14.6 FINDINGS TO DATE

What do findings from research to date tell us about computer-mediated communication? This section presents findings from that research, addressing first the general concerns surrounding CMC use, and then looking at various contexts that use CMC: educational, organizational, and network contexts.

14.6.1 General Concerns

14.6.1.1. Equitable Access. Those who advocate the use of CMC, especially for distance education, argue that this technology allows for greater access at reduced costs by reaching rural areas, providing communication access for those who cannot attend class because of hectic life schedules, physical limitations, or institutional barriers (Dirr, 1990).

However, others counterargue that computer usage in general is accessible to wealthier, high-achieving male European-American students who live in urban areas (Faddis, 1985; Neuman, 1991; O'Connor, 1992). White (1991) reports how relatively few Americans have access to CMC technology. The situation in other developed countries (e.g., Britain) is similar (Kirkwood, 1993), while in the developing world, computer technology often significantly increases the gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots." Most CMC use is institutional, but, as Eastmond (1993) reports, CMC use often depends on adults' occupational status and socialization as to whether they value this sort of experience.

A policy study directed towards providing home-computing access to distance learners at the British Open University (Jones, Kirkup, Kirkwood & Mason, 1992) found that a rental policy of low cost for the necessary equipment was particularly important for women and less-advantaged students. They found that other family members rarely use CMC equipment, but that it requires large life-style changes and investment in time for learning the technology. Novice students required more help, leaning on tutors who often resented providing the necessary support. These studies were based on extensive survey questionnaires to British Open University students using computers for home-based learning as part of the university's home-commuting policy begun in 1988.

14.6.1.2. Information Quality. The larger the CMC network, the richer the resource for information exchange. However, depersonalization also occurs, and so individuals are less likely to know the position, background, and expertise of those with whom they communicate. This may call into question the credibility of the information and opinions that are gathered over the networks. In the case of some of the research on the British Open University's use of computer conferencing, there was concern that on-line messages held little important information (Grint, 1989), while others asserted that they do (Graddol, 1989). Eastmond (1992) claims that much of students' valuing of CMC activity stems from their conception of learning, corroborating in part Grint's (1989) argument of CMCs being perceived as trivial or not dependent on student's perceptions of the nature of technical information being objective, procedural, and concrete.

14.6.1.3. Social Impact in Distance Education. Students' concern over their physical health surfaced in a couple of studies (Eastmond, 1993; Harasim, 1987), particularly with eye strain, but this did not seem to be a central issue with most CMC users. Some researchers expressed concern that CMC will build global networks while reducing proximate neighborhood and family ties, that CMC may alter peoples' work and communication patterns significantly and may dehumanize interpersonal interaction (Eastmond, 1992; Zuboff, 1988). Levinson (1990) counters (without a research basis) that the technologies are more genuine than we imagine in conveying human communication.

Few studies directly addressed on-line relationships. Boshier's (1988) investigation of computer conferences on listserves found that friendly relationships developed in spite of reduced cues, that participants became more casual and humorous over time, and that this medium invites more equitable participation. Phillips (1990) found that students who participated in an electronic "student lounge" maintained their attitude of positive potential for this medium after direct experience with it. They enjoyed chatting, and making friends and professional contacts, and felt less isolated.

Zuboff (1988) did extensive fieldwork and analysis over a 10-year period on the impact of computerization on companies, looking at manufacturing automation, clerical-work restructuring, the implementation of a database management system, and communications using computer conferencing. She describes worker alienation and the social breakdown of the workplace as new management styles emerged. A study with similar themes (Attewell & Rule, 1988) reviewed literature on organizational changes as a result of computerization.

14.6.1.4. Intellectual ]Impact on Conventional Courses. The purpose of most of the uses of CMC is to reduce problems caused by large geographic distances between colleagues. However, some very important effects from local uses can also be realized. Kuehn (1988) suggests that electronic mail can extend classroom discussions, increase the ease of evaluating student assignments, increase the connectedness of students and faculty, and increase both the social as well as an intellectual impact from this means of communication. Muffo (1987) also suggests that personal communications themselves can change due to the inclusion of computers, and particularly electronic mail, in the curriculum.

