Deanz slideshow final

Inside the Virtual Classroom:
Student views and operational
influences
DEANZ Conference - April 2012

Garry Falloon and Maria Persson

Thursday, 12 April 2012

A two semester, two virtual classroom
study...

What
were
students’
views
of
the
eﬀec4veness
of

the
virtual
classrooms
for
suppor4ng
interac4on,

communica4on
and
rela4onship
development?

What
factors
inﬂuenced
students’
ability
to
use
the

virtual
classrooms
for
these
purposes?


What is a virtual classroom?

For
this
study...

“An
online
synchronous
communica4on
system

where
par4cipants
are
able
to
engage
in
virtual

mee4ngs
and
communicate
using
mul4media

services
such
as
streamed
audio
and
video”
(Falloon,

2012,
p.
6)


The Virtual
Classrooms

Adobe
Connect
Pro

Wimba-‐Live
Classroom

(Blackboard
Collaborate)

Research context
•
22
Postgraduate
e-‐Educa4on
students
(2010-‐11)

•
Totally
online
asynchronous
(Moodle)

•
Two
half
year
papers
(PROF522:
2010-‐Adobe;
2011-‐
Wimba-‐Live
Classroom)

•
Assessed
seminars
(analysis
of
aﬀordances
and

limita4ons
of
ODL
for
a
selected
learner
group)


Research method
•
Interpre4ve
case
studies
over
2
years

•
Semi-‐structured
interviews

•
Online
Likert
survey
and
short
response

ques4onnaire
(100%
comple4on)

•
Analysis
of
screen
capture
video


Findings: themes from data

Theme
1.
Virtual
Classroom
inﬂuences
on:

•
Learning
community
consolida4on
(rela4onships)

•
Communica4on
and
sharing
knowledge


Findings - theme 1

Consolidated
rather
than
established
rela4onships:

•
visuals
and
audio
helped
‘personalise’
rela4onships
•
nature
of
contact
promoted
responsibility
and

commitment
towards
others
•
helped
lessen
sense
of
distance
(‘feeling
of
home’)
•
viewed
as
an
adjunct
to
asynchronous
systems


“I
feel
that
they
are
not
only
pictures.
I
see
them
as
real

people.
I
can
talk
with
them.
We
talk
not
only
about
the

learning,
we
talk
about
other
things
like
another

par4cipant’s
cat.
I
see
how
they
act.
In
the
last
week,
I

didn’t
write
many
comments
in
Moodle
as
I’m
afraid
I’d

mistake
or
something
(sic),
but
a`er
I’d
ﬁnished
that

classroom,
I
went
to
Moodle
and
wrote
two
or
three

comments
including
jokes
from
me
because
I
feel,
‘Oh,

they
are
friendly.
It’s
OK
to
make
mistakes
with
them’”
(Student
B,
August
2010).


Themes from data

Theme
2.
Inﬂuences
on
students’
ability
to
interact
and

communicate
in
the
virtual
classrooms

•
Task

•
Mul4media
usability
•
Communica4on
tool
•
Technical/logis4cal


Findings - theme 2


Task influences

•
Seminars
required
significant
offline
prepara4on
in

advance
to
support
interac4on
in
the
virtual
classroom

•
Synchronous
interac4on
in
the
virtual
classroom

affords
limited
reflec4ve
4me
suppor4ve
of
deeper

learning

•
Over
use
could
detract
from
learner
autonomy
(3-‐4

sessions
per
course
@
1.5hrs
max.)


Multimedia-usability influences
Technical
‘know-‐how’
about
mul4media
opera4on
and

capability
aﬀected
students’
op4ons


Synchronous communication tool
influences
Wimba-‐Live
Classroom’s
single-‐image
video...
“...
was
like
lecturing
into
cyberspace.
It’s
the
ﬁrst
4me

I’d
experienced
it
(the
virtual
classroom),

and
I
found
it
a
bit
strange

talking
into
the
ether.”

(Student
N,
November
2011)


“
…you
were
just
ﬁring
away
with
your
presenta4on,

but
there
was
a
thought
in
the
back
of
my
head,
can

they
actually
hear
me
–
how
am
I
coming
across?
Not

being
able
to
get
that
instant
feedback,
like
in
a
room

when
you’re
speaking…
you
know
how
to
adjust;
you

can
read
your
audience
beler.
That
was
a
bit

daun4ng…
there
was
just
no
way
of
knowing.
I
wasn’t

sure
I
was
making
that
connec4on...”

