Innovations in Education and Teaching Intemational s j Routledae

Vol. 42, No. 2, May 2005, pp. 181-194

A model for synchronous learning using the

Internet
Nian-Shing Chen^, Hsiu-Chia Ko^, Kinshuk * and Taiyu Lin
^National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan; Massey University, New Zealand

Improvements in technology and the increasing bandwidth of Internet access have led to an increasing popu-
larity for synchronous solutions for instruction. Not only do they provide savings in terms of time and cost, in
many situations they can also outperform both asynchronous online instruction and traditional facc-to-face
education. However, until now, the lack of a pedagogical framework for synchronous instruction has limited
the effective use of this medium. This paper describes an online synchronous learning model that aims to pro-
vide guidelines for teachers and students to conduct synchronous instruction. The model provides a broad
range of scenarios to suit individual requirements and covers both synchronous lecturing and 'office-hours'
modes.

Introduction
Traditional distance education has typically been constrained by the limitations of time and
location, making it difficult for instructors and students to perform educational activities satis-
factorily (Sauve, 2000). Recent advances in distance education, however, provide a bridge
between teachers and students and enable them to communicate more easily and interact more
flexibly.
In recent years, Internet technologies have matured significantly. These advances, combined
with the Internet's inherent characteristics of information availability through unrestricted time
and space, means that it can now provide a uniform access medium for both asynchronous and
synchronous learning. The technological advances include not only the rapid growth of infor-
mation technologies but also the increasing availability of broadband Internet access, hence
solving the problem of insufficient bandwidth. This technological growth has also resulted in
the development of a variety of applications for online learning. For example, teachers can now
use synchronous or asynchronous instruction methods in their courses—as deemed appropri-
ate. Furthermore, one of the traditional teaching activities, namely 'office-hours' (where
students meet their teachers in order to get individual responses to their queries) can now be

* Corresponding author. Advanced Leaming Technologies Research Centre, Information Systems Department,
Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmcrston North, New Zealand. Email: kinshuk@ieee.Grg

ISSN 1470-3297 (print)/ISSN 1470-3300 (online)/05/020181-14

<:•• 2005 Taylor & Francis Group Ltd
DOI: 10.1080/14703290500062599
182 N.S. Chen etal

performed over the Internet, resulting in enhanced and timely learning interactions and better
online classroom management.
Currently, the majority of research described in the literature has focused on the asynchro-
nous mode of instruction, with very little discussion on the issues related to online synchronous
instruction. The literature that does exist on synchronous instruction mostly focuses on the
implementation aspects rather than on the pedagogical issues.
The main objective of this paper is to discuss the pedagogical aspects of online synchronous
learning. A synchronous learning model is then proposed. In addition, a new method to perform
online instruction and online 'office-hours' activities is also proposed. Finally, two case studies
of online synchronous instruction and 'office-hours' activities are discussed to demonstrate the
feasibility of the proposed methods.

Background
The mode of interaction for online instruction can be categorised into asynchronous and
synchronous. Asynchronous learning allows the sequence of interaction between a teacher and
a student to happen at different times. 'Research on the effectiveness of asynchronous online
learning, which includes case studies, student/educator surveys, and behavioural analysis, has
indicated that there is a need for learning tools that support synchronous communications'
(Hotcomm, 2003).
Synchronous learning requires the presence of both parties at the same time for teaching and
learning to take place (It-analysis, 2001). It is therefore also referred to as 'live' or real-time
instruction. Due to the limitation of network bandwidth and less complex technology involved
in asynchronous learning (Hotcomm, 2003), the tools available for asynchronous learning
outnumber those for synchronous learning; for the latter, the simplest form usually includes only
a variation of some form of text-based chat facility (Scavo et al., 1998).
It seems, on the surface, that synchronous learning imposes more restrictions on both teachers
and students in the time dimension, but its similarity to traditional classroom interaction in both
time and psychological dimension endows it with many benefits that asynchronous learning
would have difficulty in achieving. The trend of online learning is towards a blended mode
combining asynchronous and synchronous delivery, which increases flexibility. Without
synchronous learning this blended mode would not be possible.
There are still some instances in the literature reflecting the use of synchronous learning meth-
ods by educators. For example, synchronous learning was applied in the learning of probability
theory in a simulation tool called Kansas (Scanlon et al., 1997). This provided a 2D virtual space
for all the students to move around and meet others, and facilitated real-time links among the
students, such as video, audio and shared application, so that the students can form groups and
work with each other. Synchronous learning was also applied in the learning of a computational
science course using TANGO (Scavo et al., 1998). This was a Java-based collaborative tool that
included a shared browser, a whiteboard, 2D/3D chat tools, and enabled two-way video and audio
streaming. Synchronous learning has been considered as a solution for the difficulties encoun-
tered in distant music education—where non-verbal and synchronous interaction is critical for
the success of learning (Ruippo, 2002).
The most important advantages of synchronous learning are as follows:
 Synchronous leaming using the Intemet 183

