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Leveraging Multicommunication in the Classroom: Implications for Participation and Engagement
Abstract
Computer-mediated classrooms are proliferating and instructors are finding creative ways to reach the digital learners of today. But with all these technology tools, making decisions that are guided by solid pedagogical practices are vital. This study relies on instructional communication, multicommunication practices, and interactivity research and how they play key roles when creating a participatory classroom environment. The tool used to address the problems outlined in this case study is webconferencing-a synchronous Web-based platform that allows the instructor to share slides, create real-time surveys (polls), and provide text chat opportunities for students who are co-located or dispersed. By leveraging the webconferencing tools and the desires of the Net Generation, the classroom in this study became more inclusive, communicative, and interactive.
... They usually engage in web-based activities on popular social media sites and access other applications during class time (Bjornsen & Archer, 2015;Whiting & Williams, 2013). Some scholars emphasize the positive impact of using digital devices in class, such as increased participation, interaction with the instructor, and active learning (Barak et al., 2006;George et al., 2013;Karataş, 2018;Kong & Song, 2015;Stephens et al., 2012), while others underline its negative impact on students' concentration, attention, comprehension, and recall of the course material (Mendoza et al., 2018;Sana et al., 2013), academic satisfaction (Wurst et al., 2008) and performance (le Roux & Parry, 2017;Ravizza et al., 2014;Sana et al., 2013). A possible explanation for these relations might be the multitasking nature of in-class Internet use (Aagard, 2015). ...
With the technological advances, the use of digital devices, such as laptops, tablets, or smartphones in the educational setting has become prevalent among young people. Accordingly, there has been an increased concern among scholars on students’ in-class Internet use for personal purposes; namely, ‘cyberloafing’. Considerable research has demonstrated the adverse effects of in-class Internet use on students’ learning environment and academic performance. The present study particularly investigates the relationship between cyberloafing behaviors and positive and negative affect among university students. It examines five different online activities including sharing, shopping, real-time updating, accessing online content, and gaming/gambling separately to gain greater insight into students’ cyberloafing behaviors. The sample consisted of 267 undergraduate students who filled out questionnaires measuring cyberloafing behaviors, positive and negative affect, and demographical information including the use of the Internet and mobile technologies. The initial analyses showed that male students had higher scores in shopping, accessing online content, and gaming/gambling than females. The latent variable analysis revealed that among different activities of cyberloafing, accessing online content and gaming/gambling were positively correlated with positive affect, while sharing was positively associated with negative affect among students. The findings emphasize the importance of evaluating cyberloafing as a part of students’ psychological well-being rather than a variable merely related to academic achievement. The findings of the study also enlighten researchers and educators in developing appropriate policies and interventions to manage misuse of the Internet in class.
... Considerable research has documented the positive and negative effects of in-class Internet use on students' classroom learning and academic performance. In some studies, scholars emphasize the benefits of using digital devices in class such as increasing students' class participation, facilitating faculty-student interaction and active exploratory learning (Barak et al., 2006;George et al., 2013;Karatas¸, 2018;Kong & Song, 2015;Stephens et al., 2012). In other studies, however, scholars lay stress upon its negative impact on students' classroom learning, attention, and academic grades (Aagaard, 2015;Abramova, et al.,2017;Chen & Yan, 2016;Flanigan & Babchuk, 2015;Foster, 2008;Fried, 2008;Kraushaar & Novak, 2010;Kuznekoff & Titsworth, 2013;Lam & Tong, 2012;Ravizza et al., 2014;Sana et al., 2013;van Der Schuur et al., 2015;Wood et al., 2011). ...
Cyberloafing, the intentional use of the Internet for personal purposes during class hours, has received the scholars' attention due to the increased access to digital devices in educational settings. Considering the possible negative consequences of misuse of the Internet on health and well-being, the current study aims to investigate the underlying mechanisms of this relationship by examining in detail the role of coping strategies. The sample consisted of 272 undergraduate students. The participants were asked to fill out items measuring cyberloafing behaviors, coping strategies (emotion-focused and problem-focused), and psychological symptoms (depression, anxiety, anger, and somatization). The results revealed that cyberloafing is positively related to psychological symptoms. Furthermore, it is observed that cyberloafing moderates the relationship between emotion-focused coping and psychological symptoms such that at high levels of cyberloafing, emotion-focused coping is associated with higher levels of psychological symptoms. These findings contribute to the existing literature on students’ psychological well-being in terms of highlighting its relation with coping strategies and problematic Internet use.
This study offers a comprehensive review of data-based research on the practice of multicommunicating, that is, the behavior of participating in multiple, overlapping conversations. Initial research has occurred in various academic disciplines and described the phenomenon with a variety of terms. The authors begin by defining multicommunication and then identifying and comparing these various other terms. Next, they summarize past research, offer revised versions of five propositions concerning multicommunicating, and identify a new concept, multicommunicator aspirational stress. Finally, they offer suggestions for both pedagogy and future research on multicommunicating.
