Differences that make the difference: A study of functionalities in synchronous cmc

Authors:
Marie-madeleine Kenning
Affiliations:
School of language, linguistics and translation studies, university of east anglia, norwich nr4 7tj (email: m.kenning@uea.ac.uk)
Venue:
ReCALL
Year:
2010

Citing 12
Cited 1

Technology affordances

CHI '91 Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Language and the Internet

Language and the Internet
Reusing Online Resources: A Sustainable Approach to E-Learning

Reusing Online Resources: A Sustainable Approach to E-Learning
Theoretical perspectives and new practices in audio-graphic conferencing for language learning

ReCALL
Learners' interactions: a comparison of oral and computer-assisted written conversations

ReCALL
Oral conversations online: Redefining oral competence in synchronous environments

ReCALL
Supporting oral production for professional purposes in synchronous communication with heterogenous learners

ReCALL
Rethinking task design for the digital age: A framework for language teaching and learning in a synchronous online environment

ReCALL
Critical success factors in a TRIDEM exchange

ReCALL
The unreasonable effectivness of call: What have we learned in two decades of research?

ReCALL
Developing online multimodal verbal communication to enhance the writing process in an audio-graphic conferencing environment

ReCALL
Online Communication in Language Learning and Teaching

Online Communication in Language Learning and Teaching

Collaborative scaffolding in online task-based voice interactions between advanced learners

ReCALL

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.00

Visualization

Abstract

This paper has a dual aim: to situate functionalities among the complex of factors that help shape online interactions and to explore the heterogeneity of audio conferencing and its implications. Following a critical discursive synthesis of the treatment of variables in the literature, attention focuses on the distinctive and diverse characteristics of synchronous audio environments. The existence of a synchronous-asynchronous dichotomy is questioned and the effects of a number of differences are highlighted. As a further illustration, the paper next undertakes a comparison of Lyceum and Wimba Voice Direct. The main features of the two environments are introduced and a detailed analysis of their text and voice chat facilities is carried out. In the last section the benefits of text-based CMC are revisited through the lens of voice chat technology. It is concluded that the benefits of CMC appear to have been overstated and that no general claims can be made about voice CMC, but that collectively, well documented studies could provide a useful source of information on the level of contingency of particular findings.