Anyone who has had a romance over the Internet can understand that you don’t have to meet someone face-to-face to interact on a personal level, says Pat Fahy, associate professor, Centre for Distance Education at Athabasca University in Alberta.
Fahy rarely sees any of his students in the traditional classroom setting yet he knows a lot about them from conferencing online. The majority of Fahy’s curriculum is taught via the Internet. Students go online in a virtual classroom setting and participate over the Internet. In most cases he meets his students for the first time at the convocation ceremony.
“I would never say face-to-face learning is dead. However, anyone who believes that’s the only way it should be done is wrong too. Technology-based training is effective and it’s a great way to learn,” says Fahy.
In the last five years, more and more organizations have adapted this philosophy and online conferences have become popular. Last year, the Internet conferencing market generated US$266 million in revenue according to Frost and Sullivan, a North American consulting firm, and it’s estimated that number will grow to US$2 billion by 2008.
When people consider the use of online conferencing, they’re usually selecting this medium over a face-to-face meeting, says Lyndsay Green, principal with Lyndsay Green & Associates, consultants in applications of learning technologies, in her report Online Conferencing: Lessons Learned. Green’s report — written for Human Resources Development Canada — analyzes the use and effectiveness of Web conferencing compared to face-to-face interaction, and outlines the pros and cons of the medium. The paper is based on Green’s experiences as a moderator for several Web conferences.
“By understanding the medium’s strengths and weaknesses, you’ll be able to push online conferencing to its limit, while at the same time, setting realistic expectations,” she says.
The pros
•Savings on travel costs — Online conferencing can be a cost-effective way to bring together a group of geographically dispersed people.
•Bringing in other resources — It’s easy to source and circulate new material to participants by “hot linking” to other sites or posting new material on the site. Experts can also be included online.
•The transcript — Since all the information is stored, people can come in and out of the conference and still catch up with the proceedings, and an individual can scroll quickly through comments of interest. “In face-to-face meetings, people check in and out (either mentally or physically), but are unable to recapture what has transpired in their absence,” Green says.
•Intimidation factor — Since participants are disembodied (they have no physical presence), they are freed from some of the stereotypes that can hinder communication.
Murray Richmond, a Toronto-based independent consultant in e-training and distance learning, has moderated quite a number of online sessions and says there are major benefits in using Web conferencing over the traditional meeting.
“With face-to-face, when it’s done, the training leaves with the end of the session. When conferencing online, you can archive the session, people can access it, it becomes knowledge building,” Richmond says.
Having a moderator is critical to the success of a session although that key factor often gets overlooked, says Richmond.
Typically there is an expert on the topic, and then a moderator who handles all the logistics, he says. The moderator keeps everything going like the chair at a meeting, she’s not necessarily participating but she’s the glue in making the session flow. The moderator’s job is to “create a community” so people will be at ease to participate and learn accordingly, Green writes. “The moderator needs to set the tone, establish trust, prompt input and monitor netiquette.”
The online medium is essentially what makes a person comfortable, says Beverly Pasian, president of Bodec Corporation, a project management and consultant firm with offices in Toronto and Ottawa.
“People going to conferences can often be intimidated in a Q and A session where you have to go up to the microphone in a big conference hall and ask a question,” she says. In an online setting, the intimidation factor is eliminated and it’s much more informal.
The cons
Green notes the challenges of Web conferencing as:
•Restrictions of text-based communication — Online communication is limited to the written word (although Web conferencing can include audio and video elements). It can be difficult to interpret the message without the visual and auditory cues that form 70 per cent of face-to-face communication. In addition, some may have difficulty with their level of written literacy. Literacy is becoming a major concern for employers. The International Adult Literacy Survey — sponsored by the National Literacy Secretariat and Human Resources Development Canada — finds that 42 per cent of Canadian workers have literacy skills below the level they need for jobs. (See related links below for more information on workplace literacy.)
•Moderating the conferences — This can be challenging because a moderator can’t rely on non-verbal cues used in face-to-face interaction.
•Challenges with group synergy — It can be hard to maintain group synergy when people are coming on and offline at random.
•Lack of a captive audience — The greatest benefit of online conferencing — flexibility of access — becomes a liability if you’re trying to get people to move to a more profound analysis of a topic. With face-to-face meetings, “you can always ‘lock’ people in a room to get them to focus,” Green’s report states. Online conferencing allows people to take a coffee break whenever the going gets tough.
People also end up multi-tasking at their desk while Web conferencing, says Liwana Bringelson, co-director of the Centre for Learning and Teaching through Technology (LT3) innovation lab at the University of Waterloo in Toronto.
“If we use this new medium, it doesn’t mean that we’re adding time to the day. People have to set aside time to do it,” she says. “When I’m sitting at my computer in my office, I’m not just sitting there, I’m answering the phone, talking to co-workers. If you’re online conferencing, you really have to say, ‘I’m in class, I cannot be disturbed.’” It’s part of the paradigm of assuming that if a person is at his desk, he’s still accessible, Bringelson says. Employees who are Web conferencing have to be treated as if they are away on a business trip and it should be blocked out on their schedule.