Now that organizations and their members use many different information and communication technologies (ICTs), their communication options have expanded. A key way that people use multiple ICTs simultaneously is through the practice of multicommunicating. Thus far, this growing body of research has examined multicommunicating in contexts like online organizational meetings, in-person meetings, general work practices, and across cultures. Research suggests that multicommunicating is necessary in many organizations because it increases people's availability to others, can improve decision efficiency, and allows people access to more resources. Multicommunicating can also be problematic because it increases cognitive demands, impacts work quality, and affects working relationships.
In this study, we examined the impact of mobile phone usage, during class lecture, on student learning. Participants in three different study groups (control, low-distraction, and high-distraction) watched a video lecture, took notes on that lecture, and took two learning assessments after watching the lecture. Students who were not using their mobile phones wrote down 62% more information in their notes, took more detailed notes, were able to recall more detailed information from the lecture, and scored a full letter grade and a half higher on a multiple choice test than those students who were actively using their mobile phones. Theoretical and pedagogical implications are discussed.
This chapter serves three purposes. First, we briefly review knowledge representations to stress the implications of different knowledge types on instruction and assessment. Second, we describe a novel cognitive tool, DNA (Decompose, Network, Assess), designed to aid knowledge elicitation and organization for instruction – specifically geared to increase the efficiency of creating the domain model used within intelligent instructional systems. Third, we present an exploratory test of the tool's efficacy. Three statistical experts used DNA to explicate their knowledge related to measures of central tendency in statistics. DNA was able to effectively elicit relevant information, commensurate with a benchmark system, generating a starting curriculum upon which to build instruction, and did so in hours compared to months for conventional elicitation procedures.
Guided by the principles of learner-centered teaching methodology, a Second Life project is designed to engage students in active learning of virtual commerce through hands-on experiences and teamwork in a virtual environment. More importantly, an assessment framework is proposed to evaluate the learning objectives and learning process of the Second Life project. The assessment framework is composed of a variety of items, such as reflection essays, chat transcripts, peer evaluations, and a post project survey that measures the learning motive, attitudes, level of difficulty, and the time used to complete the project. The Second Life project was implemented in an MBA-IS course in which thirty-two students were randomly assigned to eight teams. In Second Life, each team managed an avatar and completed a series of business-related activities. The assessment outcomes indicated that students were able to apply what they learned in class into the virtual environment through their exploration and interaction. Students were motivated to learn in the Second Life project and felt that the engaging experiences helped with their learning. On average, students developed a positive attitude toward Second Life and felt that the application was not difficult to use. Lessons learned, recommendations for design issues, and implications for educators are also discussed.
Knowledge work comprises—and likely will continue to comprise—most of the value creation in the developed world, and many of the next generation of knowledge workers (sometimes called "millennials") have grown up in a world surrounded by connectivity and digital tools. They are "net natives" or "digital natives." These are people who have never known a world without the Internet, instant messaging, online games, and the possibility of persistent digital presence with networks of people. They expect immediate access to information, and they interact naturally with communities that are not bound by geographic or organizational boundaries. This is the generation who are now beginning to enter the workplace; they will become the knowledge workers of the future. Because of their growing up in a digital world, they are prepared for their careers work with a different set of skill sets than previous generations. They have developed behavioral and ethical norms in sharing and using technology that differ significantly from the previous generations. Yet as they enter the workforce, filling the the projected employment gap as millions of "baby boomers" retire over the next decade, they find themselves in organizational structures and using systems designed by and for the baby boomers. This is likely to result in tensions between the newcomers to the organizations and the structures and systems of the organizations they enter. Conceptual Framework
This meta-analysis of the experimental literature of distance education (DE) compares different types of interaction treatments (ITs) with other DE instructional treatments. ITs are the instructional and/or media conditions designed into DE courses, which are intended to facilitate student–student (SS), student–teacher (ST), or student–content (SC) interactions. Seventy-four DE versus DE studies that contained at least one IT are included in the meta-analysis, which yield 74 achievement effects. The effect size valences are structured so that the IT or the stronger IT (i.e., in the case of two ITs) serve as the experimental condition and the other treatment, the control condition. Effects are categorized as SS, ST, or SC. After adjustment for methodological quality, the overall weighted average effect size for achievement is 0.38 and is heterogeneous. Overall, the results support the importance of the three types of ITs and strength of ITs is found to be associated with increasing achievement outcomes. A strong association is found between strength and achievement for asynchronous DE courses compared to courses containing mediated synchronous or face-to-face interaction. The results are interpreted in terms of increased cognitive engagement that is presumed to be promoted by strengthening ITs in DE courses.
