NEW YORK and CAMBRIDGE, UNITED KINGDOM – October 07, 2008 – Wimba® Inc., the education technology company that helps people teach people, is pleased to celebrate the achievements of Michèle Boisbourdin of the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) for its award-winning French Language Simulation Program. This innovative online course – one of fifteen selected for the European Award for Languages – was granted the Language Label by Simon Coveney, TD, Fine Gael Front Bench Spokesperson for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and former MEP for Ireland South, in a ceremony in Croke Park, Dublin last week.
The course, titled “The Creation and Everyday running of a French SME [small-to-medium enterprise] – a French Language Simulation,” aims to promote language skills through a ‘learning by doing’ approach. Participants gain real-life skills in technology, communications and leadership, all while learning French. Wimba Voice™, a web-based application for vocal instruction, collaboration, coaching and assessment is central to the learning experience.
Reaching beyond the traditional language laboratory environment, Wimba Voice supports traditional communicative styles of language learning by giving students multiple methods of speaking, writing, and listening to foreign languages – all online. Wimba Voice incorporates the use of threaded voice boards, voice-enabled email, embedded voice within course pages, as well as live group discussions and debates, and places interaction and student engagement at the heart of the learning experience.
“Wimba adds an invaluable new dimension to language learning, “ said Michèle Boisbourdin, Lecturer of French at the Dublin Institute of Technology’s School of Languages. “With Wimba, students can listen to the oral tasks they recorded as part of their course work – anytime, anywhere. More importantly, they can reflect on their oral productions with the help of their lecturer’s written comments, which are visible while they are listening. They can also repeat the tasks in order to make corrections and improvements, including improvements in pronunciation or communication skills. But what is central to the learning experience, is that students can compare their various attempts, which helps the students to become aware of their capacity to improve and progress.”
Wimba Voice is part of a full suite of online collaborative teaching and learning products called the Wimba Collaboration Suite™. The Suite, which is fully licensed across the entire Dublin Institute of Technology, facilitates the use of online video, voice, instant messaging, content authoring, application sharing and white boarding and seamlessly integrates with the most widely used Virtual Learning Environments including the ANGEL, Blackboard and Moodle platforms.
The Dublin Institute of Technology is the largest school of modern languages in Ireland. The Institute’s School of Languages offers a wide range of courses in various disciplines ranging from Chinese to English, French, German, Irish, Italian, Russian and Spanish. “Courses offered through the School of Languages at DIT illustrate how innovative technology greatly benefits teaching of complex subjects such as foreign languages,” said Tommaso Trionfi, CEO of Wimba. “We are extremely honored that Wimba is recognised as a contributing factor in the success of their French Language SME simulation.”
About The European Award for Languages – the Language Label The European Award for Languages – the Language Label, which is simultaneously run in over 20 European countries, has been a major event in the languages calendar since 1998. It recognises creative and innovative ways to improve the quality of language teaching and learning. This year’s winners were selected on the basis of excellence, innovation, intercultural dialogue and their ability to serve as a model for others. The winning projects highlight the importance of language learning in the creation of an inclusive multicultural society and the significance of real life situations in providing motivation for learners to develop and enhance their linguistic competence.