One of the problems observed by Grabowski (1990) was the need to increase opportunities for intellectual and social exchange among students. This includes new students who enter the program each semester and need to adjust to a new environment, establish new friends, adjust to a new pattern for studying, and juggle time for classes and life events, as well as seasoned students who are at the dissertation stage. Grabowski (1990) observed that there were several subpopulations of students: those who were heavy users of CMC, light users, one-time users, and those who did not use it at all. In order to evaluate the perceived usefulness, Grabowski mailed surveys to students who were currently enrolled, both users and nonusers. The principle findings can be summarized as follows:

• Full-time doctoral students without children are the most likely e-mail users.
• A high percentage of the users send e-mail to fellow students, friends, and faculty for the purpose of exchanging information or discussing ideas, and a lower number send e-mail to exchange social information.
• For nonusers, "no need" (40%) was reported most as the reason for nonuse. Technical skills (13%) and convenience (14%) were not as important.

14.6.2 Educational Issues

Educational CMC takes place within an institutional context, with leaming as the desired outcome of this activity. This section focuses first on various leaming concerns that surface with the use of this medium. Next, it shifts to address institutional concerns, such as students and their

participation, instructors and teaching, administration and implementation, and staff and support issues.

14.6.2.1. Teaching/Learning Concerns

14.6.2.1.1. Content and Objectives. The characteristics of CMC, although changing rapidly, still shape the instructional and comunication activities they support. Perhaps the most obvious question to arise is whether CMC, which is primarily text based, is equally suited for various subject matters. Florini (1990) suggests that subjects such as science, mathematics, and the arts do not lend themselves to CMC instruction because of its inability to convey audio, visual, and kinesthetic information. Wells (1992) surveyed the types of courses being taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in the following subject areas: computer science, foreign language, group performance skills, history, humanities, physics, statistics, education (various types), engineering, management, and media studies. Wells suggests that subject matter that involves discussion, brainstorming, problem solving, collaboration, and reflection is best suited to CMC.

14.6.2.1.2. Interactivity and Interaction Processes. Interactivity, that is, the capability of participants to receive specific feedback of any length to their contributions from any other member of a CMC discussion, is touted as a primary advantage of this medium (Moore, 1991; Harasim, 1989; Feenberg, 1989). Studies of message exchange patterns support the perspective that communication patterns are more democratic and group discussion oriented than would be found in classrooms or other telecommunications settings (Harasim, 1989; Levin, Kim & Riel, 1990; Siegal, Dubrovsky, Kiesler & McGuire, 1986). Eastmond (1993) suggested that CMC wasn't inherently interactive, but instead depended largely on participation frequency, timely contributions by members, and the nature of messages posted. Computer conference participants who got behind found the medium to be rather didactic and passive.

CMC has been proclaimed as uniquely suited for collaborative study (Harasim, 1989; Harasim, 1990b; Kaye, 1992). Eastmond (1993) found that a competitive model of computer conferencing was equally adaptable to study through CMC study, and the collaborative model did not work equally well for all students. Siegel et al. (1986) investigated the effects of CMC on communication efficiency, participation, interpersonal behavior, and group choice. They found that CMC groups interacted less and took longer in the decision-making process than similar groups in face-to-face discussion. On the other hand, the CMC group members tended to behave as equals, whereas there was evidence of social inequality and of unequal participation in the face-to-face group.

Romiszowski and Chang (1992) have performed several studies investigating techniques by which the CMC environment could promote the same level of cognitive processing and interactivity that may occur in a one-on-one tutorial between a student and an expert teacher. The strategy employed has been to use an initial, partially prepared exercise that invites a student to create a structural "picture" of all related elements that are seen to be relevant to the solution of a particular complex, multifaceted problem. This complex student response is then the basis of a CMC discussion that may take place either between student and tutor or between a group of students commenting on each others' alternative solutions. This adaptation of a methodology called "structural communication" has shown itself to be effective for implementing such interactive teaching methods as the Harvard Business Case methodology and, furthermore, reducing the amount of human facilitator or monitor interaction necessary to lead the exercise to a satisfactory conclusion (Romiszowski, 1990; Romiszowski & Chang, 1992; Chang, 1994).

