On March 23, 2010, CSU Chico was inducted into the Wimba Hall of Fame at Wimba’s annual conference held in Orlando, Florida. CSU Chico was one of five universities recognized for exemplary innovation, creativity, and collaboration with the Wimba Collaboration Suite, which is software used for distance education and lecture capture.
CSU, Chico was selected for this honor as a result of the distinctively creative and high-quality work of its faculty members who teach distance education classes. Professors Chunyan Song, Cris Guenter, and Asa Mittman are three of the many educators who integrate this form of technology into their instruction and who received special mention from Wimba.
Chunyan Song, a professor of Sociology, was recognized for her use of technology to bring in textbook author Savo Helata to speak to her students about his experiences with genocide in Bosnia. The experience was so moving that the students initiated several action plans for positive change across the world. Dr. Song has spoken at numerous events both on and off campus to relate this story to others.
Cris Guenter, a professor in the Department of Education, was recognized for her long standing use of Wimba software with her graduate students. Throughout her courses Dr. Guenter exposes her students to many types of technology, however the Wimba products continue to be the foundation for their exploration.
Asa Mittman, a professor in the Art and Art History department, uses Wimba podcasting in his recently redesigned Art 100 course. During this course Dr. Mittman asks his students to create a podcast that explores local art in Chico and beyond. The students post their podcasts on the Internet and as of this date over 5,000 hits on the California Arts Podcast has led art lovers from around the state to discover and learn about structures, paintings and statues.
The trophy was recently delivered to the Technology and Learning Program during a luncheon sponsored by Wimba. Faculty, staff and administrators joined in to celebrate via a distance conference with Wimba representative, Matt Wasowski, during which he congratulated Chico for collaborative improvements and innovations with distance learning tools and pedagogy during the last ten years. The trophy is now being displayed in the Academic Technology Department central office. Feel free to congratulate the many faculty who continue to engage their students from a distance and represent CSU, Chico with a spirit of excellence in education.
Technology & Learning Program - Chico State 