• Immediate feedback can be provided to students so that they can immediately correct them-
selves or strengthen what they have learned. This is especially essential for activities such as
group decision making, brain storming and analysis (Hotcomm, 2003).
• Increased level of motivation and an obligatiofi to be present and participate which in turn would
increase students involvement in learning activities, hence resulting in better learning experi-
ences (It-analysis, 2001).

The systems identified above support synchronous learning only in terms of technical function-
ality. Kansas (Scanlon ei al., 1997) only provided a virtual space with synchronous collaboration
tools so that students could get together freely. Similarly, TANGO (Scavo et al..^ 1998) included
some synchronous collaboration tools to convert a large repository of digital teaching material
to online synchronous courses. However, since these systems achieved positive results by the
mere inclusion of synchronous collaboration tools, it is not hard to see how the benefits of
synchronous learning could be multiplied if an appropriate pedagogical framework was available
to analyse synchronous learning situations in different dimensions.
Evidence is also available in the literature to support the fact that synchronous instruction
using the Intemet not only facilitates the tasks of a traditional face-to-face learning environ-
ment, but also has some distinct advantages over the conventional approaches. These advan-
tages can be grouped into three major categories: logistical, instructional and economic
(Hannum, 2001). Logistical advantages have to do with case of distribution and use. The
greatest logistical advantage of online synchronous instruction perhaps is its flexible, distrib-
uted delivery that allows learners and instructors to take part in a learning/instruction process
from any geographic location. An obvious instructional advantage of online synchronous
instruction is the ability of learners to interact with rich multimedia resources (McManus,
1996), which is virtually impossible to achieve in face-to-face instruction. Of course, it is not
necessary to have all multimedia elements in all lessons, but when used appropriately, these
elements enhance instruction and leaming (Bagui, 1998). An additional benefit of online
synchronous instruction over asynchronous learning is that it also eliminates the costs related
to travel and time away from home or worksite (Hannum, 2001), while still providing immedi-
ate interaction among teachers and students. Synchronous instruction also allows team teach-
ing where experts from different parts of the world could teach together without having to
spend time and money in travel and other such non-educationally related activities.
In the next section, a model for synchronous learning that can serve as a pedagogical frame-
work is proposed. The model contains several modes suitable for different educational situations.

A model for synchronous learning

Synchronous leaming employs videoconferencing and other multimedia techniques to allow
teachers and students to interact with each other at the same time even if they are not at the same
place. Synchronous learning management systems (SLMS) such as the National Sun Yat-sen
Cyber University (NSYSU-CU) and K12 Digital School are now available (Chen, 1997, 2000).
These systems facilitate various functionalities that are crucial to synchronous leaming. For
instance, a digital whiteboard provides many functions for teachers to explain course content,
and a roll-call book helps teachers mark the attendance register. In addition, SLMS also
184 N.S. Chen el a\.

