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USDLA Awards Bloomsburg University's Use of Wimba for Excellence in Distance Learning in 2008
Wimba Classroom(TM) Instrumental in Facilitating Course Designed for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing
| Source: Wimba
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - April 23, 2008) - Wimba®, the education technology company
that helps people teach people, today announced that the United States
Distance Learning Association (USDLA) has awarded Bloomsburg University of
Pennsylvania professors Dr. Samuel Slike and Pamela Berman with its 2008
International Distance Learning Award for their use of Wimba to offer
courses specifically designed for the deaf and hard of hearing. The award,
Best Practices for Distance Learning Programming - Online Technology in
Higher Education, was presented yesterday in conjunction with the 2008
National Conference in St. Louis, Missouri.
In the fall of 2006, Bloomsburg University launched an online course for
students interested in learning the basic challenges, principles and
practices related to educating people who are deaf and hard of hearing. The
course, titled "History, Education, and Guidance of the Deaf/Hard of
Hearing," combines a number of innovative design features using a variety
of learning techniques essential to the deaf and hard of hearing community.
Through the integration of Wimba Classroom™, students have access to a
sign-language interpreter and closed-caption text, which accompany the
standard slide presentation and instructor's voice.
"We're making it possible for deaf and hard of hearing people to have equal
access to information via the internet," said Dr. Slike, instructor and
curriculum coordinator of the Education of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Program
at Bloomsburg University. "The Wimba platform makes it possible to reach
different student populations, with real-time lectures where students can
collaborate and interact using an array of rich tools and resources."
"We are honored that Wimba is recognized as a contributing factor in the
success of Bloomsburg University's course for the deaf and hard of
hearing," said Yancy Oshita, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing
Officer of Wimba. "This course is a testament to how technology has
fostered the growth and development of new and innovative educational
opportunities, specifically those that support a number of varying learning
styles."
Wimba Classroom™ is a live, virtual learning environment that allows
faculty and students to build relationships by combining new interactive
technologies with traditional best practices of instruction. Through the
integration of online video, voice, chat, application sharing and white
boarding, Wimba Classroom™ provides users with a rich multi-media
experience and personal interaction -- the most valuable elements of
teaching and learning. With Wimba Classroom™, faculty and students can
listen and talk to each other, express emotion, and be part of a learning
community. Additionally, students with different learning styles, such as
auditory and visual learners, can better meet their educational objectives.
Students with hearing loss and visually impaired students can also be
served better through a number of features designed to support these
learning styles.
Since 1987, USDLA has been the world's premier distance learning
association. The USDLA International Awards program honored outstanding
individuals and organizations for excellence in the field distance
learning, education and training.
"As a premier organization for the entire distance learning profession, we
are honoring Bloomsburg University as a leader in the industry," said Dr.
John G. Flores, CEO of USDLA. "The work of Samuel Slike and Pamela Berman
has raised the bar of excellence and we are truly honored by their
contributions to the distance learning industry."
These prestigious International Awards are presented annually to
organizations and individuals engaged in the development and delivery of
distance learning programs. Included in the recognition ceremony were
awards for 21st Century Best Practice, Best Practice for Distance Learning
Programming, Excellence in Distance Learning Teaching, Outstanding
Leadership by an Individual, Hall of Fame and Eagle Awards.
The USDLA Awards were created to acknowledge major accomplishments in
distance learning and to highlight those distance learning instructors,
programs, and professionals who have achieved and demonstrated
extraordinary results through the use of online, videoconferencing,
satellite and blended learning delivery technologies. In addition, winners
will be recognized in an edition of USDLA's Distance Learning Today
quarterly supplement which appears in USA TODAY, and featured on the USDLA
website at www.usdla.org.
About United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA)
The United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) is a non-profit
association formed in 1987 and is located in Boston, Massachusetts. USDLA
promotes the development and application of distance learning for education
and training and serves the needs of the distance learning community by
providing advocacy, information, networking and opportunity. Distance
learning and training constituencies served include pre-k-12 education,
higher and continuing education, home schooling as well as business,
corporate, military, government and telehealth markets. The USDLA
trademarked logo is the recognized worldwide symbol of dedicated
professionals committed to the distance learning industry. www.usdla.org
About Wimba
Wimba® is a leading provider of collaborative learning software
applications and services to the education industry. Our collaborative
software applications for the online and blended education market enable
institutions to bridge technology and pedagogy by supplementing course
management systems with many of the proven disciplines of in-person
learning environments. Wimba's intuitive solutions enable educators and
students to quickly and easily teach and learn live online, engage in live
chat and instant message exchanges, benefit from oral content being added
to text-based course content, and more. Instructors can also use Wimba
solutions to convert Microsoft Word documents into accessible web pages,
and to create and administer tests, quizzes, and exams. Our focus on
education and collaboration with educators fuels our product development.
For more information, please visit www.wimba.com or send an email to
info@wimba.com.
Wimba. People Teach People. www.wimba.com