A pilot synchronous communication experiment within ...

11 downloads 0 Views 915KB Size Report
We used PalTalk, an Internet text and audio chat client from AVM Software, Inc., New. York, NY, to offer our tutees live virtual classroom sessions within a Unit of ...
Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.1

Authors’ final version as accepted – for the Publisher’s formatted version, please visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2005.11.583

A Synchronous Communication Experiment within an Online Distance Learning Programme: A Case Study Maged N. Kamel Boulos, Ph.D., M.Sc.,1* Andrea D. Taylor, Ph.D., M.Sc.,1 Alice Breton, M.A.2 1

School for Health, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.

2

Faculty of Health Informatics, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Nicolson Street,

Edinburgh EH8 9DW, UK. *

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: Maged N. Kamel Boulos, School for

Health (NH 5.14), University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.

Running title: A synchronous distance learning communication experiment

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.2

ABSTRACT Tutees-tutor and tutees-tutees interactions in purely asynchronous distance learning courses are much lacking compared to similar interactions found in face-to-face teaching, causing learners to experience feelings of isolation, reducing motivation, and increasing drop out rates. We used PalTalk, an Internet text and audio chat client from AVM Software, Inc., New York, NY, to offer our tutees live virtual classroom sessions within a Unit of our online distance learning MSc programme in Healthcare Informatics. On-demand replays of audio excerpts from the sessions were also provided to accommodate absenteeism and for student review. Five tutees completed an evaluation questionnaire. Our results highlighted the potential merits of using synchronous conferencing to assist in fostering a sense of belonging to one supportive learning community among distance learners, and improve educational outcomes. Tutees were very positive toward the introduced real-time human interaction, and voted for a 95/5 (asynchronous/synchronous percentages) blended delivery approach for a typical Unit in our programme. They also praised PalTalk's voice quality and ease of use. This paper presents educational and technological perspectives about this experiment in the form of a state-of-the-art review, without intending to be a statistically rigorous study. We encourage educators to offer synchronous communication in distance learning to enhance students' sense of personal connectedness. However, robust research evidence is still required to fully convince educators about the benefits of synchronous communication tools, and help them decide on the most suitable solutions for their particular circumstances.

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.3

INTRODUCTION Online distance learning is rapidly becoming a mainstream mode of delivery for postgraduate courses in health informatics worldwide. Examples of such programmes in existence today include the MSc programme in Healthcare Informatics delivered jointly by the University of Bath, UK and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, UK, the MSc in Health Informatics at the University of Wales Swansea, UK, Oregon Health and Science University Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology Master of Biomedical Informatics programme, and many more. Fully Web-based distance learning has long been characterised by its asynchronicity. This is one of its advantages, as it allows learners to study at the time that best suits them. There are no scheduled lectures, for example, to attend, and tutees-tutor and tutees-tutees interactions are also asynchronous (e.g., e-mail and conventional discussion boards). However, many educational researchers have reported reduced tutees-tutor and tutees-tutees interactions in purely asynchronous distance learning courses. Interactions in such courses often do not involve the whole group of learners and their tutor(s). They also lack in timeliness, and by being predominantly textual, miss the instant and very important visual, auditory and verbal cues that characterise face-to-face teaching. All these deficiencies cause learners to feel isolated and detached from their instructors and peers, which may result in reduced motivation and retention and higher course drop out rates [1-4]. Adding a scheduled element of synchronous two-way communication (live interaction in real time) to an online asynchronous distance learning course can dramatically improve outcomes. (Synchronous sessions should preferably be made optional to retain the flexibility advantage of distance e-learning, which is very important for adult learners in full time jobs.) According to Danchak [3], learning is a combination of information and interaction, and a learning experience needs to have some mix of asynchronous and synchronous events. Studies indicate that effective synchronous tutees-tutor and tutees-tutees interactions greatly enhance education at a distance by improving attitudes and helping build teams and learning communities, allowing students to receive immediate feedback, keeping them on track with course deadlines, encouraging earlier completion of coursework, better performance on tests, and higher programme completion rates [1,2,4]. Earlier synchronous communication technologies were often extremely expensive and technically challenging to implement. They were also limited in their features and some of them even required participants to travel to suitably equipped local conferencing centres to attend a synchronous event [2,5]. Today much better and cheaper technologies exist for

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.4

delivering synchronous events. Factors to consider when comparing and adopting the different technologies and tools available for this purpose include a usable interface for both tutees and tutors, the provision of adequate training, especially for tutors, and a need to reduce technological problems, such as available bandwidth and configuration of firewalls to work with the tools [1].

BACKGROUND Types of synchronous activities and interactions Participants in a synchronous distributed learning group could be offered a range of synchronous communication features depending on the software used. These features are described in detail by Schullo in [6], and include: 

synchronous text-based chat and instant messaging;



emoticons in text chat [7];



synchronous audio (delivered via Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) or by a telephone bridge);



breakout rooms for small group activities during a larger group meeting;



whiteboards;



live surveys and polls;



live video;



application sharing;



synchronised Web browsing;



synchronous session archiving and on demand playback (also helps tutors practise for successful live sessions by watching/listening to their recorded performance); and



teaching assistant capabilities.