Before examining online conferencing options, Green says, start by setting objectives. All of your decisions should develop from this starting point with online conferencing being used to meet a wide spectrum of goals.
Fahy rarely sees any of his students in the traditional classroom setting yet he knows a lot about them from conferencing online. The majority of Fahy’s curriculum is taught via the Internet. Students go online in a virtual classroom setting and participate over the Internet. In most cases he meets his students for the first time at the convocation ceremony.
“I would never say face-to-face learning is dead. However, anyone who believes that’s the only way it should be done is wrong too. Technology-based training is effective and it’s a great way to learn,” says Fahy.
In the last five years, more and more organizations have adapted this philosophy and online conferences have become popular. Last year, the Internet conferencing market generated US$266 million in revenue according to Frost and Sullivan, a North American consulting firm, and it’s estimated that number will grow to US$2 billion by 2008.
When people consider the use of online conferencing, they’re usually selecting this medium over a face-to-face meeting, says Lyndsay Green, principal with Lyndsay Green & Associates, consultants in applications of learning technologies, in her report Online Conferencing: Lessons Learned. Green’s report — written for Human Resources Development Canada — analyzes the use and effectiveness of Web conferencing compared to face-to-face interaction, and outlines the pros and cons of the medium. The paper is based on Green’s experiences as a moderator for several Web conferences.
“By understanding the medium’s strengths and weaknesses, you’ll be able to push online conferencing to its limit, while at the same time, setting realistic expectations,” she says.
The pros
•Savings on travel costs — Online conferencing can be a cost-effective way to bring together a group of geographically dispersed people.
•Bringing in other resources — It’s easy to source and circulate new material to participants by “hot linking” to other sites or posting new material on the site. Experts can also be included online.
•The transcript — Since all the information is stored, people can come in and out of the conference and still catch up with the proceedings, and an individual can scroll quickly through comments of interest. “In face-to-face meetings, people check in and out (either mentally or physically), but are unable to recapture what has transpired in their absence,” Green says.
•Intimidation factor — Since participants are disembodied (they have no physical presence), they are freed from some of the stereotypes that can hinder communication.
Murray Richmond, a Toronto-based independent consultant in e-training and distance learning, has moderated quite a number of online sessions and says there are major benefits in using Web conferencing over the traditional meeting.
“With face-to-face, when it’s done, the training leaves with the end of the session. When conferencing online, you can archive the session, people can access it, it becomes knowledge building,” Richmond says.
Having a moderator is critical to the success of a session although that key factor often gets overlooked, says Richmond.
Typically there is an expert on the topic, and then a moderator who handles all the logistics, he says. The moderator keeps everything going like the chair at a meeting, she’s not necessarily participating but she’s the glue in making the session flow. The moderator’s job is to “create a community” so people will be at ease to participate and learn accordingly, Green writes. “The moderator needs to set the tone, establish trust, prompt input and monitor netiquette.”
The online medium is essentially what makes a person comfortable, says Beverly Pasian, president of Bodec Corporation, a project management and consultant firm with offices in Toronto and Ottawa.
“People going to conferences can often be intimidated in a Q and A session where you have to go up to the microphone in a big conference hall and ask a question,” she says. In an online setting, the intimidation factor is eliminated and it’s much more informal.
The cons
Green notes the challenges of Web conferencing as:
•Restrictions of text-based communication — Online communication is limited to the written word (although Web conferencing can include audio and video elements). It can be difficult to interpret the message without the visual and auditory cues that form 70 per cent of face-to-face communication. In addition, some may have difficulty with their level of written literacy. Literacy is becoming a major concern for employers. The International Adult Literacy Survey — sponsored by the National Literacy Secretariat and Human Resources Development Canada — finds that 42 per cent of Canadian workers have literacy skills below the level they need for jobs. (See related links below for more information on workplace literacy.)
•Moderating the conferences — This can be challenging because a moderator can’t rely on non-verbal cues used in face-to-face interaction.
•Challenges with group synergy — It can be hard to maintain group synergy when people are coming on and offline at random.
•Lack of a captive audience — The greatest benefit of online conferencing — flexibility of access — becomes a liability if you’re trying to get people to move to a more profound analysis of a topic. With face-to-face meetings, “you can always ‘lock’ people in a room to get them to focus,” Green’s report states. Online conferencing allows people to take a coffee break whenever the going gets tough.
People also end up multi-tasking at their desk while Web conferencing, says Liwana Bringelson, co-director of the Centre for Learning and Teaching through Technology (LT3) innovation lab at the University of Waterloo in Toronto.
“If we use this new medium, it doesn’t mean that we’re adding time to the day. People have to set aside time to do it,” she says. “When I’m sitting at my computer in my office, I’m not just sitting there, I’m answering the phone, talking to co-workers. If you’re online conferencing, you really have to say, ‘I’m in class, I cannot be disturbed.’” It’s part of the paradigm of assuming that if a person is at his desk, he’s still accessible, Bringelson says. Employees who are Web conferencing have to be treated as if they are away on a business trip and it should be blocked out on their schedule.
Before examining online conferencing options, Green says, start by setting objectives. All of your decisions should develop from this starting point with online conferencing being used to meet a wide spectrum of goals.
