Copy and paste this information into an e-mail for your students before your first Classroom session:

For this class, we will use Wimba Classroom. Classroom is an online, virtual classroom where we can text chat or speak to one another via two-way audio, share resources, and collaborate much like a face-to-face classroom. You can get to our Classroom through our course WebCT site at https://webct.uga.edu.

In order to talk online in Classroom, you will need a computer headset with microphone. Headsets are available from stores like Office Depot, Best Buy, Target or Wal-Mart. Expect to pay between $15 and $20 for a mini-plug headset or up to $50 for a USB headset. We have not found that the more expensive headsets work any better than the less expensive ones, just be sure the headset that you purchase is made for use with your computer – cell phone and radio headsets will not work properly.

During the week before we meet in Classroom, it is very important to make sure the computer you will use for class is set up properly for this technology. At least two days before our first session, log in to WebCT (https://webct.uga.edu) and enter our course. Click on the Classroom icon, then on one of the room names. This will prompt you to start the Setup Wizard. It is important to run the Setup Wizard early, just in case you need to download software updates. These updates can sometimes take some time to load over a dial-up connection - not something you want to worry about on the day of class! If you have any problems working through the Wizard, please contact EITS at 706-542-3106 or helpdesk@uga.edu.