Trials and Triumphs: Piloting A Web Conference System to Deliver Blended Learning Across Multiple Sites

Barriers to classroom-based education such as high gas prices, inclement weather, and job and family requirements often make travel to campus more difficult for people who want to continue their educations (Fletcher 2008). The promise of synchronous tools such as Wimba LiveClassroom can provide a cost-effective alternative to a real-time classroom experience by allowing students to attend a class wherever they are, thus allowing a classroom experience despite geographic barriers. Indeed, other reports have also indicated that hybrid learning can result in increased student outcomes when compared to traditional classroom learning (Brunner 2006; McFarlin 2008). To attempt to overcome these barriers, a mid-sized public university piloted Wimba LiveClassroom as a platform for a blended class to allow distant students to be able to take advantage of the University’s classes via the Internet.