Internet Learning Volume 1, Number 1, Fall 2012

18 Internet Learning—Volume 1—Number 1—Fall 2012 Assessing Virtual Students’ Quiz Performance in Web-‐Mediated Synchronous Instruction Ed Gibson University of Baltimore Abstract Differences in teaching presence between virtual and traditional venues for a synchronous public budgeting class are examined by comparing the results of lecture-based quizzes. Previous studies, usually based on surveys, have focused on multiple aspects of virtual learners’ experiences through the community of inquiry model. This research emphasizes virtual learners’ ability to absorb lectures through web-mediated broadcasts, hosted via a commercial product. Statistical analysis indicated slightly poorer performance by virtual attendees, but with the impact limited narrowly to certain lecture topics. Ancillary uses of the broadcasts are also described, including enhancement of an asynchronous online budgeting class using recorded lectures. KEY WORDS: teaching presence; synchronous distance education; videoconferencing; transactional distance; webinar Introduction he absence of significant differences found in student perception of and performance in online and face-to-face modes of instruction (Daymont & Blau, 2008) has puzzled those teachers who feel that something of the traditional classroom experience must be lost when mediated through the Internet. Under Moore’s (1993) concept of “transactional distance,” crucial factors separating instructor and student account for the engagement or disengagement of students. To surmount distance in the learning process the community of inquiry (CoI) framework (Garrison et al., 2000; Garrison & Archer, 2007) defines three categories of presence—social, cognitive, and teaching—to engage students. Predominant application of this framework in studies of asynchronous online courses invites the exploration of CoI in a synchronous format. Garrison and Arbaugh (2007) note that “the increased ease with which media such as audio and video can be introduced into virtual learning environments may have significant implications for the structure, development, and interaction of the three presences” (p. 168). While technological advancement may encourage the type of course studied here by rectifying “limits on the technology current in academia,” there remains the potential obstacle of educators feeling “that synchronous communication compromises the convenience and/or flexibility of asynchronous formats” (Arbaugh & Stelzer, 2003, p. 19). This research may help shed additional light on those concerns. Aside from introduction of desktop videoconferencing technology, the public budgeting course at the heart of this research functioned very traditionally in most respects: modest-sized classes composed of degree-seeking students taught through predominantly lecture-based instruction. Voluntary attendance through web-mediated, synchronous broadcast of classes represented the only concession to the Internet age. But the commercial availability of affordable broadcasting technology (Furr & Ragsdale, 2002) suggests broader application in the T

Internet Learning Volume 1, Number 1, Fall 2012 | Page 19