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From: kevinc@cs.athabascau.ca (Kevin Crocker)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Re: Audio & Video Needed for Group Support?
Keywords: pleasing; interesting; useful; confusing; clear;
Message-ID: <644@aupair.cs.athabascau.ca>
Date: 4 Feb 91 17:52:20 GMT
References: <616@aupair.cs.athabascau.ca> <20995@crg5.UUCP> <1991Jan23.061359.27341@agate.berkeley.edu> <165@intrbas.UUCP>
Organization: Athabasca University
Lines: 40

kenn@intrbas.uucp (Kenneth G. Goutal) writes:

>I think (though I could be wrong) that what you benefit from in one-to-one
>face-to-face interaction vs e-mail is not *emotional* feedback, or even
>the presence of feedback, but *immediacy* of feedback.  In a typical

A very interesting and vital observation.  Here at Athabasca University
(we are almost entirely a distance education institution)
we have extensive experience with non-immediate communication with
groups and to date the groupware metaphor has largely been conducted
with paper/mail transfers.  What we have found is that there is a
significant amount of evidence (in our scenario) that indicates that
the most critical factor in the success (don't ask how we define this
one) of students is the immediacy of feedback.  Thus we have instituted
a hot-line telephone system, electronic mail access that guarantees
responses within 24 hours to supplement our regular telephone system.

We are now investigating the application of the groupware concept to
the instructional design as opposed to the instructional delivery of
university level education.  In this light we are experimenting with
computer aided communication through e-mail, file sharing, computer
conferencing, file transfer, etc.  Most of these experiments have
become defacto operations systems rather than experimental pilot
projects.  However, we would like to go much further into audio and
video transmission on the development side.  Thus the reason for my
interest in this dicussion. 

 We have just received a major project ($1.5 Million) to develop 
a Instructional design system.  WE are also about to invest heavily 
in a system wide document management system, although the emphasis 
will definately be broader than "document".

Groupware is a vital part of what we do here and we need to get a
handle on the technological alternatives.

Kevin
-- 
Kevin "auric" Crocker Athabasca University 
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