Is a Shared Workspace Needed?

2.5.1 Determining the benefit of using a shared workspace

Lack of use can no longer be attributed to lack of an available shared workspace tool. Users in Higho* Education are very likely to have access to Microsoft NetMeeting and/or to the WebCT Learning Environment, both of which offer shared whiteboard tools. It might be, of course, that these tools do not have the necessary design features. Alternatively, it could be that the benefits of using them are not known by potential users. But it is also possible that there is no need for a shared workspace tool to support teaching and learning in text-based disciplines. It is necessary to make sure that there is a potential use for such tools. In doing so, it is possible to narrow the scope of the research still further, by finding the educational context in which shared workspace tools are most likely to offer a benefit.

The final narrowing down of the research was to look for teaching and learning contexts in which a shared workspace tool was most likely to benefit teaching and learning. Since such tools support synchronous interactions between people, the main question asked was where such interactions were most likely to be needed.

To answer the question, literature on distance education was reviewed. Synchronous interactions are not taken for granted in distance learning, as they often are in campus-based institutions, and they may be expensive to provide. Distance educators have therefore sought to find out where they are most likely to bring benefits, in order to justify the cost.

2.5.2 Interaction is good - but what is it?

A long standing goal of distance educators has been to ensure that the student experience is at least no worse than they would receive in a traditional educational setting (Shale, 1988). One aspect of this has been to promote intCTaction. Differing interpretations and terminology, however, can make it difficult to understand what is needed. In an attempt to clarify, Moore (1989) identifies three types of interaction in distance education and labels these "learner-content" "leamCT-instructor" and “leamCT-leamer" interactions. Otero et al, (2001) investigated the benefits of interaction with diagrammatic learning material, but in a scientific discipline. Moore regarded the provision of leamer-leamer interaction as the key challenge of the 1990s although, as Heamshaw (1999a) comments, the benefits were not specified in great detail. Hilman et al. (1994) pointed out that, in order to experiaice these types of interaction, a student must also interact with the medium, and suggested adding a fourth category, “leamer-intCTfece” interaction. Sharpies (forthcoming) uses the word, "conversation", rather than interaction:

"Effective learning involves constructing an understanding relating new experiences to existing knowledge Central to this is conversation, with teachers, with other learners, with ourselves as we question our concepts and with the world as we carry out experiments and exploration and interpret the results " [p^^]

A shared workspace tool has the potential to support all of these interaction types.

2.5.3 Must the interaction be with people?

Interaction with people is valued in distance education partly because it can combat the isolation which students can experience. Fulford & Zhang (1993a) and (1993b) suggest that the opportunity to interact may also increase student satisfaction with a course of study. More specifically, they identify student perceptions of their own and their group's degree of interactivity as a key predictor of their satisfaction with the course, in a distance education course using interactive television. They consider whether, in view of this, teachers should seek to promote the perceptions and, "should be more concerned with overall group dynamics than with engaging every individual equally or with soliciting overt individual responses. " [p i8] They also point to earlier research linking both positive attitudes and higher levels of achievement with interaction. Vrasidas & Mclsaac (1999) state that interaction can increase the sense of social presence in Compute Mediated Conferencing (CMC).

More direct links have been made between interaction and learning in discussions of the importance of dialogue. This might be the "internal didactic conversation" when leamCTS "talk to themselves about the information and ideas they encounter" (Holmberg, 1986)*^, but a dialogue between student and teacher is also regarded as a support for learning. Laurillard (1993) believes we need to be aware that teaches and students may conceptualise a topic differently and to find ways to resolve the differences. As a result, learning involves dialogue between teacher and student, which has to reveal the conceptual differences. At each stage, the teacher must determine how the student's conception differs fi’om what is needed and understanding this will shape the next stage of the dialogue. Moore (1989) also values teacher-student dialogue:

"The instructor is especially valuable in responding to the learners' application o f new knowledge. Whatever self-directed learners can do alone, [...] they are vulnerable at the point o f application " [...] "It is fo r reality-testing and feedback that interaction with an instructor is likely to be most valuable. " [pp 3-4].

