The methodology of the comprehensive research can be found in the report, but here’s an overview of the seven chosen universities:
1. Web conferencing at the Department of Applied Finance and Actuarial Studies at Macquarie University
Activity: Remote and face-to-face students were randomly grouped into two breakout rooms where they had to evaluate the written responses to an exam question.
Main technology: Adobe Connect web conferencing system.
Support technology: Text chat and notes pod.
Problem: Student lack of understanding of how to use the technology.
Solution: Have a teaching aide, either in-class or online provide operational assistance.
2. Room-based video conferencing at the University of Western Sydney
Activity: Combination of lecture and small group activity with a report back to the whole group. Video conferencing was used to bring together students on three campuses of the University.
Main technology: Access Grid.
Support technology: Multiple screens, area for presentation slides, and an interactive whiteboard.
Problem: An inability to hear the questions asked by students at remote sites and difficulty in making out the details of the material shared through the whiteboard.
Solution: Better technology support through bandwidth.
3. Web conferencing at Charles Stuart University
Activity: An interactive review of medical science material for an upcoming exam; Q&A sessions with the teacher, summaries presented graphically, group work of identification and labeling tasks. Students were paired both on-campus with on-campus and remote with remote, then later paired on-campus with remote.
Main technology: Adobe Connect.
Support technology: Teacher wearing a microphone, built-in response tools, and text chat.
Problem: Communication between on-campus students was noticeably smoother than that between remote students, with the absence of an audio channel apparently making it difficult to coordinate the labeling task.
Solution: Better support tools for remote students.
4. Web conferencing at Southern Cross University’s Gold Coast campus
Activity: Remote student participation in introductory statistics tutorials; Q&A and group work with on-campus students working individually or in groups with other on-campus students, and remote students using breakout rooms online.
Main technology: Blackboard Collaborate.
Support technology: Teacher tablet loaded with Collaborate, projection screen, and lectern microphone.
Problem: The teacher having to repeat spoken conversations from the face-to-face classroom into the microphone so that the remote students could have a sense of the on-campus discussion.
Solution: A non-stationary microphone.
5. Virtual worlds for Chinese language learning at Monash University
Activity: Mandarin language students were allocated into groups and were tasked with making soup in the kitchen of a restaurant within the virtual world. Students had to ask where to find ingredients, interact with outdoor market vendors, et cetera. Face-to-face students were paired with remote students.
Main technology: Second Life.
Support technology: A pre-constructed role-playing learning scenario within Second Life, and voice and text chat.
Problem: Initial communication was difficult between on-campus and remote students.
Solution: More prompts by the teacher.
6. Web conferencing at Curtin University
Activity: An interactive lecture with the teacher on the topic of sexology; material presentation and Q&A sessions.
Main technology: Blackboard Collaborate.
Support technology: iPads for on-campus students, text chat, and an interactive whiteboard.
Problem: None noted.
7. Virtual worlds for teacher education at Macquarie University
Activity: To become familiar with virtual worlds for the purpose of learning; incorporated teacher presentations, whole-class discussions, and group-based brainstorming and design activities with groups of face-to-face students working with remote students.
Main technology: AvayaLive Engage.
Support technology: Video stream from on-campus into the virtual world and virtual world note pods.
Problem: Network and system issues affected the quality of the student experience.
Solution: Better technology infrastructure.
[The full case studies can be read in the report.]
(Next page: Key takeaways)
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