provides discussion rooms that allow students to ask questions and share ideas online. During
the discussion period, teachers can observe the interaction among students and the discussion
content of the whole class, and give students appropriate support whenever needed.
In order to prevent the problems of distraction during the course program, teachers can also
ask students to answer some questions by text or audio. All such conversations along with course
programs and contents can be recorded using tools such as Anicani-Live (Chen & Huang, 2002)
and made available to the students for review either after completion of the class or in the form
of course material for asynchronous learning. This possibility does not exist in traditional face-
to-face teaching. Synchronous delivery can therefore provide a far greater variety of teaching
modes.
Despite the varied benefits of synchronous learning, the lack of pedagogical research in this
area has meant that effective online management techniques are still to be developed for the vari-
ous activities that mimic traditional instruction such as lectures and 'office-hours'. In this
regard, an online synchronous learning model is proposed that classifies various possible
synchronous learning modes. By considering how a traditional face-to-face instructional process
could be facilitated in a corresponding synchronous manner using the Internet, five dimensions
of the model can be identified. These are: role (teacher, student), participant (individual, group),
venue (specific, any), interaction (one-way, two-way) and delivery (playback, live). These are
shown in Table 1.
In online synchronous learning activities, there are two major 'role' players: teachers and
students. Both teachers and students are expected to use the teaching and learning environ-
ment flexibly and freely; the only requirement for them is that they should be using the online
classroom at the same time. They can be situated anywhere, either in their own environment
in any part of the world or in a specific laboratory location provided by the educational insti-
tution. Hence, the 'venue' dimension can be either any or specific. If people are situated in
their own environment, then they participate within the conditions imposed by the environ-
ment, such as distractions due to family at home, or distractions due to phone calls and
knocks-on-the-door at the office. In a laboratory location, people might participate in groups
with physical interaction possible with their peers. Therefore, the 'participant' dimension
includes individual and group. The instruction in synchronous environments can either be
one-way, just as a broadcast of the lectures, or two-way with interaction between teachers and
students and even communication among students. Therefore the 'interaction' dimension can
be one-way or two-way.
Finally, the 'delivery' dimension includes the ways in which the course material is delivered
to the students: live, video-on-demand (VOD) and hybrid. When teachers lecture remotely in real
time, the delivery is referred to as live mode. If teachers opt to play the pre-recorded video, either
of themselves or of other experts, then this constitutes the VOD playback delivery mode. Of
course, teachers may also employ a combination of these two modes to provide better flexibility,
hence the hybrid mode.
Table 1 summarises the main facets of the synchronous learning model. Each cell of this table
represents one synchronous learning mode. The model is intended to provide options for
teachers in terms of possible modes—once they have identified one or more constraints in their
teaching situation.
 Synchronous leaming using the Intemet 185

Table 1. Facets of the online synchronous learning model

Dimension

Mode Role Participant Venue Interaction Delivery

1 T I s P
2 T I s L
3 T I s P
4 T I s L
5 T I A P
6 T I A L
7 T I A P
8 T I A L
9 T G S P
10 T G s L
11 T G s P
12 T G s L
13 T G A P
14 T G A L
15 T G A P
16 T G A L
17 S I S P
18 S I s L
19 S I s P
20 S I s L
21 A P
s I
L
22 s I A
A P
23 s I
L
24 s I A
25 S P
s G
L
26 s G S
S P
27 s G
L
28 s G s P
29 s G A
L
30 s G A
P
31 s G A
L
32 s G A

Key: Role: S, student;T, teacher. Participant: G, group; I, individual. Venue: A, any; S, specific. Interac-
tion: 1, one-way; 2, two-way. Delivery: L, live; P, playback.