Advantages of synchronous components in e-learning Many compelling advantages of synchronous events are described in the literature, including motivating distance students to keep up with peers, pacing them through their course, developing group cohesion through telepresence, and providing learners with instant attention [8-11]. Online synchronous events also bring with them many of the desirable features of conventional face-to-face classrooms like humanising participants [3,9]. Synchronous interaction is required by many students to complete their e-learning experience by enabling social-constructionist and collaborative approaches to learning, which provides a sense of community that purely asynchronous courses are lacking. Furthermore, incorporating synchronous interactive events into online distance learning courses helps students develop

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.5

their communication skills and may result in increased technological literacy among them (both are key skills requested by most employers these days) [12].

Disadvantages of synchronous components in e-learning Some disadvantages of synchronous e-learning sessions have been documented in the literature. One of these is scheduling inconvenience. Hovenga, for example, describes their video conferencing experience in which coordinating participants' times across five time zones was felt to be problematic [5]. Synchronous media also afford little time for reflection and deliberation (this applies to all synchronous event participants including moderators) [13], and there are other issues related to technology (depending on the tool used), e.g., cost, audio quality, usability, lack of technical skills and experience in teaching/facilitating in this environment, etc. However, even with these disadvantages, used as a supplement and not as a full-time replacement for asynchronous learning, synchronous methods can add value to our teaching and learning models [12].

Examples of synchronous communication experiments from the literature Internet audio LaPointe et al. used synchronous audio for English as a Second Language teaching in Taiwan (a system called "Speak2Me"). They concluded that synchronous text/audio communication can establish tightly knit communities of practice more rapidly than asynchronous methods of distance education. However, Speak2Me required a high-speed connection (cable, DSL) for voices to be heard clearly and reliably, without breaking up during transmission. This might present a barrier to access for some users [7]. Another Internet audio case study is reported by Chastine and Preston [14], who argue that "having live audio drastically changes the atmosphere of an online course, bringing it one step closer to approximating a live lecture". Their system allows students to speak, but not while the instructor is speaking. The student needs to raise his/her hand to request permission to speak. The instructor has the option to pass the student the "audio token", which changes the student's mode from listening to broadcasting to the entire class. The audio bandwidth required is approximately 16Kbps, so the system is usable by even those students with slow dialup connectivity. The combination of the chat area and other live session components allows students to "talk during lecture", having spontaneous questions and answers with each other and the instructor [14].

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.6

Phone bridge In 2001, the Department of Family Medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine introduced their e-conference model in which a lecturer and group of residents are in one location with additional residents in multiple separate locations. A telephone connection was used for audio transmission, while visual transmission of PowerPoint presentations was done over the Internet. The e-conferences were interactive, and in addition to a PowerPoint presentation, faculty provided Web links for references. Each conference session was archived for one week on the server for access by those residents who couldn't attend the live event, thus offering temporal independence to residents in addition to geographical independence. Preliminary results indicated positive resident attitudes toward distance learning and significant increases in conference attendance [15].

SUBJECTS AND METHODS One of the goals of this paper is to describe a very small-scale pilot experiment of introducing synchronous communication into one of the Units of a fully Web-based, asynchronous distance learning MSc programme in Healthcare Informatics [16]. The paper presents the results of this experiment as a case study. The Unit in question (referred to as "Unit 5" in our MSc programme) is about Remote Healthcare (telehealth and telemedicine), and audio conferencing happens to be one of the topics covered in this Unit (used for tele-consultations and tele-education in healthcare). This has made our experiment even more relevant to tutees as it offered them the opportunity to setup and run a simple audio conferencing application on their machines. We selected the free, ad-supported edition of PalTalk version 5.1 from AVM Software, Inc., New York, NY [17], as the synchronous communication (text and audio conferencing) tool for our experiment mainly because it is available free for anyone to download and run, allows the creation of free, private text and audio conferencing rooms, is generally easy to use and reliable, provides excellent voice quality even with slow modem connections, and requires little technical sophistication. PalTalk's default settings work well with network firewalls, requiring no or very simple adjustments to be made by users. We created our own password-protected Unit 5 conference room in PalTalk to run this experiment (Figure 1).



Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.7

The tool: an overview of PalTalk features PalTalk is an Internet text/audio/video chat client for Microsoft® Windows®. The tool will allow one voice speaker at a time to communicate in a conference with multiple listeners (could be hundreds of listeners in a PalTalk room). Using PalTalk's convenient buddy list, users can see when their friends (fellow tutees and tutors) are online, and can search for and add buddies to their buddy list. Once inside a room, users can also invite "pals" on their buddy list to join the group. Users can send offline messages to other participants, and send private messages to another person during a group text/audio chat session. The text chat area is also available for posting public text messages to all participants during a conference. It can also be used for polling purposes to ask simple yes-or-no-type questions (e.g., the conference administrator may ask participants to type '1' if they want to say yes/agree, '2' or '0' if they don't agree). Graphical emoticons are available in all PalTalk text chat boxes. PalTalk offers no whiteboard or slideshow functionality, but a guided audio tour (presented by the tutor/room administrator) of a Web site or PowerPoint that all participants can access during a PalTalk session remains a plausible alternative. Administrator functions A room owner may allow an unlimited number of people to co-administer the room with him/her. Room administrators have the ability to remove a person who has become extremely disruptive. Also, by double clicking on a participant's name (in the right-hand pane—Figure 1), the administrator can change that participant's 'Red Dot' status. A 'Red Dotted' participant remains inside the room but cannot talk. It may sometimes be desirable to mute everyone's microphone except the administrator's own microphone to help moderate a room. A 'Remove All Mics' option allows the administrator to do this. Similar administrator functions are available to control participants' use of the text chat area. Session archiving PalTalk can only save the text chat transcript to an RTF file (Rich Text Format—can be opened in Microsoft® Word®) by right-clicking in the text chat area (Figure 1). It has no built-in audio archiving capabilities, but audio sessions can be easily recorded and edited using any of the free audio editors available today. We used Audacity, a free audio tool, for this purpose [18]. Relatively small size MP3 audio files of few megabytes each were produced and posted to Unit 5 asynchronous discussion board for downloading by tutees. A bit rate of 16 to 24kbps was selected for this purpose; it provides excellent sound quality with relatively small file sizes. We secured the permission to post the files to the discussion board

