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2 0 1 4A St u dy of t h e Effe ct ive n e ss of Bla ck b oa r d Colla bor a t e for
Con d u ct in g Syn ch r on ou s Cou r se s a t M u lt ip le Loca t ion s
Guiller m o Tonsm ann, PhD Associat e Professor of Com puter Science
Par k Univ ersit y
This paper discusses t he effect iv eness of t he videoconfer encing soft w ar e Blackboard Collabor at e for carry ing out inst r uct ion at college lev el t o student s at t ending classes sy nchronously at m ult iple locat ions. The paper descr ibes t he m ot iv at ion for t his
st udy , a br ief lit er at ur e r ev iew on t he subj ect , t he m et hodology used, and t he r esult s obt ained. The m ain conclusion of t his st udy is t he confir m at ion t hat sy nchronous inst r uct ion, in gener al, and Blackboar d Collabor at e, in par t icular , is an
effect iv e environm ent for t uit ion of st udent s at a dist ance. Based on t his st udy, sev er al r ecom m endat ions t o be used in sy nchr onous educat ion are prov ided.
M ot iv a t ion
This paper w ill analy ze t he exper ience t he aut hor had in t eaching Discr et e Mat hem at ics using Black board Collabor at e, v ideoconfer encing soft w ar e t hat allow ed st udent s at v ar ious locat ions in t he Unit ed St at es t o t ak e par t in liv e r egular class sessions. The course w as designed t o t est t he feasibilit y of car ry ing out a cour se using only r em ot e sy nchr onous connect ions bet w een inst r uct or and st udent s, and t o gain first hand ex per ience in the pr ocess.
Par k Univ er sit y , t he aut hor ’s inst it ut ion, cur r ent ly deliv ers asy nchronous dist ance educat ion t o m or e t han 20,000 st udent s worldw ide. The Univ er sit y cur r ent ly uses eCollege and eCom panion as it s m ain softw ar e plat for m for course deliv er y. Par k Univ er sit y has also m or e t han 40 cam pus cent er s at var ious locat ions in t he Unit ed St at es w her e face- t o- face inst r uct ion is offered in v ar ious disciplines. Black board Collabor at e softw ar e w as r ecent ly acquir ed t o be used as an adm inist r at iv e t ool. Giv en t his cont ex t , t he m ain m ot iv at ions for t he dev elopm ent of t his cour se were:
x The desire to increase st udent enrollm ent by fight ing fr agm ent at ion of st udent populat ion. This condit ion appear s w hen sect ions of t he sam e cour se are cancelled due to low enrollm ent at various cam pus cent ers. Link ing st udent s from var ious cam pus cent er s in a synchr onous course w ould avoid elim inat ing t hese sect ions and sat isfy cour se loads.
x The desir e t o provide added sect ions of cour ses t hat m ay not be offered r egular ly at cam pus cent er s due t o unavailabilit y of cr edentialed facult y for t he specific disciplines.
x The low appeal for online offer ings am ongst a significant num ber of cam pus cent er st udent s.
x The desir e t o increase t he quant it y of cour se offer ings at cam pus cent er s and lim it t he num ber of cancellat ions t o im pr ov e cust om er serv ice.
Lit e r a t u r e Re v ie w
asynchronous ex per ience by Teng and Taver as ( 2004) , descr ibes t he init ial challenges found in int egr at ing sy nchronous t echnology in online educat ion.
I n t he ensuing year s, var ious paper s com par ed t he perfor m ance of sy nchronous educat ion against ot her deliv er y m odes. Mor idani ( 2007) pr esent s t he r esult s of a st udy t hat com par es sy nchronous w it h asy nchronous t eaching. Sim ilar com par isons ar e pr esent ed by Roblyer , Fr eem an, Donaldson, and Maddox ( 2007) , Skylar ( 2009) , and Al- Nuaim ( 2012) , in different soft w ar e environm ent s and cur r icula. The conclusions of all t hese st udies show t hat bot h deliv er y m odes ar e com par able in t heir effect iv eness t o inst r uct . I n par t icular , in Mor idani ( 2007) , st udent s show ed t heir pr efer ence for t he great er int er act ion t hat synchronous educat ion pr ov ides. This corr elat es w ell w it h t he r esult s of a lat er st udy on percept ions of st udent s w ho t ake synchronous cour ses, present ed by Kar al, Cebi, and Ayca ( Oct ober , 2011) . I n t his st udy , ev en t hough st udent s w er e init ially dubious of t he benefit s of this m odalit y of lear ning, once t hey w ere engaged in cour se act iv it ies, t heir at t it ude w as far m or e fav or able.
