International Internet Based Video Conferencing in Distance Education: A Low-Cost Option

Graeme Byrne, Lorraine Staehr
InSITE 2002  •  Volume 2  •  2002
Higher education institutions in Australia are increasingly embracing the Internet as a tool to support academic programs offered in the Asian region. The purpose of this study is to describe a low cost internet-based international video conferencing system and to assess staff attitudes toward its use to deliver lectures and tutorials to Hong Kong. The students are enrolled in undergraduate business programs at a regional campus of an Australian university. The video conferencing system is used to deliver around 50% of the course content with the remainder delivered in “face-to-face” mode requiring the lecturer concerned to travel to Hong Kong. To evaluate the use of the videoconferencing system, semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff involved in the program. The results revealed an overall positive attitude toward the technology itself, but revealed some shortcomings in its effectiveness as a teaching tool.
Internet, desktop videoconferencing, distance education, staff perceptions
1211 total downloads
Share this
 Back

Back to Top ↑