In order to illustrate the application of the model, an online synchronous live instruction
mode and an 'office-hours' activity mode have been designed. Initially, in the online synchro-
nous live instruction mode, teachers perform the role of teaching material editors—similar to
traditional teaching. The sources of the course materials include a large variety that contain
lectures that were recorded by the teachers themselves or others, material from publishers (such
as books, films and teaching manuals), CDs and content that is available in the public domain
186 N.-S. Chen etal

Teaching
content
and teaching units
Publisher
./" Unit
MateriaJ from
expert Teaclier

Material from
Internet
T
Additional Patterns of
content

Figure 1. Teaching material editing task

on the Internet. This approach ensures the sharing and reuse of the teaching resources (see
Figure 1).

Scenario 1: online synchronous live instruction mode

During the online instruction task, through the assistance of a synchronous leaming manage-
ment system and videoconferencing tools, teachers and students interact synchronously. This
kind of teaching mode is called online synchronous live instruction ('live' because the teachers
orchestrate the instruction process in real-time; it is not a pre-determined sequence). Besides
playing the previously edited teaching material, teachers can also give additional explanation of
the content using annotation tools such as free-hand writing, drawing line, circle or rectangle,
and so on. After a teaching segment finishes, teachers can either ask students if they have any
questions, or assign a question and ask students to discuss it in an online chat room for a brief
period of time and reply back. If students have any other queries, teachers can give another
explanation or play back other teaching materials to address students' confusion. Once the
queries have been answered, teachers can continue playing the next teaching material online and
undertaking other teaching tasks (see Figure 2).
Teachers in online synchronous instruction situations are expected to create a leaming
environment that is interesting for the learners and which suits their learning process. The diver-
sified and interesting nature of online synchronous instruction not only enhances the learners'
interest and involvement but also allows them to perceive that they are not alone and that there
are many other learning partners around them (Tuckman, 2004). The interactions with peers
and tutors enable the re-evaluation of the information perceived through association, integra-
tion, validation and appropriation, thus allowing deep learning to take place (Armitt et al.,
 Synchronous learning using the Internet 187

Teacher initiates teaching

Teacher uses material to explain or

play the previously recorded video

Students synchronously learn online

Students ask question Teacher assigns questions Students discuss online

Students interact with each

Teacher responds Students respond
other

Teacher gives additional

explanations

Students ask
any further
questions

Teacher proceeds to next unit

Figure 2. Online synchronous live instruction task

2002). Hence, the students in the online synchronous instruction mode benefit from interesting
and high-level interactions with many online learning partners, resulting in a more participative
and better-quality learning process managed by a human teacher (Roshan, 2002). The reuse and
sharing of teaching resources also ensures that the teaching load on the teachers is reduced.
188 N.-S. Chert Qtal

Scenario 2: online synchronous 'office-hours' activity mode

Traditional 'office-hours' activity allows students to discuss their questions with teachers on a
one-to-one basis. Therefore, this task is as important in the online leaming environment as it is
in traditional methods of instruction.
'Office-hours' activity can be classified according to two dimensions: media richness of discus-
sion content (text, audio and video) and the role of users (teachers,, students and teaching assis-
tants). T h e classification is shown in Table 2. This shows that there are nine feasible 'office-
hours' interaction modes in the model. T h e s y m b o l ' T ' means that interaction is by way of text;
'A' means that interaction is by means of audio—however, users can combine text and audio if
they wanted to. The symbol ' V indicates that teachers, students and teaching assistants employ
video to interact with each other—but they could also combine text and audio.
Because of its lower bandwidth requirements, text is more accessible than audio, and audio is
more accessible than video. From the network bandwidth limitation and the cost points of view,
it is natural for users to use text more than audio and video, and audio more than video. Since
teachers have institutional equipment available, it is more likely for teachers to have higher spec-
ification equipment available than students and even teaching assistants. As represented in
Table 2, the scenario in Mode 1 is most likely to happen even if it is the least desirable scenario
due to the least possible channels of interaction (only text). On the other hand, the scenario in
Mode 9 is least likely, due to the requirement of the highest specification equipment, despite the
fact that it provides the most channels of interaction (text, audio and video). It should be noted
that Table 2 represents only those modes that are found feasible in our experience of running
online 'office-hours' at NSYSU-CU for the last five years (Chen, 1997).
In the first mode in Table 2, text is used as the way of the interaction. It is similar to the discus-
sions that take place in the online chat rooms. T h e roles in the discussion room include teachers,
students and teaching assistants.
T h e third mode means that the students employ text whereas the teachers and teaching assis-
tants use both text and audio for the interaction. This mode has more interaction than the first
one. In the fifth mode, the students employ text and the teachers and teaching assistants use text,
audio and video to communicate. In this mode, the interaction among students, teachers and

