Learning via Web-based Distance Education

1
Learning via Web-based Distance Education

• Noriko Hara Rob Kling
• Center for Social Informatics
• Indiana University, Bloomington
• nhara_at_indiana.edu kling_at_indiana.edu
• http//www.slis.indiana.edu/CSI
• October 29, 1999

2
History of the Study

• Interested in students experience in a Web-based
  DE course
• Ethnographic study
• Collaboration with an instructor who taught B555
  in Fall, 1997

3
The Course (B555)

• Graduate level course in language education
• Entire course was web-based
• Course designed during Summer 97
• 6 students were enrolled one student at a
  distance (2 students at a distance dropped after
  the 1st week)

4
Instructor

• A Ph.D. candidate in language education
• Knowledgeable about the course content
• A part of the Web course design team
• Had prior face-to-face teaching experience

5
Media

• World-Wide Web
• Class Listserv
• E-mail
• 1 trip to SchMOOze University

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General Question

• What are students experiences of taking a
  Web-based distance education course?

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Description of the Study

• Methodology
• Data Collection
• observation, interview, document analysis
• Data analysis
• categorizing, looking for patterns and
  inconsistencies
• member checking, triangulation
• Ethics
• Informed consent Pseudonyms

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Assertion

• In B555, students felt major frustrations
• These frustrations were so overwhelming that some
  students would not take another DE course

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Assertion (cont.)

• Surprise! Small face-to-face elective graduate
  courses usually have higher satisfaction level,
  yet despite the small class size, the students in
  B555 felt high level of frustration

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Inexperienced Expectations

• Amys interview At SchMOOze University, I got
  lost. Before this event, I had to set up
  software, some special software for MOO on a
  computer. So, I downloaded it and set it up. I
  checked if I could go to the meeting room before
  the class activity time. Then I went there
  successfully and thought everything was fine.
  But, when I went there to see classmates at the
  meeting time, I got lost. I could see their
  on-line conversation, but they couldnt see my
  messages. So, I called Sheryl and she taught me
  how to use commands and so on.

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Inexperienced Expectations (cont.)

• I just forgot to put parentheses when I typed.
  Thats why the classmates couldnt see my
  messages. I talked to other people from different
  places at SchMOOze University, but not with my
  classmates. I was so frustrated because everyone
  else could do it, but why not me. Not only for
  the SchMOOze University activity, but I put in
  lots of time for this course overall, but I
  couldnt see the results.

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Issues of Feedback

• John pointed out a message from the instructor,
  I agree with her, but Im not sure if I should
  send a message saying, I agree. Thats the
  problem with this e-mail. If this is the
  classroom, you can just nod your head to show
  your agreement. Im not always sure if I am
  contributing enough or not. Other people, like
  Julie and Kathy, are really active. I feel a
  sense of competitiveness. So, my survival skill
  is not to respond. In fact, I havent gotten any
  feedback about my contribution. I cannot tell
  from the e-mail. You can tell from the classroom
  what the professor think about you, like from the
  body language and the way they talk. So, Im not
  feeling that Im getting enough assessment.

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Reduced Social Cues

• Kathys interview The instructor has been good
  about responding immediately when you ask
  something. However, I have been in school in my
  life and I didnt realize how much I relied on my
  knowledge of what teachers are looking for, you
  know. You sit in a classroom with somebody and
  you analyze who they are and what they like. And
  you cannot analyze online because youve never
  seen them. So, you are only guessing it what
  teacher really wants.

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Students Reactions after Taking the Course

• Two students claimed that they will not take
  distance education courses again to avoid
  frustrations
• One student was inspired by this course and
  continued to take a technology-related course

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Discussion

• The CMC communication channel amplified the
  frustrations among students
• Lack of simultaneous feedback
  it requires efforts to create effective social
  presence
• Disrupted turn adjacency (Herring, 1999)

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Understated Topics

• Hard to find Computer-Mediated DE research
  practitioner literature which examines
• Students' frustration in CMDE
• The needs for development of social communication
  process on CMC for students faculty

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Tips for Facilitating Social Communication
Process (Charles Huff, St. Olaf College)

• Social emotional work
• relieving group tension
• encouraging
• expressing feelings
• agreeing with another participant's comment,
  question, feeling

• Clearing things up
• revealing confusion
• clarifying
• indicating alternatives
• testing for agreement
• identifying areas of disagreement
• suggesting an integrative agreement or compromise

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Tips for Facilitating Social Communication
Process (Charles Huff, St. Olaf College )

• Directing traffic
• bringing up a new topic
• setting standards
• pointing out prejudiced, narrow-minded, or
  simplistic arguments
• gatekeeping (helping someone else in or out of
  the discussion)

• Asking for things
• asking for clarification
• raising new questions
• paraphrasing another's statement to test for
  understanding
• seeking information from other participants
• seeking opinion from other participants

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Conclusion

• Need more student-centered studies of CMDE
• Need balanced views of CMDE
• Potential of CMDE vs. Actual efforts required to
  run CMDE
• Working Paper is available at
• http//www.slis.indiana.edu/CSI/wp99_01.html

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Considerations

• What is the appropriate training for the 1st time
  teaching online?
• How can we best inform students instructors
  about appropriate expectations and social
  communication process in CMDE?
• What kinds of institutional supports should be
  provided to both students instructors?

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Biographical Notes

• Noriko Hara
• research associate in Instructional Systems
  Technology Department at Indiana University
• http//php.indiana.edu/nhara
• Rob Kling
• professor of Information Science and Information
  Systems at Indiana University
• http//www.slis.indiana.edu/kling