"Can you hear me, Hanoi?" Compensatory mechanisms employed in synchronous net-based English language learning

This paper reports the intelligibility difficulties experienced by students of English for academic purposes at a university in Sweden while taking part in synchronous net-based seminars. Connectivity limitations, microphone and headphone problems, background noise and other factors in combination with limited skill in the perception of English speech make it difficult for these students to process speech directed to them. In addition, the speech the students are trying to process may be produced by nonnative speakers of English, either fellow students or teachers. A comparison of simultaneous communication in several of the modes available in the virtual seminar environment showed that students make use of a number of strategies to partly compensate for their failure to optimally perceive and produce speech

COMPONENTS ASSOCIATED WITH PERCEIVED STUDENT SATISFACTION IN A TECHNOLOGY ENHANCED SECONDARY ASTRONOMY COURSE

A technology-enhanced course has many components that contribute to student satisfaction. Although technology plays a role in the delivery of instruction, the focus of this study was to identify student satisfaction with several Components: modes of discussion, modes of research, types of learning activities, modes of submitting assignments, modes of testing, and format of course materials. Additionally, the study described relationships between the learning styles and self-reported measures of student satisfaction for the 19 students in the study.Results from this study indicated that participants were more satisfied with chat room discussions, web-based research, web-based testing, and online availability of course materials and grades than with techniques used in traditional classrooms. Based upon these results, a teacher who is concerned about student satisfaction in technology-enhanced courses should be aware that these teaching techniques were more satisfying to students in a technology-enhanced astronomy course. It would be useful to do more study of the characteristics of technology-enhanced courses that affect student satisfaction and related outcomes

Individual Factors and Successful Learning in a Hybrid Course

What personality factors make for a successful hybrid L2 learning experience? While previous studies have examined online learning in comparative terms (i.e. Which format is better: in class or hybrid?), this study examines certain personality and cognitive factors that might define the ideal hybrid language learner. All informants studied introductory Spanish with multimedia materials supported by synchronous chat (video, voice, text). Personality and cognitive traits were probed using the Big Five Inventory scale (BFI1) and the Shipley Institute of Living scale (SILS2), respectively. The results were correlated with course outcomes and learner preferences for online, chat, or in-class activities. Exit interviews were conducted with an eye to offering a richer understanding of how hybrid students viewed online learning. The quantitative data revealed that conscientiousness (per BFI) had a significant, positive correlation with final grades. Low-verbal learners (per SILS) registered a definite preference for working with online materials, as opposed to learning in class or chatting online. The results suggest that students who are conscientiousness learners perform well within the hybrid-learning environment; low-verbal learners, in particular, value the online materials which create the possibility to work online at one\u27s own pace

A model for providing emotion awareness and feedback using fuzzy logic in online learning

Monitoring users’ emotive states and using that information for providing feedback and scaffolding is crucial. In the learning context, emotions can be used to increase students’ attention as well as to improve memory and reasoning. In this context, tutors should be prepared to create affective learning situations and encourage collaborative knowledge construction as well as identify those students’ feelings which hinder learning process. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to label affective behavior in educational discourse based on fuzzy logic, which enables a human or virtual tutor to capture students’ emotions, make students aware of their own emotions, assess these emotions and provide appropriate affective feedback. To that end, we propose a fuzzy classifier that provides a priori qualitative assessment and fuzzy qualifiers bound to the amounts such as few, regular and many assigned by an affective dictionary to every word. The advantage of the statistical approach is to reduce the classical pollution problem of training and analyzing the scenario using the same dataset. Our approach has been tested in a real online learning environment and proved to have a very positive influence on students’ learning performance.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Using “Hi-Tech” Tools In A Traditional Classroom Environment — A Two Semester Experiment

The most amazing thing is that we are all using computers, learning, and trying but the majority of us are not computer geeks. We are a group that is willing to learn and help. Whether we like it or not, technology has become an integral part of our lives and affects virtually every aspect of the legal profession — from the solo practitioner in northern Minnesota to the partner in a 400-person Wall Street firm. Technology has transformed how lawyers communicate, manage files, present cases to juries, and handle their professional and personal activities. It has been warmly received by the practicing bar

Online counseling: dynamics of process and assessment

The rise in popularity and use of computer-mediated modes of communication such as email and synchronous chat have resulted in the potential for new delivery methods of mental health services. The present study investigated the dynamics of an initial counseling session held in a synchronous chat environment between therapists-in-training at various graduate programs across the country and a trained confederate posing as a client. Transcripts from the online sessions were analyzed to investigate therapist responses and interventions in the online environment. Therapists-in-training were also asked to respond to questions concerning their satisfaction with the experience, the relationship they were able to form with the client, and previous online experience. Participants gave an assessment of the client and responded to statements about online counseling. Results demonstrate that the therapists-in-training expressed more positive views about online counseling after they had conducted the session in terms of the potential for a therapeutic alliance and desire for future training; however, participants expressed more negative views about the amount of work that could be accomplished during online counseling sessions. Therapists-in-training were also able to accurately diagnose their client\u27s presenting concerns at the conclusion of the session. The implications for the future directions of online counseling research and practice are addressed

Zooming in on Zoom Fatigue: A Case Study of Videoconferencing and Zoom Fatigue in Higher Education

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how faculty and students in higher education experience videoconferencing in online courses and why they feel fatigue. Zoom fatigue, the exhaustion users feel when communicating through videoconferencing platforms, is a recently identified phenomenon associated with the extensive use of synchronous videoconferencing communication. The research employed a qualitative case study approach to investigate how faculty and students experience videoconferencing and Zoom fatigue in online courses at a small liberal arts university in Appalachia. Document review, qualitative surveys, and in-depth interviews informed the case study. Faculty and student respondents reported dissatisfaction with teaching and learning through videoconferencing, although their experiences were vastly different. Communication deficiencies inherent in the medium were identified as causing significant interferences for teaching and learning. Based upon findings, a model of Zoom fatigue is proposed that attributes the phenomenon to situational, individual trait, environmental, and communication factors. As online education continues to grow, it is valuable for higher education administrators and instructors to understand how to most effectively interact with students in online environments and what role videoconferencing and Zoom fatigue may play in disrupting that process

The Process and Barriers in Computer-Mediated Communication (A Case Study of Indonesian and Australian Students' Collaboration Project)

This paper describes how university students from diverse cultural background and separated by geographical distance conduct communication process using computer-mediated communication (CMC). The purpose of our research is to examine the communication process and identify potential barriers that can disturb the collaboration. We also aim to find which cultural dimensions influence the communication process. The population is 15 Journalism students from UPH, Indonesia and 15 Journalism students from QUT, Australia who joined a collaboration project from October – November 2018. We use a qualitative case-study, with analytical descriptive method. We analyze multiple sources of evidence such as: logbook and recorded correspondence, Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and depth interview for data collection. Results show the students use mostly asynchronous communication such as chat text and Google Docs for their communication medium. The main barriers are language proficiency and slow internet connections. This study analyzes one case study involving students from two different nations. We find that Individualism, Masculinity and Power Distance cultural dimensions influence how they communicate to each other