Now someone who knows state mottos might very well accuse me of plagiarizing New Mexico's motto ("Crescit Eundo"... "It Grows as it goes."), but I would say that such a person doesn't have enough to do on his hands.
By "flow" I'm not referring to streams and rivers but to psychological experiences in connection with distance learning. In the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, author Li-Ting Huang describes "flow" as a person's total involvement and focused attention on something. During which there is no self-consciousness but one is in full control of her own actions. And also during "flow", one does not notice the passage of time.
In other words, time flies while you're having fun.
Huang suggests that achieving "flow" is a worthy goal for designers of distance learning, and it is accomplished through creating experiences that are colorful, vivid, and contain some attractive multimedia presentation. That experience could simply be reading content, such as this, or it could be engaging others in online discussions, or in collaborative initiatives.
When the topic is "multimedia" that could mean just about anything that isn't simply text. Multimedia could arguably involve the inclusion of images, animations, interactive games or assessments, video clips, and even virtual 3D environments, I suppose.
It does indeed include synchronous forms of distance education, such as webinars or web-conferencing, and it does indeed include something that is daunting for some: your video image.
It's not easy to be in front of a camera. Most people I know don't like it, and shun any attempt to appear before the lens. But conversely, most people I know who see the video image of an instructor like it. Does on-camera content do anything for learning? There are some initial findings in research on synchronous distance education that throw doubt on the question. In Taylor's study (2011), many of those surveyed felt uncomfortable with not being able to make eye contact in one-to-one video communications; or surprisingly to me, not being able to read non-verbal expressions. That could be a result of herky-jerky video images caused by low-quality bandwidth, as well as the awkward experience of looking at a camera lens to simulate eye contact. Still, Taylor did note that video conferencing could be a cost-effective alternative to face-to-face discussions and long distance travel.
There are some way-out solutions being offered to improve the awkwardness of one-on-one video communication. (See "VGo" at http://youtu.be/_7JMVEcqieo).
But, being in front of a camera doesn't necessarily mean doing so in a webinar. You can record video clips for availability on-demand, or asynchronous forms of distance learning.
Whatever you do, with video or without video, the main thing is to create a sense of presence, or "telepresence". The definition of that word, varies, but I like the one that Huang uses "a feeling of connectedness and social belonging".
It will no doubt improve the flow of distance education, especially for learners.
Therefore, Incedo cum flumen. ("It goes as it flows"). That's the best translation I can come up with from an online latin dictionary.
Works Cited
Huang, L.-T. e. (2011). A Comparative Study on the Flow Experience in Web-Based and Text-Based Interaction Environments. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking , 14 (1/2), 3-11.
Taylor, T. (2011, Jul). Video conferencing vs talking face-to-face: is video suitable for supportive dialogue? International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation , 392-403.
Below is a video version of this blog, recorded and produced with Adobe Audio Visual Communicator. (Let me know what you think!)
1 comments:
Very nuseful article. Sue Hunt
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