14.6.2.1.3. Learning Strategies and Tactics. Several researchers have looked at the learning strategies students employ when engaged in on-line study. Burge (1993) used structured, open-ended interviews to study how students think they learn through CMC. He found a set of learning strategies with similarities to both those proposed by cognitive psychologists and adult educators for other means of study, with the addition of a group of interpersonal and logistical factors for the "management of the metacontext of learning." Learning strategies he found students using fell into the following major categories: making choices, expression, group interaction, and the organization of information. Eastmond (1993) found distance students who took courses through computer conferencing to transfer learning-to-learn approaches from other instructional contexts. These transferred elements included study patterns, time scheduling, working with others, establishing attitudes, setting goals, seeking task and structure information, and demonstrating competence. However, the nature of this novel instructional context required them to develop idiosyncratic ways of dealing with the on-line learning environment. Some CMC-specific strategies they employed included dealing with multiple discussions, information overload, asynchronicity, textual ambiguity, and processing the on-line information and determining what contributions to make.

14.6.2.1.4. Learner Control and System Control. Some proponents of CMC see the principal use and value of the medium as an emancipatory communication medium, totally under control of the users, for whatever purpose they wish to use it. There is no doubt that such a medium of communication may be valuable in education and was a missing aspect in most conventional distance education systems of the past. The CMC-based common room/coffee-shop is a phenomenon to be welcomed. However, it seems difficult to support the argument that this is the only valid use of CMC systems in education.

CMC has also been promoted (Mason, 1988) as an excellent medium for self-directed learning as a defining characteristic of adult learning (Knowles, 1984). Self-direction manifests itself when students voluntarily elect to take a CMC-based course, determine how, when, and where they will study, and negotiate the learning activities and content focus they will pursue during the course. Eastmond (1993) found that distance students taking CMC courses exhibited varying patterns of self-direction. They were confident about their abilities to manage their schedule and the study process to produce necessary learning results, but they wanted the assignments clearly set forth for them by the instructor.

There are also problems that need to be addressed when using CMC as an integral part of a course. Some of these spring from the asynchronous qualities of the communication process. Unlike face-to-face instruction, or real-time teleconferencing, in which the participants communicate during one fixed period of time, CMC allows one to choose when to respond to another participant's comment. This offers the benefit of allowing one to think out a more structured, more complex response, and the benefit of being able to participate at times that are personally convenient. This same factor can also generate communication difficulties. One problem is that it may promote procrastination, leaving the response for later, and, perhaps in some cases, failure to respond altogether. This adds to the complexity of the developing structure in that students may, at any time, be inputting new comments related to different stages of the development of the topic. Not only is the discourse "multilever' in that several different topics may be in simultaneous discussion, but it is also "multispeed" (Romiszowski & DeHaas, 1989).

Another problem originates from the distance communication aspect of CMC. Although distance communication (see Chapter 13) allows one to participate in a discourse that may otherwise be impossible, it also introduces some difficulties of control of the discourse. The instructor loses some of the benefits offered by a face-to-face group situation. When the discussion drifts off the topic, it often takes longer, and is more difficult, to bring the group back on task. There is also the problem of knowing who is and is not participating. There is only knowledge of who is contributing. How can we know who is "lurking" in the system, so that we can try to draw them into the discourse (Romiszowski & De Haas, 1989)?

