Abstract
A companion paper describes the development and evaluation of the
on-campus format of a novel Multimedia QoS Networking course that
introduces students to the basic principles and current developments
in this emerging field through a combination of lecture, topic exploration,
and paper critiquing and discussion. This paper presents: (i) the
transformation of the course from the on-campus-only format to a
hybrid on-campus/distance learning format, and (ii) the comparative
evaluation of the two formats and different forms of the paper critique
discussions in the hybrid format. While the lecture (40% of class
time) and topic exploration (30% of class time) components could
be transformed with standard approaches to the hybrid on-campus/distance
education with streaming class video format, the transformation of
the highly interactive paper critique discussions (30% of class
time), which are crucial for developing a deep understanding of the
course content, proved challenging. Three different forms of the
paper critique discussion were tested and evaluated: 1) in-class
discussion (with distance students visiting the campus or viewing
the video of the recorded discussion), 2) asynchronous Web-based
discussion board, and 3) synchronous Web-based live chat. The two
course formats as well as the different forms of the paper critique
discussion in the hybrid course format were evaluated through extensive
student surveys and interviews. The results indicate that student
attitudes were approximately equally positive toward both course
formats. There was a tendency for the asynchronous discussions to
be perceived more positively in terms of learning effectiveness and
effectiveness of interaction with the peers than the live chat discussion,
while the live chat was preferred in terms of interaction with the
instructor. These results and the reported student feedback to the
open-ended survey questions and the interviews provide valuable guidance
for designing interactive seminar-s- - tyle courses on emerging topics
in a hybrid format.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Proc. of ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) |
Pages | S3H1–S3H3 |
State | Published - Oct 2005 |