This study tested two theoretical models of learner empowerment as a potential mediator of teacher power use and students' ratings of instruction. Participants included 1,416 undergraduate students from four different institutions in the United States. Results of structural equation modeling provided more support for the partial mediation model than for the full mediation model, though in the final structural model, learner empowerment failed to mediate the influence of teacher power use on students' ratings of instruction. Instead, referent, reward, and legitimate power accounted for 66% of the variance in learner empowerment, while referent, expert, and coercive power accounted for 80% of the variance in teacher evaluations. Referent power emerged as the only form of power that predicted both empowerment and evaluations.
Communication skills, as defined by Burleson and Samter (1990), were examined in the teacher‐student relationship. Three questions guided this investigation: (a) with regard to effective teaching, what are students’ perceptions of the importance of communication skills and immediacy behaviors? (b) what is the relationship between students’ perceptions of teachers’ use of communication skills, immediacy behaviors, motivation and learning? and (c) do male and female students differ in their perceptions of communication skill and immediacy behaviors in regard to importance, motivation, and learning? Two studies were conducted. Study one found that students reported referential skill, ego support, and conflict management as being most important to effective teaching. Study two found referential skill, ego support, and immediacy to have a strong relationship with student learning and motivation. Some sex differences also were found and explored in both study one and two.
The concept of empowerment has been used extensively in business, politics, and education in myriad ways and with multiple meanings. In this study, empowerment is conceptualized as a form of motivation (Conger & Kanungo, 1988; Thomas & Velthouse, 1990) which can exist as either a state or a trait. We believe that communication has a major influence on students' empowerment just as communication frequently impacts such conditions as state motivation (Frymier, 1994). The long range goal, for which this research is a first step, is to understand the role of communication in the process of empowerment. The immediate goals of this research are to provide a more specific conceptualization of empowerment as applied to the classroom and to develop an instrument to measure learner empowerment. Drawing heavily on the work of Thomas and Velthouse (1990), two studies were conducted to develop and refine the learner empowerment measure and to establish the construct validity of the instrument.
This meta-analysis reviews the findings of 81 studies (N=24,474) examining the relationship between teachers' verbal or nonverbal immediacy (or both) and students' learning outcomes. The cumulative evidence indicates meaningful correlations between teachers' nonverbal immediacy and student reports of perceived learning (r=.51) and affective learning (r=.49), but only a slight correlation with students' performance on cognitive learning measures (r=.17). Teachers' verbal immediacy was found to correlate with students' perceived learning (r=.49) and affective learning (r=.49), but again the relationship with performed cognitive learning was notably smaller (r=.06). Average effect sizes were generally smaller in experimental research designs than in survey-type research, and generally larger when verbal/nonverbal immediacy was measured as a single construct. The cumulative results of this meta-analysis confirm that teacher immediacy has a substantial relationship with certain attitudes and perceptions of students in relation to their learning, but a modest relationship with cognitive learning performance.
Meetings serve an important function in organizational communication. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have infiltrated meetings and allowed a new range of communicative behaviors to emerge. This cross-organizational study relies on key elements in the social influence model to predict variables that influence engagement in electronic meeting multitasking behaviors. The observation of organizational norms and the perceptions of others' thoughts concerning the use of ICTs for multitasking during a meeting explain a considerable amount of variance in how individuals use ICTs to multitask electronically in meetings. Implications for workplace ICT use in meetings and contributions to the social influence model are also discussed.
It has long been known that differences among individuals have an effect on learning. Dick Snow's research on aptitude-treatment interactions (ATIs) was designed to investigate and quantify these effects, and more recent research in this vein has clearly established that these effects can be quantified and predicted. Technology has now reached a point where we have the opportunity to capitalize on these effects to the benefit of learners. In this article, we review some of the demonstrated effects of ATIs, describe how ATI research naturally leads to adaptive e-learning, and describe one way in which an adaptive e-learning system might be implemented to take advantage of these effects.
Organizations continue to use technology to train and share information. This study focused specifically on how trainers and trainees interact in the mediated Web conference training context. Using the rhetorical and relational goal theory of instructional communication, this 2×2 experimental study tested the effects of trainer-controlled and trainee-controlled interactivity on instructional outcomes that benefit trainers and trainees. It was hypothesized that trainer and trainee-initiated and controlled interactivity would enhance trainee learning (H1) and satisfaction with the Web conference training program (H2). These hypotheses were not supported. It was also hypothesized that trainer-controlled interactivity would enhance trainee perceptions of the trainer's credibility (H3). This hypothesis was supported with the caring dimension of credibility being most impacted when trainers allowed their trainees to interact with one another.