14.6.2.1.5. Outcomes and Their Evaluation. Assessment of student achievement in CMC courses versus those offered through correspondence or classroom formats is reported in only a few studies. Cheng, Lehman, and Armstrong (1991) compared achievement, attitudes, time-on-task, and interaction between groups involved in each of the three types of instructional formats for a graduate course about microcomputers. They found that the CMC group scored lower on achievement tests and attitudes than the other two groups, but time-on-task was the same. Completion rates were greatest for those attending class, but a study group at one CMC site improved completion rates there. In another study, Phelps et al. (1981) compare both the effectiveness and the costs of a computer-mediated communication course in the U.S. Army. In this study, the CMC students tended to score somewhat higher than those taking the conventional courses. However, the CMC courses had higher dropout rates. As regards costs, once the initial conversion and start-up costs are recovered, the CMC courses were found to cost 48% less than the equivalent conventional courses.

14.6.2.2. Implementation Concerns

  14.6.2.2.1. Students and Participation. Just a few studies touch on the distance students' life situation, goals, and personal factors that affect their pursuit of a formal education. Robinson (1992) looked at demographic characteristics of distance students at a Canadian university and found that the majority of them were working women, pursuing an education part time. Most of them had prior university experience. Gibson (1991) found that self-confidence impacts student success in an external degree program. Factors that enhanced self-confidence in a learning context were instructor empathy, success in completing work, progress toward a goal, and students' perceived understanding of themselves and the educational process they were undergoing.

By studying the hard-copy transcripts of a computer conferencing course, Harasim (1987) plotted the participation patterns of the students. She found that the smallest group, full-time graduate students, used the system during the weekdays, but the majority of the class who worked full time Monday through Friday used the system most heavily on the weekends. Unsurprisingly, the heaviest usage on weekdays was in the evening, but participation was spread throughout the day on weekends.

Likewise, little research addresses distance students' perceptions of education and their distance learning. Manninen (1991) found class differences to affect participation in courses taught using computer conferencing. Middle-class students found it easier to access the computer network, and they discussed actively on the system. In contrast, working-class students contributed less in reactive responses, but their participation increased over time. Roberts (1990) found that distance university students held learning and career-oriented goals, not social and cultural ones. These students were self-confident, independent, achieving, and persistent. However, differences existed on goals and academic self-concept by gender, class, experience, and income level. Distance students were more confident and learning oriented than their conventional counterparts.

Several studies explored student perceptions of the online communications medium generally, not just computer conferencing. Grabowski, Suciati, and Pusch (1990) found that graduate students felt that e-mail was effective for exchanging social and academic information with their peers and professors. Those who chose not to use it did so because they felt no need for it, found access to the computer network inconvenient or unavailable, or simply had not learned the necessary skills for using the technology. Grint (1989) found that students thought it difficult to carry out conversations in asynchronous time and felt that they were overloaded with trivial information before being able to contribute. They were inhibited by their impression of a large, "lurking," anonymous audience who would read their contributions. Students perceived that unless they contributed facts, which was difficult in the new subject-matter area they were studying, their additions to the conference were unimportant. Therefore, they disliked reading the opinions of other students on-line. Status and gender also affected participation among those he studied.

Harasim's (1987) research of two graduate courses taught through computer conferencing is probably the most telling about how students perceive this medium. Using both quantitative and qualitative approaches, she found that students spent longer on-line than they were required by the course, and they felt that this medium was effective. Students listed the advantages of computer conferencing as increased interaction, access to a group, the democratic environment it fostered, the convenience of access, their control over the instructional process, the motivation they had to participate, and the textual nature of the computer conferencing medium. The disadvantages they mentioned about this medium were the information overload they felt, the medium's asynchronicity, which caused delayed responses, difficulty they felt following on-line discussions, the loss of visual cues with this communication, increased access inconvenience, and health concerns about computer radiation.

