International Journal of Educational Telecommunications

Volume 2, Number 4 , 1996

Contents

Evaluation of Computer Conferencing Tools for Conducting Collaborative Seminars on the Internet

Paul Juell, Daniel Brekke, Ronald J. Vetter, and John Wasson 233

First Amendment Rights and the Internetin K-12 Schools: Legal Precedent From Print Media

Russell I. Rothstein 249

Making the Most of Practical Experience in Teacher Education With Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

Som Naidu and Peter Olson 265

Peer Interaction in the Televised Class: A Contextual Approach

Jane Jorgenson, Bela Joshi, and Richard Monroe 279

Gaining Insight Into K-12 Educators' Learning Experiences With Computer-Mediated Communications Via Qualitative Inquiry

David J. Ayersman and Virginia Hines 291

The Western Australian Telecentres Network: A Model for Enhancing Access to Education and Training in Rural Areas

Ron Oliver and Gay Short 311

Evaluation of Computer Conferencing Tools for Conducting Collaborative Seminars on the Internet

PAUL JUELL

DANIEL BREKKE

RONALD J. VETTER1RONALD J. VETTER1

JOHN WASSON

In this paper, we discuss collaborative conferencing environments in terms of their effectiveness and problems in a virtual classroom setting. Our focus is on the collaborative software, computing platforms, and the communications link between participants. We also develop a set of requirements that must be supported by conferencing tools in order to create an effective virtual classroom environment.
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First Amendment Rights and the Internet in K-12 Schools: Legal Precedent from Print Media

RUSSELL I. ROTHSTEIN

U.S. Supreme Court rulings on First Amendment rights in schools provide precedent for the extent to which schools may control student use of the Internet. The First Amendment rights of students may be waived if the speech is disruptive or if the student signs an Acceptable Usage Policy document. A school may not remove material in the library, which may include a digital library as well, without extenuating circumstances. A school has the power to restrict information in order to "inculcate community values" but that duty does not extend to non-compulsory domains such as school libraries or possibly extracurricular Internet usage. The public nature of the Internet impedes the right of schools to restrict student speech; however, schools may restrict speech that bears the imprimatur of the school, possibly including email messages and Web page accesses in which the school's name is recorded.
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Making the Most of Practical Experience in Teacher Education With Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

SOM NAIDU

PETER OLSEN

Teacher-trainees (like trainee engineers and doctors or nurses) often encounter numerous incidents as part of their practical experience sessions which comprise learning opportunities. They have generally been found to be inadept at recognising the learning opportunities these incidents present and relating these to theoretical components of their study. They have to be helped to recognise the events which present them with learning opportunities and to relate these to theory. The study that is reported in this paper aimed to do just that.

It sought to build a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment which utilised, in addition to the printed study materials, the capability of personal computers and the existing telephone communication systems to deliver subject matter content and the necessary interaction to learners in a networked environment using the principles of cooperative learning. Where most contemporary instructional systems take a passive view of the learning process, this CSCL environment sought to build an alternative model of learning and teaching utilising the principles of cooperative learning.

Students' impressions of the use and value of this environment and its potentials for learning enhancement were collected with an online questionnaire. On the whole students found this learning and teaching environment to be more flexible and resourceful. Not only did it allow for asynchronous communication, it made available to students a larger pool of information in the form of exposure to the experiences of increased numbers of students. These attributes of the CSCL environment enabled a greater degree of meaningful interaction among learners and instructors on recognising learning opportunities and on relating practice to what was learned in class.

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Peer Interaction in the Televised Class: Contextual Approach

JANE JORGENSON,1 BELA JOSHI, AND RICHARD MONROE

Research on classroom behavior suggests that students in traditional (face-to-face) classrooms engage in a variety of interactions with their peers, and that these interactions are not always confined to fulfilling the teacher's agenda. Less attention has been given to understanding the characteristics of unofficial classroom subcultures in televised classes where there is no teacher physically present. This qualitative study used a combination of student interviews and classroom observations to examine social and conversational practices among students at remote sites. While students were reluctant to engage in cross-site discussions, they participated freely in side conversations with classmates at their sites and thus fulfilled a variety of needs. Some implications for the use of more group-based instructional strategies in televised teaching are discussed.

Any classroom contains two interpenetrating worlds: the official world of the teacher's agenda, and the unofficial world of the peer culture (Cazden, 1988).
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Gaining Insight Into K-12 Educators' Learning Experiences With Computer-Mediated Communications Via Qualitative Inquiry

DAVID J. AYERSMAN

VIRGINIA HINES

As schools all over the world struggle to gain access to the Internet, many opportunities arise for sharing information that prevents every school from recreating the wheel. This study provides insight to the experiences of 57 K-12 teachers who are participating in a 3-year federally funded teacher networking project titled Building Educational Communities. Through this study, these teachers share their experiences in learning to use computer-mediated communications and the impediments and excitation entailed by these experiences. Data sources examined include individual and focus group interviews, email communication patterns, and unedited email comments from the teachers involved. Thematic trends in the types of email communications sent to a group discussion list are discussed as well as communication patterns throughout a 200-day time frame. Establishing an initial group of trained teacher mentors is recognized as a factor critical to the project's success.
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The Western Australian Telecentres Network: A Model for Enhancing Access to Education and Training in Rural Areas

RON OLIVER

GAY SHORT

This paper describes the activities and operations of the Western Australian Telecentres Network. The telecentres are small enterprises in rural communities in Western Australia that contain a range of information technology and telecommunication resources to provide members with increased education, training, communication, business, and employment opportunities. The telecentres have emerged from a need to provide increased access to education in the rural regions. They are owned and run by rural communities with small amounts of financial and administrative seeding support from a central government agency. There are now nearly 60 telecentres in Western Australia. This paper describes the history of the Network and the factors that have influenced its rapid growth over the past 4 years. The paper discusses the achievements of the Network and the telecentres in their quest to become self-funding providers of education, communication, training, and enterprise within rural communities.
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