Synchronous online lear ning w as also com pared w it h face- t o- face educat ion by Koeber and Wr ight ( 2008) , and w hile st udent s preferred t he gr eat er personal cont act w it h inst r uct or and ot her st udent s in t he face- t o- face environm ent , t hey r ecognized t he pot ent ial of sy nchronous online lear ning in sit uat ions w her e t he t r adit ional class env ironm ent is not av ailable. As a count erpoint , in her disser t at ion, Phillips ( 2010) repor t s t hat a sim ilar com par at iv e st udy bet ween face- t o- face, synchronous, and blended/ hy br id environm ent s gives higher m ar ks t o t he sy nchronous m odalit y in academ ic success, ret ent ion, grades, and ov er all. She at t r ibut es t hese result s t o pedagogical and m edia at t r ibut es of t he synchr onous envir onm ent .
The lit er at ur e on t he subj ect also includes repor t s on t he use of diver se t echnology in t he sy nchr onous r ealm . Gibbs and Lar son ( 2007) relat e an ex per ience using MediaSit eLive, a v ideoconfer encing sy st em for lect ur es. I n sim ilar fashion, Cunningham , Fager sten, and Holm sten ( 2010) pr esent t he r esult s of using Mar r at ech and AdobeConnect, w hile St ew ar t , Har low , and DeBacco ( 2011) repor t t heir exper iences w it h Google Video chat . I n t ur n, Wang and Chen ( 2012) used a “ Sy nchr onous Lear ning Managem ent Sy st em ” ( SLMS) called 3C. This pr esent paper is also follow ing t his t hem at ic line by r epor t ing on t he use of Blackboar d Collabor ate for sy nchronous educat ion.
Finally , t w o papers also descr ibe t he use of sy nchronous t echnology to suppor t v ar ious educat ional effor t s. Bur k e, Chaney , and Kir st en ( 2010) used v ideoconfer ence t echnology for m ult icult ur al st udies in healt h educat ion, w hile Kar al, Cebi, and Ay ca ( Apr il, 2011) r epor t ed on t he use of sy nchronous t echnology t o suppor t educat ion w it h handicapped people from t he st udent per spect ive.
M e t h odology
The cour se t hat w as selected for synchr onous deliv ery w as Discr et e Mat hem at ics. The m ain r eason for choosing t his cour se w as t he scarcit y of face- t o-face offer ings of t his cour se am ong cam pus cent ers due t o low enrollm ent or lack of qualified inst r uct or s. Because of t his sit uat ion, st udent s regular ly elect t o t ak e t he cour se online; howev er , m any of t hem find it ex t r em ely difficult t o lear n t he cour se m at er ial w it hout at t ending face- t o- face class sessions. A synchronous offer ing of t his cour se could prov ide t he m ore per sonal at t ent ion t y pical of face- t o- face classes, along w it h t he conv enience of online cour ses’ ubiquit y .
The aut hor dir ect ed class sessions from his office at t he Par k Univ ersit y Cam pus Cent er in Aust in, Texas, w hile st udent s at t ended t hese sessions fr om v ar ious locat ions in Aust in, Tex as; Minot , Nor t h Dakot a; and Char lest on, Sout h Car olina. Ev er y par t icipant had full duplex audio and v ideo com m unicat ions. The cour se w as offered in an 8- w eek t erm bet ween Oct ober and Decem ber 2012. There w ere t wo class sessions per week, each last ing 2 ½ hours.
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2 0 1 4 sy nchronous course. Dur ing t he sessions, pr ospect iv e st udent s t est ed t heir individual connect ions, lear ned t he basis ofbeing par t icipant s of a Blackboar d Collabor at e session, and viewed a lim it ed sam ple of t he cour se cont ent s. Som e cam pus cent er adm inist r at or s w ho also at t ended t hese sessions got acquaint ed w it h the m echanics of t he cour se and t he r equir em ent s it w ould set
for t heir cam pus cent ers and t heir st udent s. St udent s w ho w ant ed t o r egist er for t his class w er e r equir ed t o at t end one of t hese pre- sessions. A t ot al of nine st udent s regist er ed by t he end of add/ drop per iod.
Besides Blackboard Collabor at e used in class sessions, t he cour se m ade use of eCom panion as a r eposit ory of cour se docum ent at ion, deliv er y of assignm ent s, adm inist r at ion of quizzes, and gr adebook keeping.