Other studies support Harasim's conclusions while adding some additional insights. Hiltz; (1986) found that students commented among themselves and more highly valued computer conferencing when it was a supplemental activity of the course and not the main medium of instruction. Students said that convenience was the greatest advantage of computer conferencing, but the awkwardness they felt in communicating with unknown persons was its greatest liability. Robinson (1992) found that convenience of access at the student's own time schedule was more important than the separation in proximity of distance learners. McCreary and Van Duren (1987) found that those of higher or lower status submit written contributions less frequently to computer conferences. Graduate students' participation was more active and horizontal (among fellow students) than was the on-line activity of undergraduates. Differences in content areas didn't affect participation. Scollon (1981) found that the Native Alaskan students she studied were easily confused by the excessive and scattered communication on-line. Instructors couldn't attend to the many students in the course (60 people), and the volume of communication was particularly difficult for everyone to process. The students welcomed a return to the audio cues of teleconferencing.

  14.6.2.3. Instructors and Teaching. The role of the computer conferencing teacher is quite different from the traditional classroom instructor or lecturer. Course design becomes more important, and preparation entails the structuring of conferences and topics, and the design of activities and small group work. During a computer conferencing course, the teacher must adopt the role of facilitator not content provider.

The facilitator needs to pay careful attention to welcoming each student to the electronic course, and reinforcing early attempts to communicate. In the first few weeks, I make sure that my notes in the conference specifically reference prior student notes. I send many individual messages to students suggesting resources and generally reaching out to students. The coaching function is key to easing the students' transition to computer-mediated communication (Davie, 1989, p. 82).

While the teacher's role is particularly time consuming in the initial phase of a computer conferencing course, it usually reduces as students take over the discussions. Nevertheless, some reports indicate that teachers spend up to twice as long, overall, to deliver a course via computer conferencing as they do to give a course by traditional means.

Given that CMC is so time consuming, why are so many teachers willing to teach electronically? The reason lies in the reported rewards: tremendous satisfaction in working towards the goal of developing independent, questioning learners. The literature abounds with comments from teachers recording their personal learning experience in adopting this medium (Gunawardena, 1992). One of the additional rewards for computer conferencing lies in the flexibility it gives them to work at their convenience, not at set times.

14.6.2.3.1. Administrators. Most small-scale uses of computer conferencing begin at grass-roots level with a few enthusiastic teachers, but its eventual acceptance within a large institution usually requires backing at the highest level.

Implementing a program of on-line teaching can raise major policy issues. For example, there is the question of incentives and remuneration of faculty who teach via telecommunications. Very few institutions currently acknowledge the extra effort and time involved in teaching via CMC, with additional payment. Furthermore, the academic promotion process does not adequately reward faculty for taking on teleconferencing duties. Lack of recognition continues to be a significant deterrent to growth and acceptance among faculty, This issue is bound up with the much more complex and long-term issue of whether the use of CMC saves organizations money.

There is growing acceptance of the notion that turning to CMC is not a route to major cost cutting but rather a means of extending access to courses, improving the quality of current provision, and meeting the need for flexible learning that cannot be accommodated otherwise.

14.6.2.3.2. Support Staff. Teaching via computer conferencing requires a high degree of familiarity with the system's features and architecture, and the training and support of teachers and students are critical aspects of any educational program using this medium. While it is relatively easy to train teachers and students to use a CMC system, it is much more difficult to teach the skill of moderating educational computer conferencing: how to promote discussion, devise activities, and encourage interaction. Experienced on-line teachers have written guidelines (Brochet, 1989; Keff, 1986), but in the end, teachers have to find their own style through practice.

Institutions with large CMC programs often operate a help desk for queries about equipment and communications systems; smaller programs usually have to provide some staff resource to give advice to students with technical difficulties. However, given the technical complications of the current telecommunications scene, some organizations adopt the policy of expecting students to turn to their local dealer for this support.

Managing and supporting equipment through its lifetime is another issue that some institutions face for the first time with telecommunications. For some organizations, a whole new unit and type of staff are necessary. Many underestimate the extent of this element of telecommunications. According to Maloy and Perry (1991), to understate the dollars required to operate, maintain, upgrade, and train to the system is to undercut its assimilation into the instructional process. When this happens, technology remains supplemental, making it even more vulnerable to cost reductions.