Premium
Computer mediated communication in distance education
Author(s) -
Gregor S.D.,
Cuskelly E.F.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of computer assisted learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.583
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-2729
pISSN - 0266-4909
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2729.1994.tb00293.x
Subject(s) - documentation , exploratory research , computer mediated communication , computer science , software documentation , information and communications technology , quality (philosophy) , psychology , usability , software , electronic mail , medical education , world wide web , the internet , software development , human–computer interaction , sociology , software development process , medicine , philosophy , epistemology , anthropology , programming language
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. Recommendations are that future work should concentrate on the quality of documentation and technical support, the ease of use of software chosen and the integration of technology across the organization.