United States Distance Learning Association

that allow instructors and students to do
presentations, share whiteboard activities,
and share desktop applications with the
capability of hearing and seeing each
other. Student polling and break-out
rooms for group activities all add to the
interactive environment. Instructors can
hold virtual office hours, Webcasts, and
bring in guest lecturers. In addition, sessions
can be archived for future viewing.
Teaching online has now been taken to a
new level, but faculty remain cautious in
the adoption of this technology.
This article will examine factors related
to the diffusion of the Wimba Live Classroom
technology using Rogers’ (1995)
framework for diffusion of innovation.
Recommendations for adoption and
implementation of this technology will be
provided.
BACKGROUND
The study takes place at a minority-serving
4-year university where the student enrollment
is 87% Hispanic, specifically Mexican
American. Most of the students are commuters
and also work while attending
school full time. Accessibility and flexibility
of curriculum delivery are significant
issues for this population. Taking fullyonline,
hybrid, and Web-augmented
courses both synchronously and asynchronously
may contribute to ease of access for
course completion and retention of students
Culture impacts on learning styles, and
in this case it is an important factor for consideration
in curriculum design (Chan,
2003). Mexican American culture is collectivist
and high context where communication
is indirect and rich in nuance and
meaning (Hofstede, 2001). This type of
communication style uses both verbal and
nonverbal cues that can be afforded in a
face-to-face situation. It would seem then,
that, considering this audience, the use of
Wimba Live Classroom that simulates
authentic communication, would be essential
for student satisfaction and effective
delivery of curriculum.
In 2005, Wimba Live Classroom was
introduced to this university community
via the Center for Learning, Teaching &
Technology (CLTT). The Center maintains
the WebCT course management system
and has supported over 12,000 students in
over 650 courses that are delivered in Webaugmented,
hybrid, and fully-online formats.
In addition, CLTT is responsible for
the research and dissemination of new
educational technologies campus-wide.
CLTT also provides full training and support
for faculty in the appropriate pedagogical
use of educational technology for
delivery of curriculum.
Live Classroom represented a new technology
for the faculty and sparked their
interest in terms of their consideration for
teaching online courses. The use of a live
virtual classroom addressed the issue of
maintaining effective communication and
interaction. Faculty were now more willing
to entertain the possibilities that technology
now afforded for online teaching.
Two faculty teaching graduate courses
in linguistics were actively recruited to use
Live Classroom. Both faculty had taught
internationally and were open to the possibilities
that Live Classroom had to offer.
Both had a foreign student overseas that
they wanted to bring into their class that
they were teaching on-site. Their plan was
to use Live Classroom for one semester
and see how it worked. One was a new
faculty member and the other was a senior
faculty member. The training occurred in
the following steps:
1. Completion of the Live Classroom
online one-hour training session sponsored
by Wimba.
2. A practice session with instructional
developers at the Center for Learning,
Teaching & Technology.
3. A face-to-face Live Classroom session
with students conducted in a computer
lab. Instructors are located in the
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 49