DEOSNEWS Vol. 2  No. 17.  ISSN 1062-9416.
Copyright 1992 DEOS - The Distance Education Online Symposium
   
Editor: Morten Flate Paulsen, MFP101@PSUVM.PSU.EDU
Review: Margaret Koble
   
DEOS was established with a grant from the Annenberg/CPB Project.
   
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EDITORIAL
   
This issue of DEOSNEWS is comprised of reviews and announcements of
publications about computer-mediated communication used for education. The
publications are addressed in the following sequence:
   
Burge, E. J. 1992. Computer Mediated Communication and Education: A Se-
lected Bibliography. Toronto, Canada: Ontario Institute for Studies in
Education.
   
Wells, R. 1992. Computer-Mediated Communication for Distance Education: An
International Review of Design, Teaching, and Institutional Issues.
University Park, Pennsylvania: The American Center for the Study of
Distance Education.
   
Waggoner, D. ed. 1992. Empowering Networks: Computer Conferencing in Educa-
tion. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Educational Technology Publications.
   
Rapaport, M. 1991. Computer Mediated Communications: Bulletin Boards,
Computer Conferencing, Electronic Mail, and Information Retrieval. New
York: John Wiley & Sons.
   
Kaye, A. R. ed., in press. Collaborative Learning through Computer Con-
ferencing: The Najaden Papers. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
   
Paulsen, M. F. in press. From Bulletin Boards to Electronic Universities:
Distance Education, Computer-Mediated Communication, and Online Education.
University Park, Pennsylvania: The American Center for the Study of
Distance Education.
   
     In addition, Linda Harasim has informed DEOSNEWS that she is working
on two books that should be available in 1993:
   
Harasim, L. ed. in press. Global Networks: Computers and International
Communication. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
   
Harasim, L., S. R. Hiltz, L. Teles, and M. Turoff. n.d. Learning Networks:
A Guide to Knowledge Connections. Still not committed to a publisher.
   
   
                                Two Reviews
   
                             by Gerald Santoro
                             GMS@PSUVM.PSU.EDU
   
   
     Burge, E. J. 1992. Computer Mediated Communication and Education: A
     Selected Bibliography. Toronto, Canada: Ontario Institute for Studies
     in Education.
   
   
     From the initial acceptance of computer-mediated communication (CMC)
as a field of study, perhaps five to eight years ago, a major problem has
been the lack of a large body of publication from which to draw references,
ideas and so on. Luckily this lack has not prevented educators or re-
searchers from doing applied research in the field. It has, however, made
it rather difficult to plan scholarly research that would draw upon
previous efforts.
     Elizabeth Burge and her colleagues have risen to address this lack by
compiling a booklet containing almost 400 references to articles about, or
relating to, CMC. A few of these references are themselves bibliographies
that can lead to still more useful references.
     By far the most important feature of the Burge booklet is the fact
that the references are presented in two forms. The first form is a
standard alphabetical (by author) listing. The second form is a categorical
listing in the following topical areas: general educational contexts,
institutional educational contexts, participant/learner perspectives,
tutor/moderator perspectives, messaging, tools and techniques, and non-edu-
cational contexts.
     Besides CMC, the other common thread binding the references contained
in this booklet is the emphasis on educational application. The reader will
not find reference to articles on TCP/IP protocols, specific LAN-based
conferencing software, network security, training issues or similar
'technical' issues. The reader will find reference to articles on the
application of this technology to education.
     In summary, I consider this booklet to be a requirement for anyone
seriously considering CMC research or development of CMC support in an
instructional setting. For too long educators and researchers have been
applying CMC without much awareness of the efforts of others. This booklet
admirably addresses this situation and creates an excellent foundation upon
which to build.
   
   
     Wells, R. 1992. Computer-Mediated Communication for Distance Educa-
     tion: An International Review of Design, Teaching, and Institutional
     Issues. University Park, Pennsylvania: The American Center for the
     Study of Distance Education.
   