(Student
A,
October
2010).


Communication tool influences:
technical


Text
chat
pods
rated
highly
for
sharing
ideas
publicly

and
privately

Use
of
feedback/ques4on/chat
pods
needs
careful

monitoring

Communication tool influences:
operational

“I
kept
signalling,
but
nobody
took
any
no4ce!
Maybe

they
were
concentra4ng
on
Sam’s
presenta4on
or

something…
I
had
a
ques4on
I
wanted
to
ask
her
about

one
of
her
slides,
but
by
the
4me
she’d
ﬁnished
the

moment
had
passed,
so
I
didn’t
bother.”

(Student
M,
November
2011).


Guidelines for use of communication
tools should be established

“...
it
caught
my
eye
all
the
4me...
ﬂashing
away
in

the
bolom
corner.
I
wanted
to
see
what
they
were

saying
about
my
work...
it
was
hard
to
concentrate.”

(Student
G,
October
2010)


Technical and logistical influences

•
Hardware
and
so`ware

•
Organisa4on
and
logis4cal


Hardware and software

•
Low
spec
laptops
on
wireless
connec4ons
•
Capped
upload
speeds
(128-‐256k)
on
many

broadband
plans
•
Outdated
player
versions
(Adobe
Flash)
•
Conﬂicts
with
other
video
applica4ons
(eg:
Skype)
•
Ins4tu4onal
ﬁrewalls
(port
access)


Organisational/Logistical

•
Students
opted
to
access
others’
equipment
due
to

performance
and
reliability
concerns
(schools,
public

libraries
etc.)
•
Security
concerns
at
venues
•
Time
zone
issues
for
interna4onal

students
(eg:
Canada,
Sudan,
Korea,
South
Africa)


Conclusions and Implications

•
Synchronous
and
asynchronous
systems
in
ODL
serve

different
but
complementary
func4ons
(social
presence/
community
consolida4on
vs
deeper,
more
reflec4ve

learning)

•
Students
must
be
confident
users
of
tools
and
features

•
Efforts
should
be
made
to
ensure
students
are
not

disadvantaged
due
to
hardware/connec4vity
limita4ons


Implications
Design
and
plan
for
interac2on

•
Establish
guidelines
for
communica4on
tool
use
•
Plan
carefully
for
feedback
opportuni4es
(structure
if

necessary)
•
Overuse
of
synchronous
systems
could
be

counterproduc4ve

•
Remember
implica4ons
for
teachers’
work
•
Consider
system
limita4ons.
Interac4on
‘style’
is
NOT

conversa4onal
(eg:
half-‐duplex
audio,
single
image
video)


A student’s thoughts...

Maria Persson


Asynchronous Tool Use

•
Prior
set
up
of
course
&
L.O
choice
by
lecturer

(Garry)
encouraged
early
dialogue

•
Personal
&
collegial
connec4ons
were
made

using
forums
before
seminars
•
Peer/Peer
&
Peer/Tutor
feedback
and
support

used
and
unobtrusively
monitored
by
tutor
•
Experimenta4on
encouraged
–
WIMBA
Voice

added
another
dimension
to
communica4on


Community Creation


Community Promotion


My virtual classroom experience

•
Presenta4on
mode
primarily
controlled

by
tutor
•
Synchronous
chatng
during
presenta4on
a
distrac4on
•
Presenta4on
was
an
assessed
task

•
Pressure
to
ensure
objec4ves
were
met
•
Pressure
due
to
uncertainty
of
classroom’s
stability
&

lack
of
conﬁdence
using
new
technology
•
Revealed
issues
including
a
sense
of
‘presenter
isola4on’

with
no
audience
to
view
in
Wimba-‐Live
classroom


Support
•
Audience
list
visible
•
Chat
box
accessible
to
view
while
presen4ng
•
Lack
of
body
language
compensated
by
use
of

emo4cons

•
Tutor
presence
assists
in
trouble

shoo4ng,
interac4on,
ﬂow
and
reduces

sense
of
‘isola4on’


Finding the Balance


Deanz slideshow final

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