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.8

from all tutees whose voices are featured in the audio recordings. Post-session postings also included the PowerPoints, Web links and textual notes from the live sessions, in addition to the audio excerpts.

The participants and the live sessions The experiment took place during the January to April 2004 run of Unit 5. All five tutees that were taking Unit 5 during that period were invited to participate in our experiment. Participants included one female and four males (age range 25-60), who are all practicing healthcare professionals residing in Australia, Hong Kong, Ireland, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. Four of the five invited tutees were able to download and run PalTalk and attended one or more of our Unit 5 synchronous communication sessions. Countries in which Internet filtering is practised may not be able to download the software. However, our one tutee who couldn't participate in the live sessions was able to listen to archived recordings of long excerpts from these sessions, view the accompanying PowerPoints, and also contribute to the evaluation of the experiment. All students on our programme, including participants in this experiment, have computer competency to at least the level of the International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL), which is more than enough to be able to use the Internet and a tool like PalTalk. Detailed, step-by-step technical instructions on how to setup and use PalTalk (with screenshots) were also posted on Unit 5 asynchronous discussion board. The instructions provided directions to tutees on how to test their sound setup before the actual sessions took place. This was important to make sure that no tutee is left behind due to technical difficulties that could have been avoided. We also asked tutees to post their PalTalk nicknames (after creating their accounts) to the same discussion board so that fellow tutees and Unit 5 tutor could add them to their PalTalk buddy list and identify them when they are logged into PalTalk network. Agreeing on suitable times and dates for the live sessions was also done on the asynchronous discussion board. In total, we conducted three 60-70 minute sessions on 11 and 19 February and 5 March 2004. Two of these sessions took place at 13:00 GMT and one was held at 19:30 GMT. Pre-session asynchronous discussion board posting (2 to 5 days before each live session) included the PowerPoint that would be used in the session, as well as selected Web links and article(s) for reading as a means of preparing and stimulating discussion on the session day. Each live session would start at the agreed time and date and always follow the following rough script to keep on track:

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.9

(1) 5 minutes for a short introduction and greetings by the tutor; (2) 20-minute lecture by tutor on a Unit 5 topic, sharing PowerPoint slides that participants can download and browse on their local machines while listening (the same PowerPoint presentation could also have been downloaded before the session if students preferred to do so); (3) 30-40 minutes of interactive "questions and answers"; and (4) 5 minutes for the tutor to bring the session to a close.

RESULTS At the end of the third session, all tutees were asked to complete an evaluation survey form. All five tutees responded and returned a completed form (including a form completed by the tutee who couldn't attend any of the live sessions, but was able to download the archived session excerpts). Using mainly five-step Likert scales to record responses, the evaluation questionnaire centred on issues of usability of PalTalk (ease of setup and use) and its audio quality, as well as usefulness of the live sessions and associated content, interactions, and preand post-session postings on the asynchronous discussion board. The questions and tutees' responses to them are presented in Table 1.



The questionnaire also included space for free text comments. The free text comments received were constructive and very favourable, and expressed an overall high level of satisfaction with our PalTalk sessions. The comments from individual respondents are quoted below. "The Paltalk sessions including the MP3 recordings were extremely useful as they clarified many issues with the material in the Unit. Tutor's input was very useful and he is to be commended for being so interactive during Unit 5 ." "Uploading the PowerPoint (or equivalent) file in advance of the session was useful. There was very little student to student interaction during our PalTalk sessions. I am not sure how we could promote this without diminishing contact with our tutor. Overall it was very useful ." "I am reluctant to send this form back to you – because I couldn’t actually join/contribute to the PalTalk Sessions. However – just ‘listening’ to your recorded conversations from the other members who did join in – was very informative, and gave me a sense of camaraderie and teamwork. I would certainly recommend that you have this service “on offer” for future students. This is the fifth Unit I have studied – in succession, and I have never seen anywhere

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.10

near the amount of support and positive feedback from any of the other tutors. Your help, interest, expertise and encouragement is proving to be invaluable to me. Many thanks!" More tutees comments were also collected from the asynchronous discussion board and other Unit 5 evaluation/feedback forms: "I am sure we can "click" by chance often enough - PalTalk seems to look for our Pals constantly." "I feel I am working more as a 'group' with this Unit, as opposed to an isolated individual in (a remote land)!" (This latter comment is by the same tutee who couldn't access PalTalk and only relied on the archived material.) The tutor who ran this experiment provided the following comment: "PalTalk has definitely brought us (the students and myself) simultaneously together in one (virtual) place, and for the first time in our programme, we could hear each other and interact with each other as a group in real time despite our geographically desperate locations."