Table 2. Synchronous 'office-hours' mode used in the course

Mode Students Teaching assistants Teachers Tool used Used status

1 T T T Chat room Yes

2 T T A Anicam-Live Yes
3 T A A Anicam-Live No
4 T A V Anicam-Live No
5 T V V Anicam-Live Yes
6 A A A JoinNet No
7 A A V JoinNet Yes
8 A V V JoinNet Yes
9 V V V JoinNei Yes

Key:T, text; A, audio (with possibility of text); V, video (with possibility of text and audio).
 Synchronous leaming using the Internet 189

teaching assistants is more varied. For example, if students' questions are of an operational
nature, teachers can choose to show the steps of the operation by synchronously transmitting
the images or video of the functions performed in those steps whereas teaching assistants can
follow up with audio communication. Furthermore, with the help of assistant tools, such as Join-
Net (httpiZ/wvi-w.homemeeting.com/) or Anicam-Live (http://anicam.elearn.com.tw/), teachers
could use their computers as the blackboards. In the sixth mode, the students, teachers and
teaching assistants all employ audio to communicate. In the eighth mode, the students use audio
and the teachers and teaching assistants use video. Finally in the ninth mode, the students,
teachers and teaching assistants all use video for interaction.
Now we shall describe two concrete case studies to illustrate how to achieve the online
synchronous live instruction and 'office-hours' activities in a cyber university environment.

Case studies and evaluation

In order to test the synchronous learning model described in this paper, we implemented it in a
Computer Network and Internet course at the NSYSU-CU in Taiwan (http://cu.nsysu.edu.tw).
In this course, we employed the online synchronous live instruction mode and mixed many
different 'office-hours' modes to conduct the course. The instructional tools we used were
Anicam-Live (Chen & Huang, 2002) and JoinNet; the functions of these tools were integrated
within the NSYSU-CU in Taiwan. The whole teaching process was completed synchronously.
A more detailed description of these two examples of the online synchronous learning model is
given below. It should be noted that the attempt here is not to generalise the results over inter-
national student population but to verify the feasibility of the model. Further future studies,
focused on a diverse student population, would be needed in order to assess the generalisation
issues.

Case study 1: live instruction mode

We deployed the online synchronous live instruction mode using a tool called Anicam-Live
(Verhaart, 2003). This tool provides many functions suitable for synchronous teaching. For
example, it enables teachers to use their computer screen as a blackboard to explain course
content and provides 'canvas' functions—such as a painting brush and blackboard eraser to be
used on the blackboard. In addition, all of the course presentation and interaction processes can
be recorded synchronously and can be provided to students for review after the class is over.
The synchronous learning environment was implemented within the Cyber University, and
various tools (such as the camera, microphone and handwriting board) were developed in this
system. Then, the existing teaching material was converted into HTML format and put into the
environment so that students could access it prior to the start of the teaching.
Seventy students enrolled in the Computer Networks and Internet course. The duration of
the course was one semester (four months). There was one instructor and three teaching assistants.
Most of the students were working adults. More details about these students are included in Table
3. In order to attend the online synchronous lectures, students had to log into the Cyber University
and enter the Computer Networks and Internet course room. The teacher could then register
their attendance through the roll-call area at any time. The teacher then delivered the teaching
190 N.S. Chen etal.

