14.
COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION
Alexander
J. Romiszowski
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
Robin Mason
OPEN UNIVERSITY
14.1 INTRODUCTION:
VARIETIES OF CMC TECHNOLOGIES
14.1.1 Scope of
This Chapter* (*Early versions of this chapter were reviewed by Dan Eastmond,
to whom the authors are grateful.)
Computer-mediated
communication (CMC) is a generic term now commonly used for a variety
of systems that enable people to communicate with other people by means
of computers and networks. Well-known examples of such systems include
computer conferencing, electronic mail, discussion lists, and bulletin
boards. However, there are yet other possible applications of CMC, both
in the work environment and in education and training. In the work environment,
a common and growing phenomenon is collaborative work by individuals or
groups who are separated from each other by either time or distance. This
has come to be called computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) (Grief,
1988). In the education and training context, in addition to computer
"conferencing," we can set up computer-mediated discussions
of a more-focused nature as exemplified by the so-called virtual classroom
(Hiltz, 1986, 1990), computer-mediated seminars and case study discussions
(Romiszowski & DeHaas, 1989; Romiszowski, Jost & Chang, 1990),
and computer-mediated job "performance support systems" (Gery,
1991). The variety of alternative modalities is large and growing. In
this chapter we shall limit our discussion to those approaches that have
been implemented for a few years and have therefore generated a reasonable
quantity of research on their effectiveness and operational characteristics.
14.1.2 Out-of-Scope
We will exclude
from our analysis the use of computer networks for accessing remote databases
or library systems or for the transmission of large bodies of text that
are not the basis for a person-to-person discussion and argument (e.g.,
on-line journals). We shall also exclude computer-assisted instruction
(CAI), computer-based training (CBT), and other varieties of computer-assisted
learning (see 12.2.3) in which the student
interacts with the computer but not necessarily with other people. Similarly,
we shall also exclude such systems as, for example, a group of four or
five students all together at one time and place, using one computer to
work collaboratively on some problem. As we move into the age of synergy
between the cognitive sciences, computer sciences, and telecommunications,
we are continually being faced with new possibilities for communication
over distances. As an example, the recent movement towards multimedia
computing has already found an application in computer-based audiographic
conferencing systems (see 13.4.2.2) with
multimedia support for visual communications and in desktop-video conferencing
systems (see 13.4.2.6) that, provide two-way
digitized video communication between remote sites. Voice mail systems
are also being applied in education and training contexts to enable asynchronous
audio conferencing or multiway communication between people at remote
sites (Bernard & Naidu, 1990; Romiszowski & Iskandar, 1992; Iskandar,
1994).
14.1.3 Partly-in-Scope
However, it is difficult
to draw a precise line, as we have recently seen hybrid applications that
involve a combination of computer-based instruction and computer-mediated
discussions between students at a distance (e.g.,Romiszowsky& Chang,
1992, 1994). Similarly it is increasingly common to encounter systems
that combine the use of information accessed from remote databases with
CMC interchanges between users separated from each other by time or distance.
Indeed, computer-based collaborative work almost invariably involves such
a combination. Some authors see such hybrid "fourth-generation distance
education systems" as playing a central role in future technology-based
education (Lauzon & Moore, 1989).
These new developments
will also largely be excluded from this chapter, though occasionally they
may be mentioned as future developments with implications for future research
questions. Finally, although we do not explicitly exclude all applications
of CMC in elementary and secondary school settings, we have tended to
concentrate our review on the postsecondary levels, both in higher education
and business training contexts.