Video Conferencing Technology: The Future of Distance Education, InternationalCollaboration, and Professional Development

Michael J. Bossé & Robin L. Rider

East Carolina University

Rationale for Research

• The need for Distance Education Delivery Systems continue to grow

• Content Expertise is not constrained to one university, state, nation, or continent

• Educators and professional development specialists need media through which to communicate effectively to one another and to groups

The Present State of Distance Education

• Common Solutions– Phone– Internet Web Pages

• Streaming Media

– Email– Discussion Boards– Chat Rooms

Phone

• Strengths– Synchronous connectivity allows free flow of

ideas

• Weaknesses– Limited simultaneous access– Expensive– Inability to see/share nonverbal communication– Ideas not necessarily developed thoughtfully

Email

• Strengths– Readily Accessible– Instantaneous – Attachments– Ideas developed thoughtfully

• Weaknesses– Asynchronous mono-directional

communication– Inability to see/share nonverbal

communication

Internet Web Pages

• Strengths– Multimedia presentations possible– Well organized dissemination of

ideas– Media can be streamed if the

bandwidth is sufficient• Weaknesses

– Mono-directional flow of information

– Development time– Inability to form a community of

learning

Discussion Boards

• Strengths– Continuously accessible– Ideas developed thoughtfully – Discussion threads build

reasoning and community

• Weaknesses– Discussion thread

technique is unnatural– Inability to see/share

nonverbal communication

Chat Rooms

• Strengths– Readily Accessible– Instantaneous – Attachments– Synchronous Multi-directional

communication

• Weaknesses– Inability to see/share

nonverbal communication– Ideas not as thoughtfully

developed, tendency to quickly respond

The Present and Future of DEDS -Videoconferencing

• Strengths– Synchronous multi-

directional communication– Ability to see/share

nonverbal communication– Ability to share audio,

video, and software– Teachable moments

preserved and utilized• Weaknesses

– Availability growing but limited

– Bandwidth, bandwidth, bandwidth

– Cost

One Size Does NOT Fit All…

• Instant Messaging programs such as MSN Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger– Appropriate for a small

number of users– Excellent for two-way

communication between instructor and student or two collaborating researchers

One Size Does NOT Fit All…

Larger Scale Units Suitable for a Conference Room•Small group collaboration such as a class offered in different locations, professional development for teachers, or small group collaboration among researchers•Allows for a small number of multiple sites (usually limited to 4)

One Size Does NOT Fit All…

Large Group – Multi-site (up to 16) with the capacity to allow for large groups at each site via the Access Grid

•Allows for faculty with different specialties to co-teach a class or professional development, offering content at each site that could not be offered without collaboration

•Created as a collaboration tool

Opportunities for Research

• How does the nature of the communication tool affect:– the type and quality of the collaborative product?– participant roles, communication and interaction?– the development of community and/or

communities of learning?– the nature of collaboration?

About the Project

• REVITALISE - Rural Educators Using Visualization to Inspire Teacher Advancement and Learning to Improve Science and Mathematics Education http://revitalise.ncsa.uiuc.edu

• Creating a virtual learning environment via the Access Grid (www.accessgrid.org) for rural middle and high school mathematics and science teachers

• Access Grid– Teaching– Participant, Large Group

Communication– Shared Applications

Demographics of Project

Over 120 teachers spread across Eastern North Carolina and Illinois

North Carolina

Illinois

QUESTION

• How would we do this presentation and get each of you to have a class discussion if half of you were in another room, watching us on a TV screen?

• What are “best practices” for video conferencing?

Research Questions

• How does D-PD via electronic modalities differ from traditional face-to-face instruction?

• What affect does video conferencing and web-based technologies have on reducing isolation of rural teachers?

• In what ways are participant-participant and participant-instructor communication enabled and constrained by videoconferencing and web-based technologies?

Teacher Participants Grappled with…

• Learning– Technology– Underlying mathematics and science– Interpret visualizations in the context of math or science– Pedagogy using visualizations and technology

• Use emerging communications technologies such as videoconferencing, instant messenger, and the Access Grid

• Building a community of practice

Results from 1st Cohort

• Videoconferencing was found to be effective as a D-PD delivery method– However, participant satisfaction was higher for sessions

where the presenter was live and local

• Although a class “culture” formed at each location, it did not translate well between sites– Natural, spontaneous, and voluntary communication

between remote participants remained minimal.

• Whole group videoconferencing was found to be limited in creating a community of practice

Results

• The most effective method of D-PD was the small group parallel sessions by subject/grade level

• Proximity seemed to be the decisive factor in whether a community of practice was formed.

Questions?

• "This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0138819. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation."