New features for computer conferencing systems

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New features for computer conferencing systems

• Nick Heap
• Karen Kear

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Overload - students
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Overload - tutors
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Prototype system for TT380

• Separate frames for threads messages
• Tree threading display
• Filtering out messages
• Voting - or recommending - messages
• Clipping useful messages

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Survey results (pilot)

• Respondents
• Two surveys
• 14 17 respondents (from 59 students who
  completed the course)
• All were experienced with FirstClass
• Time spent
• Most spent between half an hour and 2 hours per
  week conferencing.
• They felt the amount of time was not a problem.
• Overload
• Did not feel overloaded in TT380 (but had done
  in other courses).
• Causes of overload - too many message or
  threads.
• - too many unread messages.

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Survey results (cont.)

• Reading messages
• A third of students read all the messages. A
  further third read most.
• They judged which to read mainly by the title.
• Threading
• Having separate frames for threads and messages
  was useful.
• Branched threading display was helpful.
• New facilities
• Students didnt use the voting facility. Need a
  critical mass.
• Some found the filtering options helpful but
  not used much.
• Half had used the Clippings facility. Over a
  third thought it helpful.

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Ongoing investigations

• System changes
• recommend instead of vote
• simpler, more visible filtering options
• All / Recent / Unread / Recommended
• titles for individual messages
• Surveys in current TT380 presentation
• via course CMAs
• higher response rate?