Table 3. Profile of participants (n = 70)

Variable Category Percentage

Gender Male 67
Female 33
Marital status Married 56
Single 44
Maior IT-related 30
Non-IT-related 70
Residence Southern Taiwan 52
Central Taiwan 12
Northern Taiwan 25
Eastern Taiwan 1
Age 21-30 25
31-40 58
41-50 16
51 or above 1
Job status IT-related job 59
Non IT-related job 37
Unemployed 4
Degree Master 11
College 62
Junior college 27
Occupation Full-time student 2
Part-time student 7
Full-time employee 78
Part-time employee 3
Others 10
Years after graduation 1-2 7
3-4 15
5-6 13
7-8 17
9 or above 47

session. All the teacher's actions, such as typing words, live images, and the teacher's voice were
recorded and delivered to the online students' computers synchronously through the media server.
Moreover, if students had any questions, they could discuss these using text chat in the discussion
room. During the synchronous session the teacher could navigate to the discussion room to see
whether students had any queries. Overall, the teacher had control over building an interesting
learning environment, including the way in which the class should be run and managed.

Case study 2: 'office-hours'

The synchronous online 'office-hours' modes that were employed in the above course are shown
in Table 2. The first mode was employed to perform the textual discussion. The teachers,
 Synchronous leaming using the Intemet 191

students and teaching assistants were all required to enter into the discussion room and they
were asked to specify individual colours for the text they typed in order to separate the diverse
identities. This made it easy to discriminate between the questions asked by the students and
the answers provided by the teachers and the teaching assistants.
In Modes 2-5, the main tool used was Anicam-Live, which allowed teachers to enable or
disable his/her live image from the CCD. Disabling the live image constituted Mode 2, whereas
when the teacher enabled the live image, Mode 5 came into operation, similar to the online
synchronous live instruction modes.
In Modes 6-9, the main tool used was JoinNet. This allowed online videoconferencing. In this
situation, the teacher acted in the role of the host of the meeting, where all students and teaching
assistants could join the meeting to discuss questions and share ideas. As long as students had a
CCD camera and microphone (or just a microphone) attached to their computers, they could
ask to speak. The host could decide who should talk at any given time. JoinNet also enabled
groups of four people to discuss at the same time. In addition. It also provided the functionality
to allow information sharing, where everyone could upload their documents to the whiteboard
and discuss their queries and share ideas. The teacher could also upload his/her teaching mate-
rials in order to address students' queries and to give any other additional explanations.
When the students had access to only a microphone. Modes 6, 7 and 8 were employed. But
if the students had both microphone and CCD camera, then Mode 9 was employed. As
mentioned before, we found that through Modes 6-9, students showed more willingness to ask
questions and discuss their queries with others.

Evaluation of online synchronous instruction

In order to understand students' leaming outcomes and satisfaction with online synchronous
live instruction, a survey was conducted in the above-mentioned Computer Networks and Inter-
net course in 2003. Out of 70 students, 50 students participated in the survey. Table 3 shows
the profile of the participants.
The students were given a questionnaire to evaluate their learning experience at the end of the
course (see Appendix 1). This appendix also shows the percentage responses to each question
in the questionnaire. Students were also invited to give free-form comments. According to the
survey results, 97% of students responded that they were satisfied with the online synchronous
live instruction mode and 89% of students responded that the live instruction mode could
provide very good interactions among teachers and students. Furthermore, considerable posi-
tive feedback was also found in the form of free-form comments, for example (translated from
Chinese):
I can feel that all participants have a high commitment to this live class even when we are all logged-in
NSYSU-CU from different locations.
Live instruction enables me to concentrate more; actually it is not easy to be distracted because teacher
could call anyone's name for response to questions.
I like this kind of live instruction mode. The feeling is just like I went back to school for class.
I prefer live instruction mode, because the feeling is just like in a real class with the atmosphere of face-
to-face lecture and the opponunity for interaction is higher.
192 N.S. Chen etal

Some students did experience difficulties like 'my computer is not powerful enough to carry
multimedia applications'. Some of them were using dial-up access with only 50 kbps band-
width—which is impossible for the Anicam-Live lectures. Sometimes the network traffic caused
so much congestion that they could not hear the audio very clearly. Some found navigating
multiple windows at the same time somewhat annoying. These comments were taken on board
while developing later versions of the tools used in the instruction.
Based on the survey results shown above, we believe this kind of online synchronous live
instruction mode and online 'office-hours' activities provide excellent learning outcomes and
satisfaction for online courses.

