Mastersthesis,
INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF A VIDEOCONFERENCE COURSE Keywords- Student, teacher, perception, teaching
(2000)
Abstract
The Faculty of Arts and Science and the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of
Lethbridge (U of L) developed a plan to offer a number of first year courses to three
remote communities via videoconferencing beginning in the fall 2005. To prepare, a pilot
project was conducted during the spring semester of 2005 for an instructor, the
administrators, and support staff to gain experience using videoconferencing as a
teaching tool. This pilot divided a first year English course where half the students
participated face-to-face with the instructor, while the other half participated via
videoconferencing in a classroom a few minutes away. Halfway through the semester the
two student groups switched classrooms. The purpose of this manuscript is to document
all the aspects of this pilot project from the room design and technology, to the
perceptions of those involved. It provides an analysis of the instructor’s perspectives
based on several interviews, student experiences and perspectives based on data gathered
from an online survey, and the phenomenological observations of the researcher. The
result produced a collection of valuable and practical information that may guide others
in their implementation of videoconferencing in both the classroom and for other uses
such as meetings, professional development workshops, and presentations. It is intended
to inform instructors, technical support personnel, administrators, and policy makers at
the U of L, across Alberta, and elsewhere. In spite of the many technical and logistical
problems that occurred during this pilot, both the instructor and the students found the
experience to be valuable. The instructor has expressed interest in teaching using
videoconferencing again and all but two of the students indicated they would participate
in a videoconference class again.