All class sessions w er e r ecor ded by t he Blackboard Collaborat e syst em , and all st udent s had access t o t hem im m ediat ely aft er t he class ended. This w ay, st udent s w ho m issed a class, or t hose w ho at t ended but desir ed t o review som e t opics, could have access t o t he class sessions again. Course m at er ial w as explicit ly pr epared for t his for m of deliv er y based on enhanced Pow er Point pr esent at ions. This m at er ial w as m ade av ailable t o st udent s at var ious st ages of t he cour se.
Final exam s w er e proct or ed on- sit e by t he r espect ive cam pus cent er adm inist r at ions. An anonym ous sur vey w as pr esent ed to student s at t he end of t he cour se. The analy sis of t heir responses is included in t his paper .
Th e Soft w a r e Pla t for m
Black board Collabor at e facilit at ed m ost of t he act iv it ies associat ed w it h t r adit ional inst r uct ion:
x A pr e se nt a t ion w in dow allow ed deliv er y of cont ent . This w indow w as accessible to all course par t icipant s and w as used ex t ensiv ely on discussions ov er course m at er ial. Prem ade Pow er Point pr esent at ions w ere incor por at ed in t his w indow , and par t icipant s could m ake annot at ions to t heir live display , facilit at ing t he com m unicat ion.
x St udent s could also int er act wit h t he inst r uct or and each ot her on pr esent at ions using t heir voice and also a ch a t sy st e m. The chat sy st em w as used by st udent s t o ex change m essages am ong t hem selv es w it hout dist ur bing t he class in progr ess and t o answ er instr uct or’s quest ions dur ing class.
x St udent s wer e polled at var ious st ages of t he pr esent at ion t o gauge t he level of under st anding and engagem ent w it h t he class. The soft w are plat form facilit at ed t his act iv it y by hav ing an a u t om a t e d polling m e cha n ism t hat allow ed t he inst r uct or to pr esent obj ect iv e quest ions t o st udent s and gat her t he answ ers. Polling quest ions included “ I s t his concept under st ood?” and “ Should w e cont inue t o anot her t opic?” , but t her e wer e also m or e sophist icat ed ones, such as pr esent ing m ult iple choice quest ions based on t he t opic under st udy and allow ing st udent s t o answer w it h t he choices pr ov ided by t he syst em . x Black board Collabor at e allow ed for t he r e cor din g of it s sessions. All sessions
w ere recorded and m ade available t o all st udent s aft er t he end of each class and t hr oughout t he lengt h of t he cour se. This feat ur e was used by st udent s w ho m issed classes and t he ones w ho w ant ed r efresher s on t he t opics cover ed. x The soft w ar e plat form also allow ed for gr oup w or k , w hich inv olv ed separ at ing
st udent s int o t eam s t hr ough t he use of t hebr e a k ou t r oom feat ur e. St udent s used t his feat ur e t o w ork in t eam s on addit ional exer cises, designed to r einfor ce concept s explained in t hat class session. Br eak- out room s w er e cr eat ed r andom ly , so st udent s could int er act w it h differ ent individuals every class m eet ing. St udent s usually int er act ed w it h m em ber s of t heir groups using t heir voice and anot her pr esent at ion w indow specific to t hat gr oup. The
inst r uct or r ot at ed am ongst t he var ious breakout room s, ver ify ing pr ogress and giving advice w hen necessar y .
x Syllabus, assignm ent s, and other cour se m at er ial were delivered synchr onously t o st udent s dur ing class sessions, but copies of t hese docum ent s w ere also st or ed in e Com pa n ionfor student s’ r eference.
x Office hour s w er e car r ied out using t he sam e soft w ar e plat for m t wo hour s before t he beginning of t he class and also aft er class w hen st udent s r equest ed t hem .
All t hese act ivit ies w er e perfor m ed seam lessly, and inst r uct or and st udent s becam e m ore adept at using all t hese plat form feat ur es r at her r apidly in t he cour se.