DISCUSSION Overall, our PalTalk sessions were very well received and attended by tutees (75% overall attendance rate). The first session was attended by three out of four tutees who had access to PalTalk, the second session (held at 19:30 GMT) was attend by only two tutees, and the third session was attended by all four tutees with PalTalk access. Most tutees rated tutor/tutees interaction during the PalTalk sessions high to very high. One tutee commented that there was very little student to student interaction during the sessions, as most discussions took the form of questions asked by tutees and answered by the tutor. According to Hovenga [5], some students prefer the use of a teacher-centred model such as didactic lectures, while others, including many adult learners, find a student-centred model that includes peer interactivity and learning more beneficial. This is certainly an area of our experiment where an improvement can be made to accommodate more tutees' preferences in the future by designing and incorporating into the synchronous sessions some suitable activities or exercises to stimulate fruitful tutee-tutee collaboration (possibly also by using the "breakout groups" function provided by many of the synchronous communication tools, though this is not a straightforward function in PalTalk). All tutees found the synchronous sessions and associated pre- and post-session postings on the asynchronous discussion board to be very useful. One tutee commented that "uploading the PowerPoint (or equivalent) file in advance of the session was useful". This was especially true in our case, as we wanted to compensate for the lack of a whiteboard or true slideshow

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.11

functionalities in PalTalk by making our PowerPoints available to all tutees a few days in advance of the respective sessions. This was intended to prevent those tutees with slower modem connections from having to download relatively large files during the live sessions, and also as a means of encouraging them to prepare the topic of each session in advance to ensure a more useful discussion on the session day. Most tutees felt that PalTalk did make a very positive difference to their current distance learning experience. They expressed their strong will to attend any similar sessions offered to them in the future, and would also highly recommend PalTalk to other tutors/tutees on the programme. Our synchronous communication experiment assisted in fostering camaraderie, teamwork, and a sense of belonging to one supportive learning community, as reflected in the tutees' free text comments. PalTalk's buddy list function also helped to create a much needed sense of social presence among our learners (even when no sessions were running), as expressed in this comment by one of them: "I am sure we can "click" by chance often enough - PalTalk seems to look for our Pals constantly." We have noticed that all tutees in the cohort that received the PalTalk sessions submitted their final Unit assignment in time, while some tutees in the previous Unit 5 group (October 2003 to January 2004) that didn't receive similar sessions had trouble keeping pace with their colleagues and submitting in time. Also PalTalk tutees did somewhat better in their submitted assignment (assignment topics were covered in the PalTalk sessions) compared to the previous group that didn't receive these sessions. However, one must acknowledge that other factors related to individual tutees may have contributed to these observations, though our observations seem to confirm those made by Lister et al. [2] and Mason [8].

Scheduling for four time zones The tutees who participated in our live sessions spanned four widely separated time zones from GMT+00 (which is the tutor's time zone) to GMT+10. However, most tutees reported that the times chosen to hold the sessions were generally convenient to them. The two sessions held at 13:00 GMT were the most attended sessions. The sessions were limited to a maximum of 70 minutes each. Suitable times and dates were set by exchanging messages on the asynchronous discussion board, though having a dedicated scheduling interface (preferably with the capability of sending automatic reminder e-mails to participants when a session date is close) would have been much better. Finding a common time for a synchronous event that would suit the great majority of participants from widely separated time zones could sometimes be tricky. One possible

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.12

solution could be to divide students into two groups of nearby time zones and offer them the same interactive session at two different times. This may not be practical with small classes as the one presented in this study, but could be an option for larger classes provided that tutors can cope with the extra work involved. A pansynchronous approach According to Mason [8], our PalTalk experiment can be labelled "pansynchronous", as it also included on-demand replays of recorded audio excerpts from the live sessions. A tightly integrated distance education delivery system should allow for storage and retrieval of materials presented in a synchronous forum, thus accommodating absent students, and providing a means for student review [19]. Students can thus leverage the technology to make up for their shortcomings or busy schedules. Furthermore, if they are not the best note-takers, they can now focus on the content as it is presented during the live session, then print out the text chat box after each session, and review the archived audio recordings for concepts they would like to revisit [20].

A blended approach: getting the right mix All five tutees felt the best frequency for holding the synchronous PalTalk sessions during a 3-month Unit cycle would be every two weeks. This corresponds to five 70-minute sessions or a total of six hours during a 3-month Unit cycle. Since the whole Unit is designed to take around 120 hours of student time, this means that tutees are voting for a 5% synchronous component, with the remaining 95% shared between asynchronous interactions and independent studies. This synchronous session frequency chosen by all tutees shows that they highly value regular feedback and interaction, but also want to maintain a high level of independence and flexibility in their studies. In contrast to a campus-based, face-to-face classroom, a synchronous virtual classroom is more accessible to students because it spans geographic distance. Synchronous sessions are also useful for hosting guest speakers, for special activities such as debates and presentations, and even for holding an end-of-class social gathering. However, a synchronous virtual classroom constrains participants to a single time when they must be present, which might be problematic when a class spans many time zones [21]. The asynchronous version of the virtual classroom overcomes these temporal limitations, but can result in a shortage of coordination and fewer opportunities for students to feel "in sync" with the class. Discussion boards and e-mail are simply too slow to allow group work in a virtual classroom [21,22].

