how to improve the legibility of stylus in Wimba Live?

What new questions arise?

I am comparing theoretically heavy sessions with numerical problem solving sessions on Wimba Live. Sessions which are number intensive, can they be facilitated just as effectively as the ones which are not?

What are you planning to do next?

Although the first session gave the option to students to speak and participate but the WhiteBboarding option was not utilized. I used the stylus and text typing extensively though alongside Wimba Voice tools. In the next wimba classroom session, I am planning to give students more access to use White Boarding and Wimba Voice Tools both.

What kind of support do you need to proceed?

Mainly, I need technical assistance from my Ed Technology Department. Before introducing some new features, I would like to run a mock session with the Ed tech help. This will ensure a smooth delivery of my next Wimba Classroom synchronous session.

Project Step III - Implementation plan

EMGT N417 Basic Accounting and Finance, the course introduces concepts and skills for using basic financial and accounting information.

There are Five Learning Outcomes/Goals and they are spread over three parts in the course.  The first part deals with financial accounting for engineering managers which examines the assumptions and decision usefulness of financial statements that are prepared for creditors and shareholders.  Emphasis is placed on interpretation of financial statements.  The second part of the course provides an introduction to management accounting techniques that are useful in management decision-making situations.  The last section provides an opportunity to learn about financing and investment.  Ethical considerations and management in the global context are integrated into these topics.

There are five assessed tasks four of which are individual timed assessments and account for 90% of the grade. The remaining 10% is for a Group Project based on real life Industry Financial Statements.

The fundamental learning objective in any course is an in depth cognitive understanding of the concept which is then assessed through a variety of assessment techniques. ‘Wimba’ is the education technology that I have selected to implement in one of my courses this semester. I do not have any previous experience with Wimba but I think it will help my students accomplish their learning goals more effectively. Wimba will give them expansion of time and space as it allows them to learn anywhere and anytime. It also gives them the flexibility of individual pacing and sequence. It permits them to break step with the class and go at a pace and order that suits each student better.

My pedagogical approach is individual student oriented. I intend to blend conventional classroom learning with online distance learning so that I can reach out to all the students in my classroom, even the ones who are physically not present in the class room. As almost all the students are working, they come to college after work. Some of the students are off-shore students which imply they might need to travel frequently or have to be away for on-site duties for two or more weeks in a row! Also, a fairly large proportion of students commute from other emirates to reach in time for the class. Inevitably, there are frequent delays and at times they are too exhausted after a hectic day at work to drive all the way to Dubai for any class. I strongly feel that these working and off-shore students can immensely benefit from the use of Wimba in this particular course.

There is no substitute for face to face classroom learning environment but it can be supplemented through technology. I am already using BBVista but mainly as a repository. Wimba allows them real time interaction as well as they can benefit exponentially from repeated interaction with content and collaborative experiences. I intend to embed a wide range of activities within the Wimba classroom environment to engage all the students. These activities will be using technology-as-partner in the learning process relating to the article by Jonassen. We will be using technology not just for the delivery of lesson but as social medium to support learning by conversing and for collaborating with others. It will support student learning as intellectual partner when they reflect on what they have learnt and how they came to know it.

I am really looking forward to implement it and see how it goes!