An a ly sis Soft w a r e Pla t for m I ssu e s
The only specific pr oblem w it h t he soft w ar e plat for m w as in t he wr it ing of m at hem at ical equat ions. Black board Collabor at e offer ed v ar ious alt er nat iv es to address t his issue; how ev er , none of t hem wer e com plet ely sat isfact ory . I nit ially , t he inst r uct or pr ov ided special libr ar ies of sy m bols t o be used w hen discussing m at hem at ical expressions, but t hese sym bols w ere difficult t o m anipulat e w hen ar r anged in groups t o for m m or e com plex ex pr essions. For ex am ple, t he follow ing ex pr ession w as difficult t o w r ite dur ing a liv e session:
An alt er nat iv e t o using t hese sy m bols w as to use t ex t box es, av ailable in t he pr esent at ion w indow . Unfor t unat ely , t hey or ganize t he cont ent in par agr aphs, w it hout suppor t for equat ions, and t hey had a single baseline for t ex t , m ak ing it im possible t o have t ext above or below sy m bols as show n abov e.
A m ore effect ive solut ion w as t o use t he dr aw ing capabilit ies of the pr esent at ion w indow t o dr aw r at her t han t y pe m at hem at ical expr essions. This w ork ed bet t er t o organize t he elem ent s of t he
expr essions in t he r ight posit ion, but given t hat each expr ession is m ade up of m any sym bols, it w as difficult t o m anipulat e t hem as a gr oup. I t w as t im e- consum ing and t ook m or e st eps t han w as pr act ical. The pr ocess w as im proved by t he use of t ouch scr eens, but t his facilit y w as av ailable only t o t he inst r uct or . St udent s had t o keep bat t ling w it h t he expressions on t heir ow n inst allat ions. Unfor t unat ely , t ouch scr eens w er e not as sensit iv e as m ouse devices, because t he m ouse has m or e cont r ol of fine m ovem ent s w it hin a sm all area.
I n t he end, higher dex t er it y obt ained by cont inuous pr act ice, and a lot of pat ience fr om all class part icipant s, m ade t he use of t he m ouse to dr aw m at hem at ical expr essions t he opt ion to car ry on w it h lessons. I t also helped a lot t hat t he lat er t opics in t he cour se did not r ely on t he m anipulat ion of com plicat ed for m ulas.
Pe da gogica l I ssu e s
Synchronous t eaching also deals w it h t he sam e pedagogical issues pr esent in ot her lear ning env ironm ent s. The inst r uct or em ployed v ar ious policies and st r at egies com m on t o ot her t eaching m odalit ies:
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2 0 1 4 x At t endance w as r equir ed of st udent s for all classes. I t is w ell- k now n t hatr egular st udent at t endance incr eases cour se scor es and over all lear ning. Ev en t hough st udent s could review r ecor dings of class sessions, at t endance w as st ill r equired. Most st udent s at t ended regular ly , ot her s did not . As w as expect ed, t he m ost egr egious absent ees failed t he cour se. Ther e w er e no penalt ies dir ect ly associat ed w it h absences. How ever , Discret e Mat hem at ics is difficult enough in any for m of deliv ery , so t hat if a st udent does not par t icipat e act iv ely , her or his gr ades are lik ely t o be low er ed. The fact t hat r ecordings of each class session w er e av ailable t o st udent s did not r eplace t he benefit s of act ual at t endance. One r eason is t hat t he class r equir ed par t icipat ion in hands-on and gr oup act ivit ies, and t he r ecordings could not r eproduce t hese sam e exper iences. Also, r ecor dings w er e t he sam e lengt h t im e as t he class m eet ings ( 2 ½ hour s) , and st udent s w ho m ight hav e t rouble secur ing t im e t o at t end class sessions m ay also have t rouble finding enough t im e t o view and underst and t he recordings.
x Regar ding at t endance, t his teaching m odalit y also achieved w hat m ight hav e been difficult t o do in ot her m odalit ies. Dur ing t he fir st w eek of class, one st udent suffer ed ser ious m edical pr oblem s
t hat r equir ed hospit alizat ion for sev er al w eek s. Ev en t hough he could not m ov e from his hospit al r oom , he m anaged t o at t end a good num ber of our class sessions. This kept him focused and up- t o- dat e w it h t he cour se m at er ial. For t unat ely , his healt h
im pr ov ed, and he could at t end t he pr octor ed ex am , and passed t he course. This w as an im por t ant and unex pect ed benefit of t his t eaching m odalit y , one t hat could be apt ly em ploy ed for t eaching m obilit y- challenged indiv iduals such as handicapped persons and w ounded vet er ans. This obser v at ion is consist ent w it h t he r esult s of t he st udy by Kar al et al. ( Apr il, 2011) .