This chapter focuses on understanding multitasking with information and communication technologies (ICTs) in respect to interpersonal communication management, and also presents ICTs’ contribution to controlling conversations in fixed and mobile technologies. The introduction of voice mails, caller ID, and facilities to block calls from specific numbers are a few examples of the contribution of ICTs in helping subscribers or users to control their conversations. The chapter discusses e-mails and instant messaging (IM) as services that provide opportunities for recipients to avoid or manipulate messages from the sender. It presents reasons for multitasking along with comparing cognitive and social multitasking. Performance changes while practicing cognitive and social multitasking with ICTs are presented along with American college students’ multitasking patterns, the importance of social multitasking, and acceptable and unacceptable behaviors of the preceding.
Educational technologists have promised that great advances and improvements in learning and instruction would occur on account of new and emerging technologies. Some of these promises have been partially fulfilled, but many have not. The last decade of the previous century witnessed the consolidation of new approaches to learning and instruction under the banner of constructivism. This so−called new learning paradigm was really not all that new, but renewed emphasis on learners and learning effectiveness can clearly be counted as gains resulting from this constructivist consolidation within educational research. At the same time, technology was not standing still. Network technologies were increasing bandwidth, software engineering was embracing object orientation, and wireless technologies were extending accessibility. It is clear that we can now do things to improve education that were not possible twenty years ago. However, the potential gains in learning and instruction have yet to be realized on a significant global scale. Why not? Critical challenges confront instructional designers and critical problems remain with regard to learning in and about complex domains. Moreover, organizational issues required to translate advances in learning theory and educational technology into meaningful practice have yet to be addressed. The current situation in the field of educational technology is one of technification. New educational technologies are usable only by a scarce cadre of technocrats. Constructivist approaches to learning have been oversimplified to such a degree that learning effectiveness has lost meaning. As a consequence, education is generally managed in an ad hoc manner that marginalizes the potential gains offered by new learning technologies. This paper presents an overview of progress and problems in educational technology and argues that educational program management must be integrally linked with technology and theory in order for significant progress in learning and instruction to occur on a global scale.
The age is here of distance learning and new forms of e-learning. The rate at which a variety of institutions are entering the distance learning arena is increasing rapidly. In spite of the increased popularity and presence of online learning opportunities, however, many researchers and practitioners are decrying the lack of a research- validated framework to guide their design. Other researchers and practitioners point out that what works in effective traditional learning environments may or may not work in online environments. These concerns are addressed in this article through a review of relevant research and the presentation of a learner-centered framework. This framework is based on the American Psychological Association's (1997) research-validated Learner-Centered Psychological Principles, developed from over
Substantial disagreement exists in the literature regarding which educational
technology results in the highest cognitive gain for learners. In an attempt to
resolve this dispute, we conducted a meta-analysis to decipher which teaching
method, games and interactive simulations or traditional, truly dominates and
under what circumstances. It was found that across people and situations,
games and interactive simulations are more dominant for cognitive gain
outcomes. However, consideration of specific moderator variables yielded a
more complex picture. For example, males showed no preference while
females showed a preference for the game and interactive simulation programs. Also, when students navigated through the programs themselves, there
was a significant preference for games and interactive simulations. However,
when teachers controlled the programs, no significant advantage was found.
Further, when the computer dictated the sequence of the program, results
favored those in the traditional teaching method over the games and interactive simulations. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications
for exiting theoretical positions as well as future empirical research.
In an investigation of task-set reconfiguration, participants switched between 2 tasks on every 2nd trial in 5 experiments and on every 4th trial in a final experiment. The tasks were to classify either the digit member of a pair of characters as even/odd or the letter member as consonant/vowel. As the response–stimulus interval increased up to 0.6 s, the substantial cost to performance of this predictable task-switch fell: Participants could partially reconfigure in advance of the stimulus. However, even with 1.2 s available for preparation, a large asymptotic reaction time (RT) cost remained, but only on the 1st trial of the new task. This is attributed to a component of reconfiguration triggered exogenously, i.e., only by a task-relevant stimulus. That stimuli evoke associated task-sets also explains why RT and switch costs increased when the stimulus included a character associated with the currently irrelevant task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A challenge facing libraries is to develop and up date col-lec tions and services to meet the needs of the multiple gen-era tions of users with dif fering approaches to information seek ing. The different characteristics and information needs of 'Ba by Boomers' and 'Mil lennials' present a dichotomy for li bra ry service and system development. Results are reported here for two research projects that investigated habits and needs of library users and non-users. Both studies sought to iden ti fy how and why individuals seek and use informa-tion. The fi rst study deals with the fi ndings of focus group inter views with se ven ty-eight randomly selected partici-pants, and fi fteen semi-structured interviews with a subset of these par tici pants. The second study reports the results of focus group in terviews with twenty-three Millennials, and an analysis of 492 virtual ref erence services (VRS) transcripts. The studies in di cate that both generations consistently iden-tify Google and hu man sources as the fi rst sources they use for quick searches. The younger Millennials mentioned con -sult ing par ents most frequently, while the older Millennials con sult friends and professors. Baby Boomers indicate that they consult their per sonal libraries and colleagues. The fi nd-ings have im pli cations for the development of next genera-tion library on line catalogs, as well as services, including VRS.
