Enhancing Instructor Credibility and Immediacy in the Design of Distance Learning Systems and Virtual Classroom Environments

What are the optimal techniques for applying the latest generation of telepresence, video conferencing, and communication technologies in distance education and virtual classroom designs? If human beings use more than voice to communicate, what implications does the ability to more effectively replicate eye-to-eye contact have in collaborative distance education? This research study explored the effects of perceived faculty credibility and immediacy during virtual classroom presentations. This quantitative experiment created four independent treatments that varied the video resolution and varied the ability of the instructor to maintain virtual eye-contact with students during each presentation. Participants were assigned into one of the four treatment groups, each listening to the same instructor narration and viewing the same instructor present the same subject matter, only the resolution and camera angle differed. A series of 2x2 Analysis of Variances were conducted on independent groups where an instructor was simultaneously recorded from two high-definition (1920x1080) cameras, one at eye-level and one located 15-degrees above eye-level, during the delivery of a 20-minute instructional module. These two camera angles were also replicated in a lower resolution (320x240). A total of 108 undergraduate and graduate participants completed the video and audio multimedia presentations and completed credibility and immediacy survey instruments. The results suggest that the position of the instructor\u27s camera is more important than the resolution of the recorded video

A telepresence environment for concurrent life-cycle design and construction

Construction projects normally involve transient 'virtual organisations', where a multidisciplinary project team works together on the design and construction of a facility. Many of these participants often work independently while taking decisions that inevitably affect others. The research described in the thesis involved examining the adoption of concurrent engineering (CE) principles by the construction industry as a way to reduce the problems posed by the fragmentation of the industry, and to enhance its competitiveness. An important aspect of concurrent engineering in construction is the need for effective communication of design information between all members of the project team and across all stages of the constructed facility's life-cycle. The thesis describes the development of a communications infrastructure for Concurrent Life-Cycle Design and Construction. [Continues.