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By Jane Himmel, Associate
Director, Center for Distributed Learning
The Center for Distributed Learning
(CDL) is pleased to announce that Horizon Wimba's Voice Tools Suite is
now integrated with WebCT Vista and is ready for you to use for your
Spring 2007 classes.
About the Voice Tools
"Voice Tools" is the name given to a suite of four tools developed by
Horizon Wimba (a web-based collaboration software company) that
enables you to add voice to your online classes. The four components of
the Voice Tools Suite are:
- Voice Board: A threaded voice discussion board that allows
both instructor and student to post vocal messages along with
accompanying text. (You can export and download these messages to your
desktop or any MP3 player too!
- Voice Direct: A live voice chat application that provides a
forum for one-on-one and group discussions.
- Voice E-Mail: An enhanced e-mail application with a vocal
element.
- Voice Recorder: An easy-to-use, standard voice recorder
that can be embedded directly into the course homepage. (You can use
this tool to make voice-based announcements to your class in the
online environment.)
Demos and Training
Horizon Wimba provides recorded demos as well as free, live desktop
lectures. You can view demos and register for the lectures by going to
http://www.horizonwimba.com/products/voicetools/. To learn more
about how to incorporate voice in your online courses using Wimba Voice
Tools, see Voice and Online Pedagogy - An Introduction to Wimba's Voice
Toolset
http://www.horizonwimba.com/docs/Introduction_to_Wimba_Voice_Tools.pdf.
To help you learn more about how to use Voice Tools within WebCT Vista,
CDL has created a short, self-paced mini-course within the Vista course
called UNT Vista Village - Faculty Support Center. This tutorial will
introduce you to each of the Voice Tools and allow you to practice using
them. You will need headphones and a microphone connected to your
computer to practice using the Wimba Applications. To locate the tutorial, please follow the instructions below:
- Log in to WebCT Vista and look for UNT Vista Village - Faculty
Support Center on your course list. (If you do not see UNT Vista
Village on your course list, please request to be added by sending an
email to vistafac@unt.edu.)
- Click the link UNT Vista Village to enter the course.
- Click the icon for Tools & Tutorials.
- Click the icon for Horizon Wimba Voice Tools.
Once you are in the training area for Voice Tools, be sure to
complete the Horizon Wimba Voice Tools Setup Wizard before proceeding to
the short lessons.
For quick access to printable instructions, please go to Use the Horizon
Wimba Voice Tools in Vista page on the Faculty Resources section of
UNT’s WebCT Vista support site (
http://courses.unt.edu/webct/vista/faculty/voice_tools.html ).
If you have any questions or would like assistance, please feel free to
e-mail the Faculty Helpdesk at
vistafac@unt.edu or your Instructional Consultant, and we will be
glad to help!
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