NDSU Extension Service agents and specialists are reaching out across the state more than ever, yet they are leaving their desks less often. Wimba Classroom and Wimba Pronto are giving Extension educators the ability to meet “face to face” from their computers instead of having to travel.
“Wimba has saved an immeasurable amount of time and money for NDSU Extension Service staff across the state,” says director Duane Hauck. “County Extension agents can get the latest training without having to leave their desks. Groups of staff can have meetings and develop plans without spending an entire day out of the office.”
Wimba Classroom is a live, virtual Web conference and collaboration tool, while Wimba Pronto is an instant messaging service that also allows interaction and collaboration. Along with audio and video features, Wimba participants can share applications from their desktop as well as upload material, such as PowerPoints, to the Wimba site. Extension educators are using Wimba for training, meetings, distance education classes and bringing in guest speakers from around the world via the Internet.
“For the public, specialists have brought together industry experts and faculty from other universities and encouraged North Dakotans to log on, bringing Extension education directly to their homes,” says Hauck.
Wimba Classroom also was used to allow off-campus faculty and staff the opportunity to ask questions of the four NDSU presidential candidates in a virtual open forum. For those unable to log in, a recording allowed them to view the question-and-answer sessions and then provide feedback to the presidential search committee.
More information about Wimba Classroom and Wimba Pronto is available at
. To get started with Wimba, NDSU faculty and staff can contact Tammy Cummings at 1-1090 or tammy.cummings@ndsu.edu. The Agriculture and University Extension contact person is Scott Swanson at 1-7086 or s.swanson@ndsu.edu.