Facilitating Effective Student Participation in an Online Environment

• Main Authors: Nanda van der Stap, Risa Blair
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Institute of Informatics and Cybernetics 2018-02-01
• Series: Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics
• Subjects: learning styles; vocal feedback; online environment; student satisfaction; teacher-student relation
• Online Access: http://www.iiisci.org/Journal/CV$/sci/pdfs/EB118HC18.pdf

This study aims to show how student participation in an online environment can be effected through voice feedback. For many Universities student evaluations are an important issue. Student evaluations and student results are largely dependent on student-teacher relations. Establishing such a relation is a challenge in an online environment because the teacher is not physically present. As such, it is essential that means are found to achieving a personal relation within the online environment. We have endeavoured to lower the threshold to such contact by exploiting tools that enable a more personal online relation. Vocal feedback to assignments or discussions allows for a more personal approach that could still be deemed professional in ways that solely written feedback cannot.. Two studies were conducted with two groups of students: one in the Netherlands and one in the United States. Both groups were students in a higher vocational institute who received part of their education in an online environment. Most students favoured vocal feedback and whilst some students are more visible learners and preferred to read feedback rather than listen to it, they still felt that contact between them and the teacher had become more personal as a result of vocal feedback.