x Pr evious paper s in t he lit er at ur e r epor t com m unicat ion problem s due t o fault y connect ions as t he m ain problem in t he sy nchr onous env ir onm ent ( Cunningham et al., 2010; Kar al et al., Oct ober , 2011) . To m inim ize t hese pr oblem s, at t he beginning of t he cour se all par t icipant s w er e r equest ed t o have headphones w it h incor por at ed speaker s and m icrophone t o m inim ize echo dur ing class sessions. This w or k ed r elat iv ely w ell, aft er an init ial per iod of st udent adj ust m ent . A w eb cam er a w as also r equir ed of all par t icipant s t o m aint ain visual cont act . Ev en t hough t his equipm ent w as used dur ing t he fir st sessions, m ost st udent s pr eferr ed not t o act iv at e t hem . At no point dur ing t he cour se w ere cam er as t ur ned on by all par t icipant s, and t heir use w as negligible aft er t he init ial sessions. Given t his fact , t he inst r uct or also st opped br oadcast ing from his web cam er a fr om m idt er m onw ards. Ther e ar e var ious possible r easons for t he lack of w eb cam er a usage: difficult set - up, for get fulness, self-consciousness on t he par t of par t icipant s, and irr elevance of t he video st r eam , am ong ot her s. How ever , t he com m unicat ion and inst r uct ion w as not ham per ed in any w ay by t he lack of v ideo feed. I n light of t his fact , fut ur e offer ings in t his t eaching m odalit y m ay consider dispensing w it h t he w eb cam era requir em ent alt oget her . How ev er , t his m ay depend on subj ect m at er ial and t he inst r uct or ’s t eaching t echnique. This obser v at ion contr adict s t he r ecom m endat ion m ade by Kar al et al. ( Oct ober , 2011) t hat suggest s t he use of m or e cam er as and angles t o avoid st udent boredom . I f t he cour se par t icipant s can m aint ain v erbal cont act , t heir ow n v ideo feeds m ay not be necessary , as long as st udent s ar e engaged w it h t he ot her int er act iv e t ools of t he environm ent as descr ibed in t he nex t par agr aph.
x St udent s w er e also engaged by t heir int er act ion w it h t he pr esent at ion w indow . At v ar ious t im es dur ing pr esent at ions, st udent s w er e quer ied about t he t opic at hand and r equest ed to wr it e in t he present at ion w indow solut ions t o pr oblem s. Oft en t hey also com plem ented t hese solut ions w it h or al com m ent s and chat
ent r ies. These w ere very effect iv e m echanism s t o keep st udent s engaged in t he subj ect m at t er , regardless of t he problem s w it h t he soft w are plat for m t hat w ere pr ev iously descr ibed.
x The breakout room s pr ov ed t o be an invaluable t echnique for st udent underst anding and assim ilat ion of concept s. Aft er t he present at ion of a m ain t opic w it h exer cises for t he w hole class, sim ilar exer cises w ere pr ov ided to t eam s in separ at e br eakout r oom s. Team s w er e com posed of t wo t o t hr ee st udent s. Solv ing sim ilar pr oblem s r einfor ced t he concepts alr eady discussed, and m or e adv anced st udent s could explain t o t he ot her s in t heir t eam t he sam e ideas but in t heir ow n w or ds. The inst r uct or m oved from room t o room , ver ifying progr ess and m aking suggest ions w hen appropr iat e. This w ay he could oversee pr oblem s w it h underst anding and solve t hem im m ediat ely. x Like m ost cour ses t hese days, a Pow er Point present at ion w as pr epar ed for
ev er y class. Howev er , for Blackboar d Collabor at e, t he Pow er Point pr esent at ions had t o be conv er t ed t o a com pat ible for m at for display . This for m at does not allow pr em ade anim at ions, but conv er t s ever y Pow er Point slide int o a single im age. I nst r uct or s have t o be aw ar e of t his fact and plan t heir pr esent at ions accor dingly. Under t hese cir cum st ances, a sequent ial chain of t hought s or ideas for a t opic could be condensed int o a single slide, or cr eat ed sequent ially t hr ough m any slides. The inst r uct or ex per im ent ed w it h bot h of t hese st yles in t he class, and obt ained bet t er r esult s w it h t he second for m at . I deas condensed int o one slide left lit t le r oom for annot at ions dur ing class and becam e t oo “ busy” for st udent s t o gr asp at a glance. On t he ot her hand, fast er r at es of under st anding w er e exper ienced w hen st udent s wer e pr esent ed w it h a st ep- by- st ep developm ent of a t opic in var ious slides t hat could be back t r acked w hen necessar y .
