Positive Impact of Computer Conferencing in Distance Education (original) (raw)
Related papers
2013
The study aimed at identifying the effectiveness of computer conferencing and integrated media when being applied to distance education in Thailand. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed. The subjects of the study were 92 Thai distance adult students who enrolled in a secondary education subject (Quality of Life Improvement) in the second semester of Academic Year 1999. On a random basis, they were divided into three groups. Students in the first group studied by using traditional material and engaging in face-to-face group discussions. Those in the second group also studied by using the traditional method but they had wordprocessing access for their homework and assignments. Students in the other group studied by using the same material and participating in online group discussions during a period of a 10-week experiment. Research instruments including an academic achievement test, an attitude scale, a questionnaire, computer mediated communication (CMC) records o...
Computer mediated communication in distance education
Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 1994
This paper describes experiences with computer mediated communication (CMC) in a postgraduate information systems module over two successive years. CMC was introduced primarily for pedagogical reasons, although a further aim was to carry out an exploratory investigation into factors affecting its successful adoption and the benefits to students. Students participated in a case study discussion through a bulletin board. Student participation, though not compulsory, was high at 82%. Over 80% of students surveyed thought their experience with electronic mail assisted learning, that the case study discussion was more useful than a conventional assignment, that the instructor seemed more accessible and that further use of electronic mail in their studies was desirable. Problems encountered included difficulties in learning to use the communications software and inadequacies in documentation. Social interaction amongst students and between students and the instructor was relatively low....
http://www.aect.org/publications/proceed, 2008
Distance education is an education model which answers to needs of the students, academicians and educational materials via communication technologies. The most important characteristic of distance education model is its flexibility. Flexibility not only eliminates the obligation for students and academicians to convene at the same place, but also provides an educational environment without any boundaries. Interaction is also a desired attribute that should be expanded in distance education systems. The increase interaction leads to more active learning experiences. The main distinction between traditional and distance education is the use of mass communication methods and tools in education. There are various communication methods and media that can be used in education and specifically in distance education environments. It goes without saying that the video conference systems are gaining popularity in distance education. Bilateral video communication is provided between individuals or groups in different locations via video conferences. In a other words, people in two or more different locations can communicate by seeing and hearing each others. This study seeks to find out effective use of video conference system as a distance education media. For achieving this, a literature review was conducted on the use of video conference systems in open education, and then students' opinions on distance courses applied in Anadolu University via video conferencing and its technical characteristics were determined. Learning attitudes and the expected success levels of the students from the video conference applications is revealed by explanatory factor analysis (EFA) of data acquired by a survey. Afterwards, Structural Equation Model (SEM) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were employed to determine other factors which can have effects on success-learning and success-expectation levels. A model was proposed on the basis of CFA findings and the model was unravelled to academics. Introduction In today's global world, video conference systems, that enable synchronous communication between peers without necessitating mobility, are extensively used not only in military, commercial and medical applications, but also, in educational purposes, especially in distance education. Video conferencing not only saves time, which in the current climate is one of the most important assets for people, but also reduces travel costs. While participants express themselves to others in different locations via microphone and camera, they use televisions and computer monitors to capture displays, and speakers to ascertain or detect voices. Video conferencing enables people to communicate face-to-face in comfort through technological support. Furthermore, video conferencing also enables the users to use various presentation techniques (Peter, 1998, p 139-140). Video conference diminishes time losses resulting due to the travels involved for attending meetings and educational centers. In this way, it enables participants to designate meetings in a short time and accomplish rapid decisions. These results in increased productivity, communication links are strengthened and a feeling of belonging is created. At the same time, both organizational costs and location dependency are reduced due to decreasing mobility. Video conference enables high-attending meetings by minimizing time and costs problems and raising frequencies and cheaper meetings by reducing education costs. The connection required for video conferencing is realized by the use of telephone lines, ISDN, satellite (VSAT) and coaxial or fiber optic cables. Each connection style has different costs and characteristics. Connections from furnishes one point to another are usually named point to point connection. Connections from one point to multiple points are also possible but a multiple control unit (MCU) is required. Today, videoconferencing is one of the most rapidly developing information and communication technologies providing bilateral communication between students and academicians or lecturers who are in different geographic location. These systems support effective, flexible and interactive communication and teaching environments and also reduce time and transportation costs.