   
     Many problems face instructors considering the addition of CMC
technology to their courses--whether as a primary delivery system or to
augment and support the traditional classroom. Two important problems are
(a) getting information on how to integrate CMC into an existing course,
and (b) getting advice on institutional and 'overhead' matters that could
make the experience a success or a failure.
     Rosalie Wells, in the ACSDE Research Monograph Number 6, addresses
these issues as well as providing readers with references to various imple-
mentations of educational CMC.
     The first part of this Monograph strikes right at the heart of the
matter of successful CMC use. Its title is: "Designing a Course to Maximize
the Potential of CMC." In this part the reader is encouraged to think about
the pedagogical issues regarding educational CMC--hopefully in relation to
their own potential application.
     A subset of the issues raised includes: how to encourage the use of
CMC by students, pacing techniques, enrollment limits and appropriate class
size, and the use of CMC transcripts.
     My only criticism of this section, and it is a minor one, is that Ms.
Wells does not emphasize strongly enough the need for faculty to consult
with technical specialists in developing CMC-supported courses. A number of
institutions have established groups such as the Penn State 'Teaching and
Learning Technologies Group' whose intent is to help faculty develop
courses that utilize technology effectively. It is during the course design
stage that this help can be most useful.
     The second part of this Monograph discusses teaching considerations.
These include areas such as instructional responsibilities, communication
challenges to instructors and students, effective teaching style, partici-
pation rates, online teaching and instructional techniques. Of course not
all possible teaching considerations are covered, but there are enough to
encourage readers to think about their own teaching style and the con-
straints or opportunities for change that may result when CMC is added to
their course. Hopefully this will prompt some readers to attempt creative
approaches to teaching.
     The third part of this Monograph deals with the extremely important
issues of institutional environment. Such issues include computer access,
standardization of hardware/software, skills acquisition, user support,
training and cross-cultural effects. Additional discussion is given to ways
that an instructor might market the concept of CMC-supported instruction at
her/his own institution--given that the cost of doing so is lower per-class
when an institution-wide approach is followed.
     The fourth part of this Monograph provides an overview of the range of
CMC implementations internationally. Ms. Wells is careful to point out that
this represents only a small sample of the CMC implementations that
currently exist. However, the list provided is an ample starting point for
readers interested in examining how educational CMC is done at other
institutions.
     In conclusion, the Rosalie Wells' Monograph is an extremely useful
resource for instructors thinking about applying CMC to a course, or
improving a course already employing CMC. This Monograph does not provide
all of the answers, nor does it even ask all of the possible questions
regarding practical CMC use, but it is an excellent starting point that
will encourage many to think about effective application of CMC.
   
   
   
               Two Books on Computer-mediated Communication
   
         Reviewed for CAUSE/EFFECT Volume 15 Number 2 Summer 1992
   
                          by Morten Flate Paulsen
   
     This review is published in DEOSNEWS with permission from Julia A.
Rudy, Editor of CAUSE/EFFECT--an American magazine about the management of
information technology on college and university campuses. For more
information about CAUSE/EFFECT, please contact Julia A. Rudy via e-mail
JRUDY@CAUSE.COLORADO.EDU or telephone +1-303-449-4430.
   
   
     Empowering Networks: Computer Conferencing in Education, edited by
     Michael D. Waggoner (1992), is a 251 page book available from Educa-
     tional Technology Publications for $34.95.
   
     Empowering Networks comprises ten individual articles describing a
variety of successful educational projects based on computer-mediated
communication in the U.S. In the introduction, Waggoner states:
   
     The purpose of this book is to capture the experience of some of the
     major, unique applications of computer conferencing that have been
     developed in education to date. By describing a wide range of success-
     ful uses of this technology, two objectives are served: to encourage
     further experimentation, and to provide some collected wisdom regard-
     ing implementing and maintaining such an enterprise. Such an effort
     must necessarily be selective, because even at this early stage, many
     projects have evolved. We have chosen representative applications in
     the three general areas of educational work: teaching, research, and
     service. Additionally, we have invited two seasoned practitioners with
     experience in computer conferencing to reflect broadly on issues of
     implementation and change in educational organizations.
   
     The first three chapters, dealing with CMC as a communication service
for educators, are:
   
     Connecting the University and the Field of Practice: Computer Confe-
     rencing in Education at the University of Michigan, by Christine
     Canning and Karen Swift;
   
     Building an Electronic Culture: The Academical Village at Virginia, by
     Glen Bull, Judi Harris, and David Drucker; and
   
     Grassroots Networking on Big Sky Telegraph: Empowering Montana's One-
     Room Rural Schools, by Frank Odasz.
   
     These articles are descriptive rather than reflective. They have few
references and little critical analysis, but they are representative and
interesting descriptions of contemporary projects. A Survey of Educational
Computer Networks (McAnge et al. 1990), listing forty-eight statewide,
intrastate, and proposed U.S. networks, shows, however, that the included
projects are by no means unique. I found the Canning and Swift article
especially important because of its historical description of the influen-
tial Confer system.
     The next two chapters, which discuss how CMC may be utilized for
teaching, are:
   
     Computer Conferencing and Mass Distance Education, by Anthony R. Kaye;
     and
   
     Instructional Gaming Through Computer Conferencing, by Frederic L.
     Goodman.
   
