Wimba Voice Boards

What is a Wimba Voice Board?

• Online forum to post threaded audio and text messages
• Part of the Wimba Collaboration Suite integrated with Blackboard Vista
  

Advantages of Voice Boards

• Gives students and instructors a "voice"
  
• Provides a different way to interact online (addressing different learning styles)
• Allows online language or ELL¹ instructors to assess pronunciation, grammar, and fluency
• Allows online students of foreign languages to practice speaking and listening skills
• Language learners can play back the audio and self-assess speaking skills
• Can clarify a point that may be difficult to explain with text format

Examples from other colleges²

• Explain difficult concepts (instruction)
  
• Review "take home" points of a lecture (instruction)
  
• Demonstrate step-by-step procedures (instruction)
• Find a poem, recite, and discuss it with the class (learning)
  
• Post responses to in-class lectures or discussions (learning)
  
• Post responses to student postings (learning)

Remember
If you decide to import or export files, make it an mp3. The file sizes are smaller and quicker to upload.

References
1 http://www.wimba.com/customers/customer-spotlights/drexel_university_case_study
2 http://dl.austincc.edu/wimba/faculty/developVBBb.htm; http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/ARC/nav02.cfm?nav02=19375&nav01=55060