Well…I finally used the Mentor Center for one of my classes and all I have to say is “Great Job Rasmussen”! I logged in and went to the calendar to see a list of tutoring classes and who was going to be teaching each class. Once I found the Excel class, I clicked and saw my Professor was teaching the session so I notified her to let her know I will be attending the Excel tutoring class. It was that easy…
Wanting to make sure I could utilize the Wimba system, I logged in early to make sure I had everything set up and ready to go. I was worried about it not being able to work because I do not have a microphone. Well…no need to worry because if you do not have a microphone you can type comments or even better…you can call into a session (they give you the number and pin). The initial sign-in walked you through setting up your computer and downloading the Wimba software which took a total of 5 minutes.
The only thing I did have a problem with is in the calendar it doesn’t state which time zone the classes are listed as and I just assumed it was under Eastern, but it was not. Luckily my teacher told me that it was Central at the last minute which eliminated me from freaking out. That is something that can be fixed easily though. Once I started working with the professor, I told her I had to call in because I did not have a microphone so she called in too and then we were able to communicate back and forth. I just put my ear piece in and was able to work hands free. She wanted to see my screen so after a few attempts she managed to log into my screen. I guess that has some kinks that they are still trying to work out because she stated sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It took her about 15 minutes to get logged into my computer, but once she was in it was great!
The Professor worked with me for 2 hours well minus the setup time. She assisted me in figuring out some challenges with Excel and calculating some difficult formulas. It was as if I was right there in the same room with her and she was instructing me on what to do. Technology has come a long way and is really making the online education system stronger. So if you are a student and haven’t used Wimba in the Mentor Center yet, I highly suggest if you are having any difficulties or challenges in your classes, utilize Wimba.