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.13

The trend currently in distance education is very much towards combining synchronous and asynchronous media within the same programme in an attempt to capitalise on the evident benefits of both modes, and accommodate student learning preferences and needs [8,21]. However, getting the mix right between opportunities for synchronous and asynchronous interaction, and group and independent study activities remains a challenge [21]. The Rensselaer 80/20 Model, developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, US, combines asynchronous and synchronous learning. About 80% of a student's time is spent on self-paced studying of online materials, and about 20% in interactive, synchronous learning sessions with the instructor and other students. The developers of the Rensselaer 80/20 Model stress that these percentages are flexible and that the optimal allocation of time to asynchronous and synchronous components is a function of several variables including the nature of the course content, the age and other characteristics of the students, development costs, and faculty availability [2,3].

PalTalk: a good tool for less demanding applications Our limited evaluation results also show that users were very satisfied with the voice quality of PalTalk, and found the software easy to use. Voice quality was judged as excellent by all modem users among our participants (three tutees), a proof of the low bandwidth requirements of PalTalk. PalTalk is not alien to educational programmes. Courses already exist that are using/used PalTalk like the online LL.M. programme in International Tax offered by St. Thomas University School of Law, Miami, FL, US [23]. Older versions of PalTalk also received very favourable reviews by the Centre for Distance Education at Athabasca University, Canada (CDE) [24-26], and the latest versions of the tool are even better. For reliable audio conferencing, combined with text chatting and comprehensive moderator's capabilities, PalTalk is an excellent solution. Other solutions may be more suitable if more sophisticated functions like a live whiteboard are required. A plethora of other tools to experiment with Many tools are available today that can provide online distance learning environments with synchronous communication capabilities. They differ in price (some are free), system requirements, capabilities they offer, and whether they have been primarily designed for elearning or for business purposes, e.g., online corporate meetings/conferencing and live sales demonstrations. Some systems use standard telephony for audio (synchronised with the Internet component for other data types), while others also use the Internet for transmitting audio. The latter are known as Voice over IP (VoIP) tools, and operate in either in half or full duplex modes using

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.14

H.323, a standard that was developed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) or the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), a newer, less complicated protocol that was designed specifically for VoIP by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Systems also exist that offer either of these two methods, phone bridge or VoIP. Some systems also offer an application/service provider option to institutions that prefer this delivery model in which services are outsourced. This can help smaller institutions reduce their conferencing costs, and will also appeal to institutions lacking the technical expertise necessary to host their own internal systems. Table 2 lists some of the solutions and tools available today that can provide online distance learning environments with synchronous communication capabilities.



Moderation guidelines for successful synchronous sessions To use synchronous tools productively for online teaching, we must develop the skills and strategies of teachers working in virtual classrooms and differentiate an e-learning event from an e-meeting [27]. Following are some guidelines for moderating synchronous sessions that we have accumulated from the literature, and also tried to apply in our case whenever possible. Preparing for a session Prior to the beginning of a synchronous session, participants should be encouraged to test their hardware and practice using the conferencing software. They should have access to information that explains how the software works. The tutor should provide an agenda for the session including clear and relevant objectives. Preparatory materials may be circulated by email or made available on the course Web site [13]. Group size The ideal number of participants in an asynchronous, educational, text-based conference has been suggested to be 10 to 15, and for synchronous audio environments, some experts believe that ideal group sizes may be lower than this [13]. Promoting social interaction among participants Strategies such as personally welcoming students as they log in, and beginning the session by asking everyone to introduce themselves and/or respond spontaneously to a content-related "question of the week" could be a good way of generating a sense of trust among participants and promoting interaction [13,21].

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.15

Netiquette Don't dominate the discussion, be respectful to others' opinions, beliefs and values, and support others by encouraging and praising their contributions [13]. Harnessing the technology for value-added sessions The text chat boxes can be used as a means of sharing structured communication in parallel with the audio mode. It is helpful for tutors to have access to details of conference objectives, relevant text passages, definitions, references, and hyperlinks. These can be "cut and pasted" into the room text chat area at appropriate moments. The features of synchronous audio technology should be carefully used in order to designate speaker order [13]. The tutor's role should not be merely "reading" slides, pushing content, and lecturing; instead the tutor should also facilitate interactions and knowledge sharing between all synchronous session participants. The synchronous Web browsing feature on most collaboration tools effectively makes the entire Internet, as well as an institution's intranet, part of the synchronous classroom. Tutors are encouraged to send participants to Web sites, either as an intact class or as small groups in breakout rooms. Internet addresses must be checked again before class, and a backup plan should be ready. Participants should be informed in advance about any necessary browser plug-ins. Tutors should be aware of bandwidth issues, e.g., avoid streaming large movies to participants on 56K modems [27,28,29]. Stimulating and guiding discussions Questioning techniques used by the moderator are critical to the function of "knowledge construction". Questions can be posed once a block of content has been provided for the purpose of focusing the discussion. The tutor should also provide brief summaries of relevant course content, paraphrases of participants' contributions, comparisons and contrasts between participants' views, timely reiterations of earlier points, and appropriate thought-provoking questions [13]. Looking for new "e-cues" from students In synchronous online learning, the language of eye contact and body movement is eliminated. Those visual cues constitute 60% to 70% of the communication in traditional face-to-face settings. Even when Web cams are used, the visual cues provided remain far from ideal, as speakers are looking at cameras/computer screens rather than at real people. On the other hand, new cues are available for tutor's attention in a synchronous session, including chat between participants and private questions sent to the tutor via instant messaging, as well as participants' whiteboard activity, application sharing, and Web browsing. For example,

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.16

people chatting off-topic may mean that the current activity isn't keeping them engaged [6,13,27,29]. Having an assistant tutor A tutor/assistant setting is well fit for large groups. Emergency protocols should be established to deal with unexpected situations, e.g., if the main tutor drops offline during a session [27,29].