Instant messaging (IM) has the potential to be a powerful collaborative workplace communication tool. As this information and communication technology (ICT) becomes more diffused at work, it is important to consider how the workers will cope with yet another communication option. Using a cost-minimization perspective, this proposition-building piece links three types of costs associated with IM use, delay, access, and error, with two salient workplace concerns, productivity and communication overload. The delay costs associated with IM use are considerably lower than with other ICTs. While increased use of IM can enhance productivity, it might also lead to perceptions of overload. IM access costs include organizational access, interruptions, user experiences, user differences, and generational differences-variables that influence one another and can lead to either outcome. Error costs come in two forms: single-channel factors and message quality issues. These likely lead to increased communication overload and decreased productivity. Combining IM with other ICTs is a likely moderator in this relationship and might help overcome the single-channel factors. The resulting eight propositions and theoretical model provide a predictive framework to focus future workplace IM use studies.
We use Goffmans characterization of "front" and "backstage" interaction practices to analyze how the use of instant messaging in both face-to-face and technology-mediated meetings alters interaction boundaries. In an interview study of workers in two organizations, we found that workers used instant messaging during both face-to-face and technology-mediated meetings (1) to participate concurrently in "front" and "backstage" interactions, (2) to participate in multiple, concurrent, "backstage" conversations, and (3) to manage and influence front stage activities through concurrent backstage conversations. These interactions would be either physically impossible or socially constrained without the use of instant messaging. We draw on psychology, GSS, and communication studies to consider the implications for group effectiveness.
In Experiment 1, inexperienced trade apprentices were presented with one of four alternative instructional designs: a diagram with visual text, a diagram with auditory text, a diagram with both visual and auditory text, or the diagram only. An auditory presentation of text proved superior to a visual-only presentation but not when the text was presented in both auditory and visual forms. The diagram-only format was the least intelligible to inexperienced learners. When participants became more experienced in the domain after two specifically designed training sessions, the advantage of a visual diagram–auditory text format disappeared. In Experiment 2, the diagram-only group was compared with the audio-text group after an additional training session. The results were the reverse of those of Experiment 1: The diagram-only group outperformed the audio-text group. Suggestions are made for multimedia instruction that takes learner experience into consideration.
Research indicates that although students are the ultimate 'beneficiaries of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-based' higher education learning their voices have been neglected in its development. This paper attempts to redress this imbalance by illuminating students' perceptions of the use of Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) in an undergraduate accounting module. The findings suggest that students are in favour of using EQL in a supportive role only. Interviewees rejected the idea of replacing human tutors with machine tutors and they believed that most of their learning occurs in tutorials and ranked these as the most important component of the module.
Chronic media multitasking is quickly becoming ubiquitous, although processing multiple incoming streams of information is considered a challenge for human cognition. A series of experiments addressed whether there are systematic differences in information processing styles between chronically heavy and light media multitaskers. A trait media multitasking index was developed to identify groups of heavy and light media multitaskers. These two groups were then compared along established cognitive control dimensions. Results showed that heavy media multitaskers are more susceptible to interference from irrelevant environmental stimuli and from irrelevant representations in memory. This led to the surprising result that heavy media multitaskers performed worse on a test of task-switching ability, likely due to reduced ability to filter out interference from the irrelevant task set. These results demonstrate that media multitasking, a rapidly growing societal trend, is associated with a distinct approach to fundamental information processing.
There is a “prevalence of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in education,” and a concern for its negative psychosocial consequences and lack of effectiveness as an instructional tool. This essay identifies five variables in the CMC research literature and shows their moderating effect on the psychosocial, instructional experience of the CMC classroom. These influences are: the medium, the social presence, the amount of student and instructor effort involved in classroom interaction, the student's identity as a member of the class, and the relationships developed among the instructor and students. The essay articulates ways in which a CMC classroom instructor can strategically address the challenge of these influences to develop positive CMC classroom interactions, relationships, and learning experiences.
