Role of video conferencing affordances in remote education during COVID-19
Open Access
- Author:
- Wu, Yanting
- Graduate Program:
- Information Sciences and Technology
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- June 07, 2021
- Committee Members:
- Mary Beth Rosson, Program Head/Chair
John M. Carroll, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
S. Shyam Sundar, Committee Member
Chun-Hua Tsai, Committee Member - Keywords:
- COVID-19
videoconferencing
remote education
affordance
usage - Abstract:
- The outbreak of coronavirus forced schools to swiftly transition from in-person classes to online, making educators and learners alike rely on online videoconferencing platforms. Such platforms, Zoom for instance, offer audio-visual channels of communication and include features like chat, breakout room, and “raise hand” that are designed to approximate the classroom experience. However, it is not clear how such features impact students’ learning experience and what are the underlying factors that influence their engagement and satisfaction. How teachers utilize these features also remains unexplored. To find out the answers, two surveys were conducted (N = 176, N = 256) in different stages of the pandemic to measure students’ usage of three types of videoconferencing affordances and their class engagement, interaction, and satisfaction after the transition. One interview study (N = 10) was conducted to understand common and innovative ways of how teachers use videoconferencing affordances in remote teaching. Results showed that student's usage was positively correlated with class-related outcomes. Perceived anonymity, nonverbal cues and comfort level were found to be the key mediators. I also found that students’ self-usage of video cameras in class and learning experience was influenced by their classmates, suggesting a social effect. Perceived fatigue was found to moderate the influence that classmates' usage of video has on comfort level. Interview data suggested three major affordances--manipulating virtual space, managing views and visibility, and engaging students were used by teachers. These results offer insights into remote education and communication theories. They also provide design implications for digital tools in online remote education.