Conclusions and what's next Although we cannot draw any firm conclusions from just one case study, our results have highlighted the potential merits of introducing synchronous communication to an online distance learning programme to alleviate distance learners' feelings of isolation, assist in fostering a sense of belonging to a supportive learning community, and potentially improve educational outcomes. Unlike earlier studies, which used proprietary, prototype synchronous communication tools not available to everyone (e.g., [14]), we reported on the use of a free, mature and stable mainstream tool, PalTalk, to successfully conduct live virtual classrooms. To better serve our purpose, we also expanded PalTalk's capabilities by other (free) means, e.g., by using Audacity, a free audio editor, for archiving the audio sessions, which is unique to our experiment. This helped us match to some extent some of the useful functionality only found in high-end solutions, without having to make large investments, which would have been impossible to justify in our case given our very small student numbers. But technology alone is not enough to ensure the success of synchronous sessions. We also need to develop the e-skills of synchronous classroom teachers to enable them to use the tools productively. The most important guidelines for moderating synchronous sessions were briefly covered in this paper. We encourage educators (who haven't yet done so) to start using synchronous communication tools in distance learning. However, we appreciate that reliable research evidence is still required to fully convince educators and their institutions about the benefits of synchronous communication tools, and to help them decide on the most suitable solutions for their particular needs and circumstances. A robust quantitative/qualitative analysis of the benefits of synchronous communication tools in distance education is still much needed. We believe it's now prime time for conducting such analysis and producing useful results, as the technology (even that found in free, "low-end" tools) has never been as ripe and powerful as it is today. Shauna Schullo's current research at the University of South Florida, Tampa, US, is a good start in this direction [1].

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.17

A comprehensive comparative review and analysis of the various synchronous communication tools available today and their pros/features and cons/limitations is also much needed to guide educators and their institutions in choosing and implementing the most suitable solutions for their particular needs and circumstances.

REFERENCES 1. Schullo S. The Effects of Using A Synchronous Web-Based Course System On Isolation and Attitude in an Online Distance Classroom—Concept paper in preparation for a Ph.D. project in Curriculum & Instruction with emphasis in Instructional Technology, Distance Learning and Management, University of South Florida, Tampa, US (updated 2003 Aug). (Available: http://helios.acomp.usf.edu/~shauna/Research_Web/Concept%20Paper%20%20Draft%209.doc - accessed 19 Nov 2004). 2. Lister BC, Danchak MM, Scalzo KA, Jennings WC, Wilson JM. The Rensselaer 80/20 Model for Interactive Distance Learning. In: EDUCAUSE '99 online conference proceedings, 1999 Oct 26-29, Long Beach, California (Available: http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/html/edu9907/edu9907.html - accessed 19 Nov 2004). 3. Danchak MM. WebCT and the Rensselaer 80/20 Model. In: Proceedings of WebCT2000, 2000 Jul 9–12, Athens, Georgia (Available: http://www.rpi.edu/~danchm/Pubs/WebCT2000.htm - accessed 19 Nov 2004). 4. Sherry L. Issues in Distance Learning. International Journal of Educational Telecommunications 1996;1(4):337-365. 5. Hovenga EJ. Using multi media to enhance a flexible learning program: lessons learned. Proc AMIA Symp 1999;:530-534. 6. Schullo S (University of South Florida, US). What Are Synchronous Online Tools— How can they be used for teaching? (updated 2003 Nov). (Available: http://helios.acomp.usf.edu/~shauna/Research_Web/supporting_website/What.htm accessed 19 Nov 2004). 7. LaPointe DK, Greysen KRB, Barrett KA. Speak2Me: Using Synchronous Audio for ESL Teaching in Taiwan. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 2004 Apr;5(1) (Available: http://www.irrodl.org/content/v5.1/technote_xxviii.html - accessed 19 Nov 2004). 8. Mason R. Globalising Education: Trends and Applications (Routledge Studies in Distance Education). London: Routledge, 1998.