We offer the concept of multicommunicating to describe overlapping conversations, an increasingly common occurrence in the technology-enriched workplace. We define multicommunicating, distinguish it from other behaviors, and develop propositions for future research. Our work extends the literature on technology-stimulated restruc- turing and reveals one of the opportunities provided by lean media—specifically, an opportunity to multicommunicate. We conclude that the concept of multicommunicat- ing has value both to the scholar and to the practicing manager. Scenario 1: At five o'clock in the afternoon (local time), a crew drilling for oil in Indonesia encounters a problem. The field engineer con- tacts a twenty-four-hour-a-day technology cen- ter in Texas (local time, four o'clock in the morn- ing). The engineer in Texas—with access to multiple communication technologies—inter- acts with two other engineers while responding to queries from Indonesia. Within forty-five min- utes the engineer in Texas has worked out a solution and communicated it to the crew in Indonesia (Amin et al., 2001). The company esti- mates that such practices save the company more than $200 million per year (Smith et al., 2001). Scenario 2: While supervising employees and
This study hypothesized that teacher nonverbal immediacy and credibility interact to impact student motivation and affective learning. Utilizing an experimental 2×2 (immediacy high/low, credibility high/low) factorial design, 586 students were exposed to one of four written scenarios and completed motivation and affective learning scales. Results indicate that students experience more affective learning and motivation with highly immediate, highly credible teachers and experience the least motivation and affective learning with low-immediate, low-credibility teachers. Further, students experienced more affective learning with low-immediate, high credibility teachers, compared with high immediate, low-credibility teachers. This study indicates that effective teaching is a function of both personal communication between teachers and students as well as teacher credibility.
How can we help students to understand scientific explanations of cause-and-effect systems, such as how a pump works, how the human respiratory system works, or how lightning storms develop? One promising approach involves multimedia presentation of explanations in visual and verbal formats, such as presenting computer-generated animations synchronized with computer-generated narration or presenting illustrations next to corresponding text. In a review of eight studies concerning whether multimedia instruction is effective, there was consistent evidence for a multimedia effect: Students who received coordinated presentation of explanations in verbal and visual format (multiple representation group) generated a median of over 75% more creative solutions on problem-solving transfer tests than did students who received verbal explanations alone (single representation group). In a review of 10 studies; concerning when multimedia instruction is effective, there was consistent evidence for a contiguity effect: Students generated a median of over 50% more creative solutions to transfer problems when verbal and visual explanations were coordinated (integrated group) than when they were not coordinated (separated group). Finally, in a review of six studies concerning for whom multimedia instruction is effective, Attribute x Treatment interactions indicated that multimedia and contiguity effects were strongest for low prior knowledge and high spatial ability students. Results are consistent with a generative theory of multimedia learning in which learners actively select, organize, and integrate verbal and visual information.
Asynchronous online discussion has been shown to enhance communication between students and to elicit many cognitive indicators. Nevertheless, historians have often been reluctant to make use of such instructional technology. Students enrolled in a fully online world civilization course corroborated qualitative research findings regarding the cognitive indicators associated with asynchronous discussion. In contrast, students in face-to-face web-enhanced hybrid world civilization classes exhibited less dramatic cognitive indicators in asynchronous discussion, perhaps due to the greater maturity in terms of age and experience of the fully online students. Students in the hybrid class, however, did indicate that participation in online discussions enhanced their engagement in face-to-face in-class discussions. However, asynchronous discussions did not prompt the face-to-face students to achieve authentic dialog between students in the classroom, and neither group managed to transcend problems of inequitable participation in small groups. There remains a need for further research on how to transplant documented advantages of asynchronous discussion into the hybrid classroom.
This paper describes research and development efforts related to adaptive technologies, which can be combined with other technologies and processes to form an adaptive system. The goal of an adaptive system, in the context of this paper, is to create an instructionally sound and flexible environment that supports learning for students with a range of abilities, disabilities, interests, backgrounds, and other characteristics. After defining key terms and establishing a rationale for adaptation, we present a general framework to organize adaptive technologies. We then describe experts' thoughts on what to adapt and how to adapt and conclude with a summary of key challenges and potential futures of adaptive technologies.
Part one of this paper highlights how students today think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors, as a result of being surrounded by new technology. The author compares these “digital natives” with the older generation who are learning and adopting new technology naming them “digital immigrants”.
This study examines how communication related anxieties are related to individuals' use of computer mediated communication (CMC). 225 respondents were given the PRCA‐24, WAT, and RAT tests. They were also given a measure of computer anxiety. Respondents were then asked to indicate the extent to which they used e‐mail, interactive messaging, or web browsers. The results indicate that there is no relationship between communication anxieties and CMC use. Computer anxiety appears to be the main predictor of e‐mail, chat, and web use.