x Alt hough t hese pr esent at ions w ere view able on class r ecordings, st udent s also w ant ed t o have independent access t o t hem aft er hour s. The inst r uct or ex per im ent ed w it h pr ov iding access t o t he Pow er Point pr esent at ions befor e and aft er t he class. I nit ially it w as t hought t hat giving st udent s access t o pr esent at ion m at er ial before class would spoil class at t ent ion and engagem ent , but it w as a happy surpr ise to see t hat in fact , t he opposit e w as tr ue. When st udent s had access t o t he present at ion befor e class, t hey wer e alr eady som ew hat fam iliar w it h t he m at er ial, but m ay hav e som e doubt s about t he com plet e pr ocedure. The class ex planat ion helped t o reinforce t heir under st anding of concept s, r at her t han t heir discov ery .
x Finally , assessm ent of t he cour se w as m ade t hrough w eekly hom ework and quizzes, t he m idt erm and final exam . To pract ice for assessm ent , every w eek st udent s w er e given addit ional exercises, sim ilar t o t he ones explained in class. Hom ework and quizzes w ere based on previous week’s lectur es t o give st udent s t im e for prepar at ion, and once again included sim ilar problem s to t he ones discussed in class. Midt er m and final ex am also included t his kind of pr oblem s, em phasizing t hat t he sk ills being show n in class w er e t he ones being t est ed on, and t he ones necessary for fut ur e cour ses.
St u de nt Fe e dba ck
The cour se began w it h nine st udent s. Of t hose nine, one w it hdr ew in t he t hir d w eek of class. An anonym ous st udent sur vey w as carried out on t he last w eek of t he t er m . Responses fr om six st udent s were obt ained ( 75% of t ot al possible) . The sur vey w as designed t o gat her st udent opinion on var ious aspect s of t he cour se t hat m ay hav e im pact on fut ur e offer ings. Surv ey quest ions w er e divided int o t hree ar eas:
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2 0 1 4 chose t his t eaching m odalit y because t hey did not have it offered face- t o- face at t heir cam pus cent er s, did not w ant t o t ak e it online, and/ or t hey t hought t hat it w ould be an int er est ing alt er nat iv e t o t r y . All of t hem had exper ienced pr ev ious class cancellat ions w hile at Par k Univ ersit y , and if t his cour se would have been cancelled due t o low enr ollm ent , t hey w ould have w ait ed for it t o be offered face- t o- face or unt il t hey could no longer w ait and had t o t ak e it online. The char act er ist ics descr ibed her e fit t ed t he ex pect ed profile for st udent s w ho m ay t ake sy nchr onous cour ses.x Bla ck boa r d Colla bora t e . All r espondent s agreed t hat t he pre- sessions w ere good enough t o under st and how Blackboar d Collaborat e w ork s. They connect ed t o sessions fr om hom e, w ork , and cam pus center s. Ther e w as also one st udent connect ing from t he hospit al. Most of t hem had no m aj or difficult ies w it h t he environm ent , but for t hose w ho did t he pr oblem s w ere m ainly due t o poor audio recept ion. They also report ed that t hese problem s w ere solv ed w hen t hey reset t heir com put ers and/ or soft w ar e, follow ed t he set up inst r uct ions, and/ or changed brow ser s. There wer e r epor t s of ot her problem s w hich did not hav e t o do w it h Black boar d Collabor at e, but r at her w it h eCom panion or t he cam pus cent er . These lat er problem s w ill be discussed in anot her sect ion.
x St udent s w ere also asked quest ions r egar ding t he dist r act ions t hey had in class sessions, and t hey list ed in equal par t s eit her no dist r act ions, echo in t he lines, or t heir ow n personal dist r act ions. They also w er e dist r act ed by t he annoy ance of hav ing t o deal w it h t he difficult y of w r it ing for m ulas in t he pr esent at ion w indow by t hem selv es or w it h ot her session par t icipant s. This pr oblem sur ely influenced t he r ank ing of it s int er act iv e t ools as of av er age use and som ew hat above av er age effect iv eness.
x All in all, st udent s indicat ed t hat Blackboar d Collabor at e has very useful feat ur es t hat include it s audio capabilit ies, r ecor dings, polling, and br eak out room s as t he m ost useful. These w ere also t he feat ur es that w ere considered t he m ost effect ive by st udents. Chat t ing and v ideo capabilit ies w er e t he least useful and effect iv e feat ures.
x Cou r se Fea t u r e s. Respondent s agr eed com plet ely w it h t he follow ing sent ences:
o “ I like I can ask quest ions in class and r eceiv e im m ediat e r esponse,
inst ead of using e- m ail.”
o “ I like t he oppor t unit y of int er act ing w it h ot her st udent s dur ing class to
solv e cour se problem s.”
o “ I lik e t hat I can r eview t he class using t he r ecordings.”
