ABSTRACT
Worldwide, virtual universities and other virtual educational institutions have been developing during the last years as an extension to traditional settings. New technologies enable new forms of communication between learners and between teacher and learner. For example, imagine this: As part of a seminar, two learners collaboratively work on a case problem while being spaciously apart but connected via desktop video conferencing on their home computers. Supposing that the Internet will increase in bandwidth and speed, this could be one of the standard virtual learning scenarios. Recently, many studies have been conducted focusing on technological feasibility and aspects of course delivery as well as the implementation of video conferencing technology in organizations. Their results mostly indicate rather encouraging subjective experiences of the learners. For example, subjective evaluations of participating students are often very similar to those in traditional settings. Participants felt that video conferencing was as effective as face-to-face instruction and they appreciated not losing work time (e.g., Langille, Sargeant & Allen, 1998). Video conferencing enables interaction between learners and teachers for whom it would be difficult if not impossible to meet face-to-face (e.g., Sembor, 1997). However, very little is known on how learners really learn collaboratively in video conferences and how the conditions of interaction in video conferencing influence the processes of collaborative knowledge construction. The same is true for the issue of how to facilitate collaborative knowledge construction in a setting like this. Nevertheless, there are some presumptions stemming from discussions and theoretical reflections expressing some severe concerns about learning with such audiovisually supported computer net-works. These concerns may not be reflected in the more macroscopic and more subjective results of the research on delivery and implementation. Those presumptions can be reduced to the following statements:
In video conferencing, learners are forced to spend more effort on explicitly coordinating their learning activities.
Due to the fact that the learning discourse is impaired in video conferencing, less of the more important contents can be discussed.
Due to the reduced process quality of collaborative knowledge construction in video conferencing, learning outcomes are lower.
Negotiating a common meaning or perspective is more difficult in video conferencing. Therefore, knowledge convergence may be reduced.
To foster learning outcomes and knowledge convergence in video conferencing, interactive graphics are adequate means.