Students viewed a computer-generated animation depicting the process of lightning formation (Experiment 1) or the operation of a car's braking system (Experiment 2). In each experiment, students received either concurrent narration describing the major steps (Group AN) or concurrent on-screen text involving the same words and presentation timing (Group AT). Across both experiments, students in Group AN outperformed students in Group AT in recalling the steps in the process on a retention test, in finding named elements in an illustration on a matching test, and in generating correct solutions to problems on a transfer test. Multimedia learners can integrate words and pictures more easily when the words are presented auditorily rather than visually. This split-attention effect is consistent with a dual-processing model of working memory consisting of separate visual and auditory channels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This article reports findings on the use of a partly auditory and partly visual mode of presentation for geometry worked examples. The logic was based on the split-attention effect and the effect of presentation modality on working memory. The split-attention effect occurs when students must split their attention between multiple sources of information, which results in a heavy cognitive load. Presentation-modality effects suggest that working memory has partially independent processors for handling visual and auditory material. Effective working memory may be increased by presenting material in a mixed rather than a unitary mode. If so, the negative consequences of split attention in geometry might be ameliorated by presenting geometry statements in auditory, rather than visual, form. The results of 6 experiments supported this hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This paper is based on a multiple-case study of the learning process in three asynchronous computer conferences. The conferences were part of the distance learning component in doctoral degree courses in computing technology in education offered at an American university. The conferences were analyzed from a number of perspectives, the emphasis in this paper being on the dimensions of interaction and cognition. Although similar interaction patterns were identified in the three conferences, each conference also showed distinctive patterns, which were related to factors such as instructor moderation, structuring of the instructional task and the emergence of student moderation of the discussion in specific threads. Three models were used to evaluate cognition: Bloom's Taxonomy (Bloom, Engelhart, Furst, Hill, & Krathwohl, Handbook 1, Cognitive Domain, Longman, London, 1956), the SOLO Taxonomy (Biggs & Collis, Evaluating the Quality of Learning: The SOLO Taxonomy, Academic Press, New York, 1982) and the Practical Inquiry Model of Cognitive Presence (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, The American Journal of Distance Education 15(1)7, 2001). Correspondences were found among the three models and all three conferences were characterized by higher-order thinking. When higher-order thinking was defined in terms of the distributed cognition occurring during practical inquiry, the advanced phases of cognition were found to be related to synergistic interaction in the conference threads. The findings serve to define the knowledge-building processes occurring in asynchronous computer conferencing. They also lend support to views of learning as dialogical and to social constructivist approaches to learning and teaching.
This paper reports qualitative findings from a study that investigated Australian university staff and students’ perceptions and use of current and emerging technologies both in their daily lives and in teaching and learning contexts. Forty-six first-year students and 31 teaching and support staff from three Australian universities took part in interviews and focus groups. This paper examines how students and staff reported on their use of new technologies in their daily lives, their stated reasons for using those technologies, and their beliefs about the benefits and limitations of using technologies as teaching and learning tools. The findings question assumptions that have been made about a “digital divide” between “digital native” students and their “digital immigrant” teachers in higher education today, suggesting we need to develop a more sophisticated understanding about the role technologies play in the lives of both students and staff. A better understanding of student and staff perspectives will allow for more informed decisions about the implementation of educational technologies in today’s higher education institutions.
E-learning is emerging as the new paradigm of modern education. Worldwide, the e-learning market has a growth rate of 35.6%, but failures exist. Little is known about why many users stop their online learning after their initial experience. Previous research done under different task environments has suggested a variety of factors affecting user satisfaction with e-Learning. This study developed an integrated model with six dimensions: learners, instructors, courses, technology, design, and environment. A survey was conducted to investigate the critical factors affecting learners’ satisfaction in e-Learning. The results revealed that learner computer anxiety, instructor attitude toward e-Learning, e-Learning course flexibility, e-Learning course quality, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and diversity in assessments are the critical factors affecting learners’ perceived satisfaction. The results show institutions how to improve learner satisfaction and further strengthen their e-Learning implementation.
The aim of this study was to determine whether the addition of interactivity to a computer-based learning package enhances the learning process. A sample of 33 (22 male and 11 female) undergraduates on a Business and Management degree used a multimedia system to learn about the operation of a bicycle pump. The system consisted of a labelled diagram of the pump, followed by a description of twelve stages in its operation. The sample was randomly divided into two groups who used either an interactive (I) or a non-interactive (NI) version involving both images and text. The I system differed from the NI system by the incorporation of control of pace, self-assessment questions and an interactive simulation. Students then undertook two different types of tests to assess their learning: one designed to evaluate their memory by recalling facts from the lesson, and another designed to assess their understanding through solving novel diagnostic problems. Students using the I system outperformed those using the NI system in the problem-solving test, and needed less time to complete both memory and problem-solving tests. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that interactive systems facilitate deep learning by actively engaging the learner in the learning process. This suggests that educational designers who seek to foster deep learning (as opposed to mere factual recall) should adopt the incorporation of interactivity as a design principle.