Wit h r egar ds t o t he sent ence “ I lik e t he abilit y t o t ak e classes from w her ev er I hav e an I nt ernet connect ion” , all but one st udent agreed com plet ely . On t he ot her hand, t hey all som ew hat disagr eed or disagreed com plet ely w it h t he follow ing st at em ent : “ I t hink t he t echnical difficult ies ar e t oo big t o t ak e a cour se sy nchr onously .”
Ther e w as no consensus r egar ding t he difficult y of t he cour se. Four r espondent s out of t he six disagr eed w it h t he sent ence: “ I think t ak ing cour ses synchronously is m or e difficult t han online or face- t o- face.” One of t he ot her t w o st udent s neit her agreed nor disagr eed w it h t he sent ence, w hile t he last one som ew hat agr eed.
St udent s indicat ed t hat t he follow ing issues w er e done par t icular ly w ell:
o “ I believe t his course w as v ery successful. I hav e enj oy ed it a lot .
o “ The professor w as v er y pat ient w it h t he w hit eboar d ( t ak es for ever t o wr it e
or dr aw ) and w it h t he people w ho had bad/ slow connect ions. I t hink t he br eak out r oom s w er e very useful t oo.”
o “ The requir ed m at er ial w as cov er ed in dept h and nor m ally done st ep by
st ep by t he inst r uct or . This helped m e lear n w hat I t hought w as difficult m at er ial! I w ould definit ely t ak e anot her sy nchr onous cour se”
o “ Over all w as great class and w as able to lear n m at er ial during t he sessions
and w at ching t he r ecordings, Pow er Point slides av ailabilit y w as also helpful.”
o “ Pow er Point pr esent at ions for Gr aphs and Tr ees w er e very w ell done ( or
m y com pr ehension of t he cont ent w ent w ell) . The connect edness fact or am ong inst r uctor and st udent s w as ex cellent . Encouraging full class par t icipat ion and inst r uctor office hour av ailabilit y- t he w hole int er act iv e-ness t hing tot ally work ed.”
o “ I t hink t he cour se present at ions and t he r ecor dings w er e v ery
professional.”
The issue t hat m ost st udent s indicat ed could be im pr ov ed was t he soft w are capabilit ies w it h r egar d to t he int er act ion w it h t he pr esentat ion. One st udent also w ant ed r ecor dings of t he breakout room s, because t hey ar e not par t of norm al r ecording. Anot her st udent also m ent ioned t hat t he “ flow ” of t he cour se could hav e been im prov ed, but s/ he m ent ioned t hat t he flow w as “ wonderful” by t he fift h w eek . These changes w ere pr edict able, given t hat t his w as a pilot cour se w here various issues w ere t est ed.
Ov er all, st udent s’ com m ent s in t his cour se w er e in line w it h com m ent s m ade by Discr et e Mat hem at ics’ st udent s fr om pr ev ious face- t o- face classes. All r espondent s indicat ed t hey would r ecom m end t his cour se t o ot her st udent s and t hat t hey w ill also t ake ot her cour ses sy nchronously .
Given t he success of t his exper ience, a second deliv er y of t his cour se w as offered in a lat er 8- w eek t erm , bet w een Januar y and Mar ch 2013, using a sist er softw ar e pr oduct called Class Live Pr o. This product had feat ur es ident ical t o Black board Collabor at e w it h sim ilar int er face. Based on t he st udent feedback on t he fir st ex per ience, som e m odificat ions w er e m ade t o t he cour se: Fewer pr epar at ion sessions w er e needed t o int roduce st udent s t o t he classroom environm ent ; som e chat t ing feat ur es wer e disabled t o im prove som e possible sour ce of st udent dist ract ion; t he inst ruct or im plem ent ed early use of a pen tablet t o dr aw form ulas; and video cam er as w er e not requir ed of st udent s t o connect t o t he sessions. Seven st udent s w ere enrolled in t he class. The deliv ery of t his cour se went m or e sm oot hly and it s out com es closely agr eed w it h t he r esult s obt ained in t he fir st exper ience in r egar ds t o plat for m , pedagogical, and st udent r elat ed issues. This fact em phasizes t he r epeat abilit y of t hese result s and reinfor ces t he aut hor’s posit ion t hat t he use of sy nchronous t echnologies is an effect ive alt er nat iv e for educat ion at a dist ance.