Vygotsky (1978) outlines the process by wbich a teacher or other more expert person provides structured support to move the leamCT through a process of development. Scarcella and Oxford (1992) discuss the application of this in language learning.

Stenning et al. (1999) have suggested that dialogue is essential in a student's assimilation into the culture of an academic discipline (see also McKendree et al., 1998) and is important in overcoming hurdles such as difficult concepts or the inability to solve a problem. They suggest, further, that vicarious learning - overhearing dialogues, as well as participating in them - can be beneficial.

Having considered these points, the potential of a shared workspace tool still seems promising. Learner- content, leamCT-instructor and leamer-leamer interactions can all be supported by such tools. So, perhaps, can some kind of eavesdropping, or vicarious leaming. However, a shared workspace is a tool to support synchronous interactions and it is therefore necessary to know whether these are needed.

2.5.2 Does interpersonal interaction have to be real-time?

In distance education, asynchronous Computer Mediated Conferencing (CMC) is one of the most widespread means of providing interpersonal interactions and the advantages are well documented (Warschauer, 1996b; 1997). Synchronous interactions may take place over the telephone, through specially arranged face-to-face events, or via text-based or multimedia conferencing. Mayes et al. (1994) suggest that, in the aid, the decision about whether to provide synchronous or asynchronous interaction may be a matter of individual judgemait between the benefits of reflection, offered by CMC, and the opportunities for fast, immediate interactions, provided by synchronous media.

The student interview (see section 2.4.3) and the discussion of the need for dialogue, above, give some clues about where the greatest benefits of synchronous interaction with otha human beings might lie. One is w hae students find the content difficult. E-mail discussion could provide the necessary intaactions in many such cases but the Open University English student (intaview discussed in section 2.4.3) desaibes the advantages of the telephone over e-mail. It is,

"more immediate"; better "unless you're asking fo r a specific answer rather than an interpretation". "Ifyou're having a problem, you're not very good at explaining what the problem is, it's very difficult to put that into an e-mail" ... "especially when you want the same points reiterated three or four times. "

This supports Heamshaw's (1999a) view that the need for interpersonal intaactions increases as the content needs more negotiation‘s. In addition, he states that, w hae leam as are novices who need immediate resolution of problems, the benefits of real-time interpasonal intaactions are more evident still.

In some situations, synchronous communication is an essential part of what is to be learned. This might include any area in which dynamic intachange of ideas or opinions is needed or w hae studaits must develop interpasonal skills. One example is foreign language leaming. McAndrew et al. (1996) suggest that communications links which have sufficient bandwidth to support high quality audio and video will add value in cases w hae communication between people is a central part of the leaming task. They note that in second language leaming, dialogue provides students with practice and reinforcement of their skills, without Wiich leaming will be less efficient or will not take place at all.

Feedback is anotha important element of leaming. McAndrew et al. (1996) state that an essential component of oral practice is synchronous feedback to the speaka. Oxford et al. (1997) also stress the importance of such feedback to the language leam a, although the context is a discussion of the potential of intelligent (as in AI) tutors. Fulford & Zhang (1993b) note the previously established link between

"teacher immediacy behaviours" and leam a satisfection [p 9].

To summarise this section, although th ae is no agreed recipe for successful leaming, intaaction is valued. In certain situations, synchronous, pason-to-person interaction is needed. This suggests that a tool to support such intaaction could be usefiil, in these situations.

He states that the need for negotiation is greater where it is difficult for students to map new concepts onto prior knowledge, or where understanding o f content and associated cognitive skills must be developed through discussion with others.

2.5.3 Do users know what shared workspace tools can offer?

The benefits of e-mail and other asynchronous computer communications in teaching and leaming have been much researched (for example: LaGrandeur, 1996; Warschauer, 1997; Veerman & Veldhuis- Diermanse; 2001). The benefits of text chat tools have also been explored (for example: Warschauer, 1996b; 1997). However, there is so little mainstream use of shared workspace tools for teaching and leaming, that no corresponding body of research into educational practice with these tools exists*^. Not only do we need the benefits to be discovered but they must be explained, if they are to convince potential users. Explaining these benefits is one of the contributions this thesis makes.