New communication technologies, increased virtual communication, and the intense pressure for managers and employees to be continually available and "online" are giving rise to a new and emerging workplace behavior: multicommunicating (MC), or the managing of multiple conversations at the same time. Whereas researchers in psychology and management have studied the phenomenon of multitasking, few have examined multitasking where one juggles not just multiple tasks but multiple people and often multiple media at the same time. We use the spiral theory of incivility to investigate the relational outcomes of MC from the perspective of the communication partners being juggled. Our research extends this theory by further exploring the starting point of the spiral and—through the application of social exchange theory—suggesting several antecedents to incivility that are important in the context of MC. Employing a survey methodology, both qualitative and quantitative data were collected to test the theory (n = 324) and were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis and structural equation modeling. The results suggest several factors influencing the partner's perceptions of focal individual incivility during MC, including who initiates the conversation, whether one of the conversations being juggled is useful to the other conversation, the focal individual's performance during the conversation, whether the focal individual is more accessible to the partner, and whether the partner is certain of or only suspects the existence of the other conversation. Further, partners' perceptions of these factors are influenced by their individual orientations toward MC. Finally, the partners' perceptions of the focal individual's incivility influence their interpersonal trust in the focal individual.
Some scholars worry that Instant Messaging (IM), by virtue of the ease with which users can initiate and participate in online conversations, contributes to an increase in task interruption. Others argue that workers use IM strategically, employing it in ways that reduce interruption. This article examines the relationship between IM and inter- ruption, using data collected via a (U.S.) national telephone survey of full-time workers who regularly use computers (N = 912). Analysis of these data indicates that IM use has no influence on overall levels of work communication. However, people who utilize IM at work report being interrupted less frequently than non-users, and they engage in more frequent computer-mediated communication than non-users, including both work-related and personal communication. These results are consistent with claims that employees use IM in ways that help them to manage interruption, such as quickly obtaining task-relevant information and negotiating conversational availability.
This paper describes instances of multicommunicating—or engaging in more than one conversation at a time. It uses a critical
incident technique to explore successful and unsuccessful incidents of multicommunicating from the perspective of 201 MBA
students. Additionally, we asked which media individuals pair together when multicommunicating. We found very frequent pairing
of the telephone (which provides partial compartmentalization but no flexibility of tempo) with electroric text (which provides
both compartmentalization and flexibility of tempo). We also found that respondents provide a variety of reasons for labeling
a particular episode as “unsuccessful.” In many cases the person seemed to describe an episode as unsuccessful when the person
or a communicating partner had exceeded his or her ability to juggle multiple conversations as demonstrated by communication
errors.
This work presents a systematic analysis of the psychological phenomena associated with the concept of mental representations - also referred to as cognitive or internal representations. A major restatement of a theory the author of this book first developed in his 1971 book (Imagery and Verbal Processes), this book covers phenomena from the earlier period that remain relevant today but emphasizes cognitive problems and paradigms that have since emerged more fully. It proposes that performance in memory and other cognitive tasks is mediated not only by linguistic processes but also by a distinct nonverbal imagery model of thought as well. It discusses the philosophy of science associated with the dual coding approach, emphasizing the advantages of empiricism in the study of cognitive phenomena and shows that the fundamentals of the theory have stood up well to empirical challenges over the years.
First published in 1958, this book has become recognized as a classic in its field. It marked a transition between behaviourist learning theory and the modern 'information processing' or 'cognitive' approach to perception and communication skills. It continues to provide a principal starting point for theoretical and experimental work on selective attention. As Professor Posner writes in his Foreword to the reissue: 'it remains of great interest to view the work in its original form and to ponder those creative moments when the mind first grasps a new insight and then struggles to work out its consequences.
Instructional communication researchers, by focusing attention on "how-to" matters and forays into conventional areas of study (i.e., immediacy, apprehension), neglect a nuanced treatment of student and teacher identity. Such a perspective is relatively disembodied and fails to engage actual classroom interactions. By engaging in autoethnographic analysis of their experiences with instructional technology, the authors reveal a more complex understanding of how instructional identities interact. In particular, the authors advocate an understanding of power that is distributed, embodied, and malleable.
In the 1980's a major transformation took place in the computing world: attention was finally being paid to making computers easier-to-use. You know the history: in the 1970's folks at Xerox were exploring so-called personal computers and developing graphical, point-and-click interfaces. The goal was to make using computers less cognitively taxing, there- by permitting the user to focus more mental cycles on getting the job done. For some time people had recognized that there would be benefits if users could interact with computers using visual cues and motor movements instead of testu- al/linguistic strings. However, computer cycles were costly; they could hardly be wasted on supporting a non-textual interface. There was barely enough zorch (i.e., computer power, measured in your favorite unit) to simply calculate the payroll.
Classroom Presenter is a Tablet PC-based interaction system that supports the sharing of digital ink on slides between instructors and students. Initial deployments show that using the technology can achieve a wide range of educational goals and foster a more participatory classroom environment.