Using IT to reengineer business education: an exploratory investigation of collaborative telelearning

• Authors: Maryam Alavi;Bradley C. Wheeler;Joseph S. Valacich
• Venue: MIS Quarterly - Special issue on IS curricula and pedagogy
• Year: 1995

This longitudinal field study (three work sessions plus an initial training session), investigates the efficacy of a new technology -- desktop videoconferencing (DVC) -- in support of collaborative telelearning (i.e., collaborative learning among non-proximate team members). Two types of collaborative telelearning environments are considered. One involves local groups (i.e., students on the same campus), and the other involves non-proximate distant groups (i.e., students on two separate campuses). The collaborative telelearning environments are compared to each other and to a traditional face-to-face collaborative learning environment.The study found that the three environments are equally effective in terms of student knowledge acquisition; however, higher critical-thinking skills were found in the distant DVC environment. The subjects in the three learning environments were equally satisfied with their learning process and outcomes. At the conclusion of the longitudinal assessment, the distant students using DVC were more committed and attracted to their groups compared to local students who worked face-to-face or through DVC.