Teleconference in support of distance learning: Views of educators
In this study we recorded the views of the educators that use teleconference as an educational medium to support distance learning. The data were collected using the semi-structured interview and the results showed that teleconferencing could be a strong complementary tool to support flexible learning as well as distance education, by enhancing the interaction among learners. All the interviewees consider teleconference as a "helpful assistant" in the educational process and suggested that the educators should be well prepared before the tele-lecture, as well as prepare and guide the learners in order to conduct a smooth teleconferencing session. From the interviews, several advantages and disadvantages of the teleconference’s use as an educational tool emerged. The main advantages consist of the independence of space and time while conducting learning sessions, the easy access to and sharing of educational content, the interaction between educator and learners as well as among the learners and the reduced transportations along with time saving. On the other hand, some important disadvantages refer to the participants being unfamiliar with technology, lack of technological support, limited network resources causing disconnections and adding stress to participants, the uncertainty of the participants regarding the effectiveness of teleconference in education and the lack of face-to-face communication.
Distance education, also called distance learning, e-learning, and online learning, is a practice of teaching and learning in which teachers and learners are not in a closed class or room in person, but where education takes place through various new-media technologies and all parties (student-teacher, teacherteacher, student-student) are able to communicate, interact and exchange information and emotions. Being on the agenda of educational science for a long time now and gaining further importance during COVID-19 lockdowns, both advantages (e.g., reducing social anxiety, and a flexible schedule) and disadvantages (lack of social interactivity, and miscommunication) of distance education are highly debated in the related literature. Therefore, this study, through a qualitative method (i.e., a case study design and semi-structured interviews), aims to analyse the opinions and experiences of academics regarding distance education and its applications. The participants consist of 36 lecturers working at 16 different Turkish universities selected by the purposeful sampling method (i.e., typical case sampling). The results suggest that the participants still have doubts about online distance education, and they mention both ups (ease of connection, and cost-effectiveness) and downs (lack of self-motivation, socialization, and the sense of isolation) of it. Nonetheless, none of the academics thinks distance education will replace an in-person learning environment in the near future. Thus, this study presents a general illustration of distance education
Computer Conferencing Systems as Seen by a Designer of Online Courses
Educational Technology, 1998
The aim of this paper is to discuss the main characteristics that a computer conferencing system ought to have in order to be used in a third-generation distance education (online education) process. This subject will be analysed in particular from the point of view of an online course designer. To these ends, the paper is divided into three sections. Firstly, the need for a suitable communication structure to manage online courses will be detailed. Afterwards, several features of a related computer conferencing system will be discussed. Finally, on the basis of the above considerations, some suggestions will be made on how to choose a computer conferencing system for online education. The paper draws on the author's personal experience in experimental online courses. The subject will therefore be tackled from the perspective of someone directly involved in organising and managing distance communication within online courses and responsible for selecting the most suitable telematics system for this purpose.
Distance Education Students' Opinions on Distance Education
Enriching Teaching and Learning Environments With Contemporary Technologies
This research aimed to determine the opinions of undergraduate and graduate level distance education students about the education they received. Phenomenology design, one of the qualitative research designs, was used in this study. Semi-structured interview form was used as data collection method. In this research, focus group interviews were conducted in three sessions with a total of 27 distance education students (14 master and 13 undergraduate). Distance education students prefer distance education because they work in a job; they consider distance education as a great opportunity for those who cannot receive formal education. The students stated that the distance education infrastructure of the university is technically very good; they have almost no technical problems, but they have problems when connected via mobile applications. They stated that the course contents related to informatics are old because they have received education especially in the field of informatics and ...
Social aspects associated with modern distance learning programmes
2006
The repositioning of the distance learning as a mode of course delivery is largely backed up by the recent advancements in communication technologies. It is widely visible that the modern Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) tools are being predominantly used within these distance learning environments. Primarily these Computer Mediated Communication tools were often developed with the priority given to address the structural and management issues visible within Distance Learning environments.