     I would like to see more articles on this important issue. The two
articles presented are of high quality and they describe two important and
impressive pioneer projects. Personally, I especially appreciated Goodman's
article, since information about the Instructional Gaming Project is scarce
in mainstream CMC literature. On the contrary, the DT200 course has been
described in a number of publications (e.g Mason and Kaye 1989).
     The three articles included in the research section are:
   
     Empowering Educational Researchers on CompuServe and BITNET, by Jean
     W. Pierce;
   
     Computer Conferencing as a Support Mechanism for Teacher-Researchers
     in Rural High Schools, by Lawrence B. Friedman and James McCullough;
     and
   
     Explicating Expert Opinion: A Case Study of Computer Conferencing
     Delphi, by Michael D. Waggoner.
   
     The first two articles are grassroot descriptions of projects network-
ing educational researches. The research aspect is not emphasised, so the
articles are not very different from those presented in the first section
of the book. Waggoner presents a detailed and interesting case description
on a how the Delphi technique was used in a research project.
     The two articles in the section concerned with implementation and
change in educational organizations are:
   
     Computer Conferencing: The Causes for Delay, by Donald P. McNeil; and
   
     Empowering for Technological Change, by Thomas J. Switzer.
   
     These articles present two practitioners' experiences and views. They
include valuable guidelines for implementation of CMC systems based on
common sense. The articles lack, however, thorough literature reviews and
analyses of previous work.
     The book includes a four-page, trivial glossary and a short list of
names and addresses of resource people; however, compared to Rapaport's
book, these resources are shallow and sparse, almost pathetic.
   
   
     Computer Mediated Communications: Bulletin Boards, Computer Conferen-
     cing, Electronic Mail, and Information Retrieval written by Matthew
     Rapaport (1991) is a 373 page book published in New York by John Wiley
     & Sons. I payed $34.95 for it in a local book store.
   
     Computer Mediated Communications, is a comprehensive and thorough
technical book, focusing on the gamut of CMC applications and their
features. It emphasises centralized and distributed computer conferencing
systems, but it also covers e-mail systems, bulletin board systems (BBS)
for microcomputers, and information retrieval systems. In the introduction,
Rapaport states:
   
     This book is about computer conferencing software, the original
     "groupware". When Peter and Trudy Johnson-Lenz coined that term in
     1987, they defined it as "Intentional group processes and procedures,
     plus the software to support them." It was conferencing technology--
     computer support for communications among groups of individuals for a
     variety of purposes--that was foremost in their minds. More recently,
     the term has been extended (properly, I think) to refer to software
     that supports the development of information content shared by groups
     of people or provides support for the flow of work as it moves among
     working groups. Electronic mail and decision support facilities--such
     as polls, vote compilations, and information retrieval from management
     information system (MIS) databases--are usually considered a proper
     part of contemporary groupware technology. All the primary "groupware
     products" in the marketplace today include an electronic mail compo-
     nent.
   
     Chapter 1 describes the history of CMC. The salient conferencing
systems included in the overview are EMISARI, EIES, Confer, Caucus,
Participate, PortaCOM, CoSy, and Notepad. As a long term user of PortaCOM,
Europe's most used conferencing system, I suggest that the system deserves
broader and more accurate attention. An interesting figure shows the
timeline of the historical development and the relationship between
systems. The Information retrieval systems discussed are Dialog, BRS, and
STAIRS. Among the microcomputer bulletin board systems (BBS) reviewed are
the seminal CBBS system and the distributed FIDOnet system.
     Chapter 2 describes the scope of current CMC use such as cooperative
work, educational use, and corporate applications. An important contribu-
tion is the discussion of factors contributing to the success of CMC
applications.
     Chapters 3 and 4 describe the foundation of hardware, operating
systems, file systems, application software, and network technology used in
CMC systems.
     Chapter 5 explores distributed CMC systems, routing mechanisms, and
bridging of networks exemplified by FIDOnet and X.400. I would have liked
more information about Internet/BITNET, obviously the world's most import-
ant distributed system.
     Chapters 6 and 7 give an overview of common structures and features of
conferencing systems and how these are implemented, discussing user
interface, branching, navigation, and selection, while chapter 8 describes
how the structures are applied in a host of widespread services, such as
BIX, CompuServe, and GEnie.
     Chapter 9 examines important factors to consider for those who plan to
develop a CMC system, purchase a standard system, or contract CMC services
from a third-party provider. The chapter includes a list of CMC features
that could be used in the decision process and a table that compares
features of standard CMC systems. This chapter alone justifies purchase of
the book by organizations planning to implement a CMC system. A further
source of information is GO MEEC! A Goal Oriented Method for Establishment
of an Electronic College (Paulsen 1991).
     Chapters 10 and 11 discuss advanced CMC features, technical trends,
and social issues, and the appendixes feature useful directories of
software and hardware vendors and online services.
   
