abstact

studies of effective learning and teaching on information highway focus on technological application. (mcmahon, gantz & greenberg, 1995; treadwell, leach, kellar et al., 1998) few researches emphasize on group interaction in learning process. criticism against the learning concludes with insufficient interaction while other studies defense it creates learning community across geographic and time boundaries. (saye, 1998; shrivastava, 1999)

the aim of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of group dynamics in synchronous networked learning. the pilot study used in this paper is a joint project in which two groups of students attend engineering drawing classes at two different locations. one of the groups is live teaching while the audio and video signals are transmitted to the other group simultaneously through intranet. the result expects multi-dimensional interaction enriches learning in networked environments. it also implies that the extension of this learning mode will support a new concept of virtual learning area networks (vlan) that may globalise learning and teaching in future.

keywords

synchronous networked learning, virtual learning area network, classroom communication, interactivity, peer group dynamics and peer-to-peer interaction

1. introduction

traditional classroom mode is not enough for the ‘informationalised’ community to pursue learning. (tiffin and rajasingham, 1995) studies on new learning modes focus on the advancement of information technology for delivering learning in dynamic and flexible environment. (mcgreal, 1998; tuathail and mccormack, 1998) internet-based, web-based or network-based learning and teaching is articulated as an effective mode for many educators while different commercial or individual-initiated systems/platforms claim to facilitate effective learning with the environment. (britain and liber, 1999; shrivastava, 1999; petracchi and patchner, 2000) other studies of effective learning and teaching on information highway are limited on the quality of technology. (mcmahon, gantz and greenberg, 1995; treadwell, leach et al., 1998) their result of effectiveness is derived from the advance technology that delivering learning to any location and at any time through internet makes virtual learning community and individualized learning possible.

piotrowski and vodanovich’s synthesis of recent research (2000) reviews the criticism against internet-based teaching ‘… as instructional, technical, or personal, and that specific reservations about employing this technology may be closely related to the type (and degree) of technological use.’ indeed, few researches report on the quality of learning and teaching through internet, in particular, the role of interactivity. would synchronous peer group dynamics and peer-to-peer interaction affect quality of learning in networked environment? the objective of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of interactivity in synchronous networked learning.

2. networked learning: a new paradigm?

terminology used to describe networked learning is various with different studies. common names include internet-based (piotrowski and vodanovich, 2000), web-based, networked-based, computer-mediated communication (treadwell, leach et al, 1998), networked, learning organization (brien and andrea et al, 1996), distributed learning environment (tuathail and mccormack, 1998) or virtual learning environment (tiffin & rajasingham, 1995; britain and liber, 1999).

indeed, this paper suggests networked learning as a generic description of learning activities organized through any scale of computer networking. it encapsulates the above names and systemizes distributed environment in three levels. intranet level is for learning within an organization and extranet level is for learning within inter-organisational context. besides, internet level for learning involves global participation. the fundamental concept behind the levels is the attempt to deliver learning as flexible and scalable as possible to potential learners at different geographical locations and time zones through computer-based network. the learning embodies the following characteristics:

1. interactivity is synchronous and asynchronous through video conference, data conference, e-mail and bulletin board (britain and liber, 1999; bork, 2000);

2. peer group supports learning (whitt, nora et al, 1999);

3. learning resources can be accumulated, retrieved and shared; and

4. customized learning pace and style are possible (bork, 2000).

the core of interactivity refers to peer group dynamics and peer-to-peer interaction that affects learning effectiveness in synchronous networked environment. bork (2000) indicates the shift of information-transfer learning paradigm to the tutorial-learning paradigm in which interactivity, individualization and adaptation are important factors. he also admits the limitation of computer-based tutorial learning compared with excellent human tutor but the focus is on learners’ learning that ‘…can be much more effective, both cognitively and affectively, than it has been in the past and is now.’

based upon bork’s framework, this paper examines the effect of interactivity quality in synchronous networked learning. the assumption is that controlled and structured pedagogic elements will lead to proactive classroom communication. then, group dynamics and peer-to-peer interaction will foster the effect of peer tutorial learning in synchronous networked learning. the investigation emphasizes on two factors, pedagogy and classroom communication. interactivity that embodies group dynamics and peer-to-peer interaction through class activities emerges in the process of communication. these would become the crucial components in the joint project.