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.18

9. Bean M. Final Thoughts—Synchronous Learning The Best of Both Worlds: Part 1. Certification Magazine 2002 Jul (Available: http://www.certmag.com/issues/jul02/contrib_bean.cfm - accessed 19 Nov 2004). 10. Willis B (Engineering Outreach, College of Engineering, University of Idaho, US). Distance Education at a Glance—Guide #9 (updated 1995 Oct). (Available: http://www.uidaho.edu/eo/guide9.pdf - accessed 19 Nov 2004). 11. Thurmond VA, Wambach K. Understanding Interactions in Distance Education: A Review of the Literature. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning 2004 Jan;1(1) (Available: http://www.itdl.org/journal/Jan_04/article02.htm - accessed 19 Nov 2004). 12. Schullo S (The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Group Web site). Synchronous Distance Education Support Systems, Why Does USF Need One? (updated 2003). (Available: http://www.tltgroup.org/CommunityConnectedness/SynchTools.htm accessed 19 Nov 2004). 13. De Schutter A, Fahrni P, Rudolph J. Best Practices in Online Conference Moderation. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 2004 Apr;5(1) (Available: http://www.irrodl.org/content/v5.1/technote_xxvi.html - accessed 19 Nov 2004). 14. Chastine JW, Preston J. Designing Effective Communication Tools for Online Computer Science Courses. In: Proceedings of the 32nd University System Annual Computing Conference, 2003 Oct 22-24, Rock Eagle Centre, Eatonton, Georgia (Available: http://www.usg.edu/oiit/re/re03/proceedings/cs_comm_text.pdf - accessed 19 Nov 2004). 15. Markova T, Roth LM. E-conferencing for delivery of residency didactics. Acad Med 2002 Jul;77(7):748-9. 16. The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and University of Bath, UK. Online Masters in Healthcare Informatics (Available: http://www.healthcareinformatics.info/msc.asp - accessed 19 Nov 2004). 17. AVM Software, Inc., New York, NY. PalTalk version 5.1 for Windows® (Available: http://www.paltalk.com/PalTalkSite/ - accessed 19 Nov 2004). 18. SourceForge.net. Audacity version 1 for Windows® (Available: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ - accessed 19 Nov 2004). 19. Hodson RF. Merging Asynchronous and Synchronous Learning Networks with Web 4-M. Asynchronous Learning Networks Magazine 1998 Oct;2(2) (Available: http://www.aln.org/publications/magazine/v2n2/hodson.asp - accessed 19 Nov 2004).

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.19

20. Bean M. Final Thoughts—Synchronous Learning The Best of Both Worlds: Part 2. Certification Magazine 2002 Aug (Available: http://www.certmag.com/issues/aug02/contrib_bean.cfm - accessed 19 Nov 2004). 21. Anderson T. Teaching in an Online Learning Context (Chapter 11). In: Anderson T, Elloumi F, editors. The Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Alberta, Canada: Athabasca University, 2004:277-81. 22. Mattheos N, Nattestad A, Schittek M, Attstrom R. A virtual classroom for undergraduate periodontology: a pilot study. Eur J Dent Educ 2001 Nov;5(4):139-47. 23. Russell G. Integrating asynchronous and synchronous learning components with a commercial online writing lab (Smarthing.com). In: Proceedings of the 17th BILETA Annual Conference; 2002 Apr 5-6; Free University, Amsterdam (Available: http://www.bileta.ac.uk/02papers/russell.html - accessed 19 Nov 2004). 24. Depow J, Klaas J, Wark N. Internet Audio Products (Update). International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 2003 Apr;4(1) (Available: http://www.irrodl.org/content/v4.1/tech-xviii.html - accessed 19 Nov 2004). 25. Kane T, Baggaley J. Selection of Collaborative Tools. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 2001 Dec;2(2) (Available: http://www.irrodl.org/content/v2.2/technical_ii.html - accessed 19 Nov 2004). 26. Weaver D, Guspie D, Cox N, Baggaley J. Internet Audio Products. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 2001 Dec;2(2) (Available: http://www.irrodl.org/content/v2.2/technical_iv.html - accessed 19 Nov 2004). 27. Hofmann J. The Synchronous Trainer's Survival Guide: Facilitating Successful Live and Online Courses, Meetings, and Events. San Francisco, California: Jossey Bass Wiley, 2003. 28. Hofmann J. Synchronous Exercises from Scratch. Learning Circuits 2001 May (Available: http://www.learningcircuits.org/2001/may2001/hofmann.html - accessed 19 Nov 2004). 29. Hofmann J. E-Learning 1.0—Synchronous Team Teaching: Put Your Heads Together. Learning Circuits 2001 Nov (Available: http://www.learningcircuits.org/2001/nov2001/elearn.html - accessed 19 Nov 2004).

Address reprint requests to: Maged N. Kamel Boulos, Ph.D. School for Health (NH 5.14), University of Bath Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.20

Tables Table 1. The Questions in Our Evaluation Questionnaire and Corresponding Tutees' Responses Question (possible answers)

Tutees' responses (n=5)

How many PalTalk sessions did you attend? (all three; two; one; none)

    

What is your time zone? Were the times chosen to hold the sessions (13:00 GMT and 19:30 GMT) suitable to you? What would be the best frequency for holding such sessions during a 3-month Unit cycle? (every week; every two weeks; every month) Please indicate your Internet connection type [56K modem; broadband; other (please specify)] How easy was it to setup and use PalTalk? [answers on a five-step scale of '1' (most difficult) to '5' (most easy)] How would you rate the overall sound quality/clarity? [answers on a five-step scale of '1' (poorest quality level) to '5' (highest level)] How would you rate tutor/tutees interaction during Unit 5 PalTalk sessions that you have attended and/or listened to recorded excerpts of? [answers on a five-step scale of '1' (lowest interaction level) to '5' (highest level)] How useful did you find Unit 5 PalTalk sessions? [answers on a five-step scale of '1' (lowest level of usefulness) to '5' (highest level)] How useful were the pre- and post-session postings on Unit 5 Discussion Board, including the PowerPoint and audio excerpts from each session? [answers on a five-step scale of '1' (lowest level of usefulness) to '5' (highest level)] Did PalTalk make any positive difference to your current distance learning experience? [answers on a five-step scale with '5' denoting the highest positive difference] If offered the opportunity, would you continue attending such PalTalk sessions in the context of your current distance learning programme in Healthcare Informatics? [answers on a five-step scale of 1 (definitely no—won't attend any) to 5 (strong yes—will do my best to attend them all)] Would you recommend PalTalk to other tutors/tutees and also for holding regular distance learning seminars in Healthcare Informatics (to be open to all tutees in all Units)? [answers on a five-step scale with '5' denoting the highest recommendation level]

 

All three (2 tutees) Two (1 tutee) One (1 tutee; attended third session only) None (1 tutee unable to subscribe to PalTalk because the software site was blocked by local authorities) Times were suitable/acceptable (3 tutees from GMT+00, GMT+04 and GMT+10 time zones) Times were sometimes suitable (1 tutee from GMT+08) A tutee from GMT+03 was unable to access the software as mentioned above.



