Office Of Smith IT
Smith School of Business
Van Munching Hall, Rm 3520
College Park, MD 20742
301-405-2269
helpme@rhsmith.umd.edu
bbhelp@rhsmith.umd.edu
(for Blackboard Requests)

Office Hours
Mon-Fri (9 a.m. - 5 p.m.)

Wimba Live-Classroom & Podcaster Tools

Wimba Live Classroom

Wimba Live Classroom is a live, virtual classroom environment with features that include audio, video, application sharing and content display. Sessions may be archived for future review.
Advanced features such as polling, white boarding, presenter on-the-fly, resizable chat areas and participant lists, usage analytics tools, and MP3 downloads enable further interaction between students and educators.

• Wimba Live Classroom for Blackboard User Guide
  This guide provides step by step instruction on how to create Wimba Live Classroom inside Blackboard.
• Participant Guide for Students
• Visit Wimba website for features and benefits of Wimba Classroom.

Wimba Podcaster Tools

The podcaster tool allows instructors to post audio which can then be played back from within ba's audio environment Or transported outside the BB environment into a mobile audio player such as iPod or like device. 

The podcaster tool is also a great tool for guests lectures. What you can do is have a guest record an audio file and then you can simply upload that audio file into your podcast.

Podcaster Use Cases

Because of the podcaster's unique ability to create audio that can be easily transported to student's mp3 players, the podcaster makes course material more accessible to students across their busy schedules. Below are several use cases which play off the strengths it's additional flexibility: 

• Mini Lectures - Give students audio lectures that they can listen to before class. Since student's listened to the material beforehand, you can use the class time for other activities such as group work, class discussion, or hands on activities.
• Mini Guest Lectures - Have a respected colleague record their audio and send you the audio file. You can then import the audio into your podcast for students.
• Student Audio Presentations - Have students create audio presentations on a particular topic. For a better quality presentation, encourage students to practice recording the audio several times without a script before submitting a final product.
• Pronunciation Excercises - Provide students with a list of words for pronunciation practice.
• Case Studies - Pose an audio case study for students to listen to on their own time. Given ample time, students can then work alone or in groups to formulate their own response to the case study.
• Mobile Audio Tour - Provide students with a map and a podcast. Students can then take an audio tour of a specific nearby location or imagine themselves at a specific location.
• Audio Reviews - Use the Podcaster to provide a quick 20 minute review of lecture material.
• Pre quiz reviews - Create a podcast providing students with information that will be relevant to their upcoming quiz.