Adm in ist r a t iv e I ssu e s
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2 0 1 4 Con clu sions a n d Re com m en da t ion s1. Black board Collabor at e prov ides a good alt er nat iv e t o t radit ional face- t o- face and online offer ings. I t requir es fr om st udent s t he sam e t im e com m it m ent as face-t o- face classes, buface-t giv es flex ibiliface-t y face-t o r em oface-t e sface-t udenface-t s face-t o connecface-t fr om w her ev er t hey m ay be. This flex ibilit y w as dem onst r at ed w hen a st udent had t o be hospit alized in t he fir st w eek of class. He follow ed m ost of class sessions from his pat ient bed in t he hospit al.
2. Black board Collabor at e is a r easonable soft w ar e plat form t o carr y on sy nchronous sessions. The environm ent is st able, and can easily handle sessions of 3 hours or m or e. St udent s need t o be t r ained in t heir use before t he t er m begins t o av oid delay s in dealing w it h cour se m at er ial.
3. The m ain deficiency of t he soft w ar e plat form w as it s clum siness in m anipulat ing m at hem at ical equat ions. This w as a m aj or sour ce of fr ust r at ion for all par t icipant s. The m ost r easonable solut ion t o t his problem is t o tr eat m at hem at ical equat ions as draw ings on a canv as. This solut ion m ay r equir e a high lev el of dex t er it y w it h t he m ouse from par t icipant s. All in all, com m unicat ion w as possible, albeit slight ly delayed by t he t echnology. I n cour ses w her e t he use of m at hem at ical equat ions is not as heavy as in a m at h cour se, t his env ironm ent w ill accom m odat e t he deliv er y of m at er ial seam lessly . I f wr it ing equat ions is essent ial for a cour se, t he use of a point - and- dr aw dev ice, lik e a pen t ablet , w ill be adv isable, at least on t he inst r uct or side.
4. I t is advisable t o pr ov ide off- line course m at erial t o st udent s in advance of class sessions. This helps st udent s t o pr epar e befor e a class, and t hey can lat er r efer t o t his m at er ial as par t of their class not es. Besides t his m at er ial, sessions should also be recor ded. While m issing st udent s could r eadily benefit fr om t hese r ecordings, it w as show n t hat in fact , st udent s w ho at t ended t he class also used t he r ecor dings t o re- ex am ine concept s t hat w er e not clear or t o pr epar e for exam s.
5. Even t hough st udent s could see t he recor dings of a class aft erwar ds, at t endance was m andat ory because ever y session required t eam part icipat ion t o solve course pr oblem s. Breakout r oom s are a ver y effect ive w ay t o reinfor ce cour se m at erial. Aft er a new concept is present ed and applied in class, st udent s are broken up in t eam s of t w o t o solve sim ilar problem s. They can int eract wit h t heir t eam m em ber s, and t he inst ruct or can super vise developm ent and give individual advice t o st udent s w ho ar e st r uggling or have quest ions on t he t opic. St udent int er act ion also allows st udent s t o learn fr om each ot her by com paring t heir under st anding and t he way t hey w ould apply it t o new sit uat ions. St udent s really help each ot her t o learn t he m at erial. At t he pract ical level, t he process of breaking up st udent s int o t eam s and having t hem wor k on a t ask is m uch m or e efficient t han in a t r adit ional class or an asynchr onous online class. The gr oups are easily creat ed and m anaged wit h a few keyst r okes, and st udent s really par t icipat e in t he t ask, because t he envir onm ent and a wat chful inst ruct or keep t hem focused on t he goal t o be achieved.
6. At t he end of t he t er m , it w as r eassur ing to see t hat st udent perfor m ance followed a ty pical bell- shaped cur ve, w it h few st udent s at bot h ends of t he spectr um and t he bulk ar ound t he gr ade of “ B” . I t w as also int erest ing t o observ e t hat t his t eaching m odalit y is not im m une to challenges encount ered in ot her for m s of delivery: absences, t ardiness, sickness, and st udent w it hdr aw als. All t hese sit uat ions w er e a good t est for t his cour se and w er e as effect iv ely dealt w it h as in face- t o- face and online classes.
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