   
Conclusion
   
     These two books supplement each other. Empowering Networks comprises a
collection of interesting, individual, mostly descriptive, grassroot
articles about CMC experiences in educational environments. One may
criticize some of the articles for their lack of thorough literature
reviews and critical analyses of the field. These deficiencies could have
been overcome through a comprehensive editorial introduction. The book
could, in other words, benefit from some overall perspectives and con-
clusions linking the ten individual articles together. For further analy-
sis, I recommend Online Education (Harasim 1990) and Computer-Mediated
Communication in Distance Education (Wells 1992).
     Computer Mediated Communications is the most comprehensive technical
book on CMC I have encountered. The book could, however, benefit from some
introductory definitions of pivotal terms such as CMC, conferencing,
information retrieval systems, etc., Finally, I recommend this book to
people who are responsible for purchase, design, implementation, or
operation of CMC systems.
   
   
References
   
Harasim, L. M., 1990. Online Education: Perspectives on a New Environment.
New York: Praeger.
   
McAnge, T. R. et al. 1990. A Survey of Educational Computer Networks.
Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
   
Mason, R. and A. Kaye eds. 1989. Mindweave: Communication, Computers and
Distance Education. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
   
Paulsen, M. F., 1991. GO MEEC! A goal oriented method for establishment of
an electronic college. DEOSNEWS 1(2).
   
Wells, R., 1992. Computer-Mediated Communication for Distance Education: An
International Review of Design, Teaching, and Institutional Issues.
University Park, PA: The American Center for the Study of Distance Educa-
tion.
   
   
                     Announcement of Two Publications
   
                 by Anthony Kaye and Morten Flate Paulsen
   
     Kaye, A. R. ed., in press. Collaborative Learning through Computer
     Conferencing: The Najaden Papers. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
   
   
     The 260 page book is prepared as a result of a NATO Advanced Research
Workshop held on the sailing ship Najaden during a journey from Copenhagen
to Stockholm in August 1991. It is included in the NATO ASI Series, and it
can be expected from the publisher in Autumn 1992. The contents is as
follows:
   
Preface: Arne Welin, Captain of the Najaden
   
Introduction and acknowledgements: Anthony Kaye and France Henri
   
1 Learning Together Apart: Anthony Kaye
   
Part I COMPUTER CONFERENCING IN PRACTICE
   
2 Telematic support for in-service teacher training: Cristina Simon
3 Waiting for Electropolis: Morten Soeby
4 Computer-mediated communication in management learning: David McConnell
5 International Online Teams: Elaine McCreary & Madge Brochet
6 Collaborative learning in a large-scale conferencing system: Jesus Rueda
   
Part II WAYS OF UNDERSTANDING ONLINE COLLABORATION
   
7 Evaluation methodologies for conferencing applications: Robin Mason
8 Content analysis of computer conferences: France Henri
9 A case study approach to evaluation: Michael Waggoner
10 Talking, teaching and learning in network groups: Sara Kiesler
11 Collaborative learning in networked organisations: John Gundry
   
Part III ISSUES IN SOFTWARE DESIGN
   
12 The challenge of conferencing systems design: Oliver Vallee
13 Metaphors and interface design: Elsebeth Soerensen
14 Human interfaces to promote collaboration: Gary Alexander
15 Towards a hypermedium for collaborative learning?: Alain Derycke
16 Computer conferencing functions and standards: Jacob Palme
17 Hardware and software systems and architecture: Jens Ambrosius
   
   
     Paulsen, M. F. in press. From Bulletin Boards to Electronic Univer-
     sities: Distance Education, Computer-Mediated Communication, and
     Online Education. University Park, Pennsylvania: The American Center
     for the Study of Distance Education.
   
     This monograph will be available in the beginning of October. In
addition to the foreword by Linda Harasim and the afterword by Robin Mason,
the publication is divided into three sections. The first two articles, The
NKI Electronic College and Teaching Across the Atlantic, describe the
author's experiences from the NKI Electronic College and from Connected
Education. The second section includes articles titled Innovative Computer
Conferencing Courses and Computer-Mediated Communication in Distance
Education around the World. These articles provide examples of the plethora
of exciting CMC projects the author has encountered through literature
reviews and personal communications. The final section, synthesizing
perceptions and theories, presents three articles that compile experiences,
conclusions, and predictions for the future. GO MEEC describes a Goal
Oriented Method for Establishment of an Electronic College, The Electronic
University predicts the development of future electronic universities, and
the Hexagon of Cooperative Freedom attempts to establish a distance educa-
tion theory attuned to CMC.
   
--------------------- End of DEOSNEWS Vol. 2  No. 17 ----------------------
   

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