While Blackboard allows students to communicate with classmates and professors digitally, ASU has expanded its features to the verbal range.
ASU recently teamed up with Wimba Voice, an education technology developer, that allows audio to be added to the Blackboard tool, including voice e-mail, voice discussion boards and podcasts.
But some departments at ASU have already been using Wimba for a number of years, such as the School of International Letters and Cultures.
"Wimba supplies the missing piece in online technology for two of the main foundational skills in learning a foreign language: listening and speaking," said John Alexander, a German professor.
A student is able to submit audio files onto the discussion board and the teacher can review the submission and give the student more individual attention than would be given in the classroom, Alexander said.
"[My students] find it easy to use and like the fact that the discussion board is oral rather than written," said Helene Ossipov, a French associate professor. "It's a useful tool for language classes."
Peter Lafford, director of the Language Resource Lab, said that other students and professors started learning about the program and became interested in it so that the University Technology Office eventually decided to provide Wimba Voice on Blackboard for every class.
A student is able to access Wimba Voice options under the Communication tab on Blackboard, Lafford said. With Voice E-mail, a student can send a link to an audio recording to his or her teacher.
According to a Sept. 25 Wimba press release, schools worldwide are integrating the voice technology.
"We deliver solutions that allow rich interaction between instructors and students as well as among students," said Wimba CEO Tommaso Trionfi in the press release.
"Rich interaction means rich learning, something we strive to inject wherever Wimba solutions are used."
But Anthony Scimeca, a business freshman, said he was skeptical of Wimba.
"It sounds like a good idea in theory, but I doubt a lot of students will actually use it," he said.
However, Lafford also said that Wimba Podcaster allows a teacher to record important parts of the lecture and post them on Blackboard, where a student can access them and have them saved to iTunes.
Students could even choose to have podcasts from Blackboard automatically uploaded to iTunes, Lafford added.
"I think that the voice options are really good additions to Blackboard," said John Wake, a bioengeering sophomore. "I think that students will like it a lot better than just having to type everything."
Reach the reporter at: charlsy.panzino@asu.edu.