Every two weeks (5 tutees)

 

56K modem (3 tutees) Broadband connection (2 tutees, of them the tutee who couldn't download PalTalk)

 5-most easy (1 tutee)  4-easy (2 tutees)  3-average ease (1 tutee)  No reply (1 tutee who couldn't download PalTalk)  5-highest quality/clarity (3 tutees)  4-high (2 tutees) The tutee who couldn't download PalTalk judged audio quality based on the audio recordings from the live sessions.  5-highest interaction level (2 tutees)  4-high interaction (2 tutees)  3-average interaction (1 tutee) The tutee who couldn't download PalTalk judged the level of interaction based on the audio recordings from the live sessions.  

5-highest level of usefulness (1 tutee) 4-high (4 tutees)

 

5-highest level of usefulness (4 tutees) 4-high (1 tutee)

  

5-highest positive difference (1 tutee) 4-high positive difference (3 tutees) 3-average positive difference (1 tutee)

  

5-strong yes—will do my best to attend them all (3 tutees) 4 (1 tutee) 3 (1 tutee)

 

5-highest recommendation level (4 tutees) 3-average/not sure (1 tutee)

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.21

Table 2. Some of the Synchronous Communication Solutions and Tools Available Today Solutions High-end solutions (costly) Akiva WebMeeting (http://www.webboard.ora.com/products/webmeeting/index.cfm) blaxxun technologies' solutions for e-learning (http://www.blaxxun.com/en/applications/e-learning.html and http://www.blaxxun.com/en/industries/education.html) Centra (http://www.centra.com/)

Citrix GoToMeeting (http://www.gotomeeting.com/) Elluminate (http://www.elluminate.com/) Groove (http://www.groove.net/) HorizonLive (http://www.horizonlive.com/)

IBM Lotus Virtual Classroom (http://www.lotus.com/virtualclassroom) iLinc (http://www.edtlearning.com/) Interwise (http://www.interwise.com/) JDH Technologies' Web-4M (http://www.jdhtech.com/pages/education.html) Microsoft Office Live Meeting (http://www.microsoft.com/livemeeting) Sonexis (http://www.sonexis.com/)

WebEx (http://www.webex.com/services_trainingcenter.html)

Wimba Voice Direct (http://www.wimba.com/tools/vdirect.php)

Free tools (or at least offering a free basic edition) Cuworld (http://www.cuworld.com/) iVisit (http://www.ivisit.info/) LIvVE (http://www.livve.com/) Microsoft Netmeeting (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/netmeeting/)

PaltTalk (http://www.paltalk.com/PalTalkSite/)

Yahoo! Messenger (http://messenger.yahoo.com/) Experimental tools and research projects BuddySpace Project (Enhanced Presence Management for Collaboration and Messaging http://kmi.open.ac.uk/projects/buddyspace/)

Microsoft ConferenceXP platform (http://www.conferencexp.net/)

Notes

Features advanced easy scheduling of conferencing events that seamlessly connects to popular email/calendar applications like Microsoft Outlook

Can integrate with existing learning management systems like Blackboard and WebCT

Features built-in advanced session recording and archive editing capabilities Uses standard telephony for audio Features advanced easy scheduling of conferencing events that seamlessly connects to popular email/calendar applications like Microsoft Outlook Uses standard telephony for audio; offers an application/service provider option HorizonLive and Wimba have united recently; can integrate with existing learning management systems like Blackboard and WebCT; offers an application/service provider option

May be difficult to set up to connect through a proxy server or firewall Now obsolete; bandwidth/system resources footprint and requirements are considerable; offers live whiteboard functionality Bandwidth/system resources footprint and requirements are minimal; no whiteboard

Developed at the Knowledge Media Institute (KMI), The Open University, UK; KMI also produced Meet-O-Matic (http://www.meetomatic.com/), a meeting scheduler for large groups Microsoft's vision of the classroom of the future for broadband connections

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.22

Figure legend Figure 1. Screenshot of Unit 5 conference room in PalTalk v5.1. Immediately below the banner area is a one line static text field that never scrolls so is always visible. This field can be used to display a welcome message, the topic of the day, or a clickable Web link to some PowerPoint or content Web site of the day. The nicknames of conference participants are listed in the right-hand pane. The person currently speaking has a microphone icon beside his/her nickname. A raised hand icon beside a nickname indicates that the person has requested to talk (by pressing the 'Raise Hand (req talk)' button—speakers are automatically queued in the order they have requested talking). The room administrator's nickname is identified as an admin account in the group by having an @ sign preceding it (@Unit5 in this screenshot).

Boulos et al. - A synchronous distance learning communication experiment – p.23

Preview of Figure 1 (Also supplied as separate image file in PNG format.)

Figure 1