3. research design of the joint project

to contribute to the research gap objectively, this project adopts a comparative approach for designing research methodology and data collection. recording the interactivity of synchronous networked learning at intranet level, three groups of students were organized at different locations of the university campus for a series of computer-aided drawing classes. for pilot purpose, the research team selects two groups only. the lecturer delivered his lesson content in ten classes for the groups simultaneously through intranet. the research team anticipates the brandwidth problem at extranet and internet levels and the expensive cost of using isdn data lines. the research setting is likely generalized to these two levels with the adjustment of technological requirements if other funding sources will be available in the future.

3.1 pedagogy design

one senior lecturer is invited to implement the teaching through intranet to the two groups of students at different locations. the lecturer was teaching in one location and the process was recorded and transmitted to another location where the support staff helped the students whenever needed. during teaching, computer-based slide presentation was used to give the students a general idea of the topic in each session. demonstration has been given out through real objects so that students’ learning was reinforced. besides, class activities were carried out and group discussion was facilitated. simple exercises and a short test were completed in the session. question and answer was to probe the students to rethink the topic at the end of each session. through these activities, patterns of communication and interactions would be formulated.

the lecturer participated in this project will enrich his teaching experience in managing courses delivered on synchronous networked learning environment in the future. in return, observers observe the progress at each location and record the teaching and class activities. then, the author compared the student-teacher interactivity and participation in the two locations through different research tools. initial finding will help further investigation.

3.2 research methods

about thirty students were divided into two groups at two different locations. one group (gp1) learnt the topics with the presence of the lecturer while the teaching is simultaneously transmitted to the other group (gp2) at different locations through intranet audio-visual distribution.

video recording for the teaching process, class activities and discussion is for cross-analysis and complements with structured observation and interview. to achieve objective analysis, questionnaire was also designed for collecting the students’ opinion.

3.3 documentation

observation summary was provided after each session and the two groups of students were filled out the questionnaire right after the last session. review of the tapes was done after the session and notes was made wherever applicable.

4. findings

the pilot study has collected valuable data through the above research design for cross-data analysis. to obtain objective outcome, statistical description of the questionnaire data from twenty-eight students (fourteen in each group) has being compared. the result has also mapped with the video recording. at last, the quality data of the group interview and open-ended questions are used to counter check with the analysis. the overall results are as follows:

4.1 pedagogy

pedagogy is a significant factor in and affects the result of this learning study. in this case, it performs two roles -- the process of knowledge and skill transmission and facilitation of learners’ initiation to learn. according to the observation and the data, the teacher professionally performed the roles. the class was started from presentation to spell out learning objective and distribution of hands-out to students. the pedagogic sequence was theory, step-by-step demonstration, hands-on experience, practice, problem solving and guiding questions for students to discover the answer. the students of gp2 react stronger responses to these pedagogic elements than gp1, in particular, the step-by-step demonstration. the reason is that images enlarged and projected on the big screen stimulate the students’ learning.

the students of the two groups show that their experience of pedagogy stimulates their learning in the networked environment although gp1 indicates the teacher pays too much attention to gp2. the students express the support of networked learning because this is a global trend. they also realize the teacher leads the class activities including discussion and questioning and agree their passiveness in learning is a general phenomenon in hong kong.

4.2 classroom communication

tiffin and rajasingham (1995) suggest learning and teaching are communication system in which learning and teaching are taken place. the communication is best illustrated in figure 1 extracted from their book, in search of the virtual class.