Conclusion
Synchronous leaming is becoming more and more important with the improvements in technol-
ogies such as broadband Intemet access and video compression techniques. This paper has
described an online synchronous learning model which attempts to classify different online
synchronous learning modes. We have also described and discussed the design and implemen-
tation of two examples of this approach; the online synchronous live instruction mode and the
online 'office-hours' mode. In our examples, we used Anicam-Live and JoinNet as teaching tools.
Teachers could use any other tools they were familiar with—provided those tools contained
similar functions to support them in running and managing the synchronous instruction
programs.
In terms of future research, work is required to enhance the functionality of the synchronous
leaming management system (SLMS) and build a more flexible, easy and convenient leaming
environment for teachers and students. The effects of students' learning styles and teachers'
teaching styles are also significant factors that need to be considered in order to improve the
students' leaming processes (Kinshuk et al.^ 2001).

Acknowledgement
This research was supported by the National Science Council, Taiwan (NSC92-2511-S-l 10-
001-X3).

Notes on contributors
Nian-Shing Chen has been a professor with the Department of Information Management,
National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan since 1996. He been strongly involved in the
development of the Taiwan Academic Network (TANet) for more than 14 years. His
research areas include e-learning, knowledge management and the use and development of
online and wireless technologies to enhance learning.
Hsiu-Chia Ko is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Information Management at National
Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan. Her research areas include knowledge management,
e-leaming, information security and electronic commerce.
Kinshuk is Associate Professor of Information Systems at Massey University, New Zealand. He
also directs the Advanced Leaming Technology Research Centre. His research interests
 Synchronous leaming using the Internet 193

include adaptivity in e-leaming and mobile learning. He is the editor of the Educational
Technology & Society journal and Leaming Technology Newsletter.
Taiyu Lin is a postgraduate researcher at the Advanced Leaming Technologies Research Centre
in Massey University, New Zealand. His research interests include student modelling,
adaptive hypermedia systems and instructional design. He is an assistant editor of the
Educational Technology & Society journal.

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 194 N.S. Chen etal

Appendix L Student evaluation questionnaire (originally in Chinese)

Student response (%)

Student evaluation of synchronous online courses SD" D U A SA

1. I gained much benefit from questions/responses raised 0 2.38 9.52 61.90 26. 19
by other students during the JoinNec office-hour
2. I was able to communicate effectively with teachers and 0 2.38 21.43 57.14 19.05
classmates during the jfoitiNei office-hour
3. JoittNet office-hours enabled the teacher [o more easily 0 2.38 16.67 57.14 23. 81
answer my questions than in text-based office-hours
4. It was easier to ask questions by speaking than by text 0 9.52 21.43 42.86 26. 19
typing during the JainNct office-hour
5. I was able to concentrate more during Anicam-Live in- 0 7.14 7. 14 57.14 28. 57
struction (lecture sessions) than pre-recorded instruc-
tion (lecture)
6. I understood the teacher's explanations hetter when we 0 2.38 7.14 59.52 30.95
used JoinNet office-hours than when we used text-based
office-hours
7. Participating in/Iw/ttim-L/i'£'instruction (lecture ses- 0 9.52 19.05 47.62 23.81
sions) is much like panicipating in a traditional class-
room
8. Anicam-Live instruction (lecture sessions) allowed me 0 0.00 14.29 38.10 47.62
to make up classes I missed and to review the whole in-
struction again and again
9. Anicant-Live instruction (lecture sessions) was just as ef- 0 9.52 21.43 42.86 26.19
fective as traditional classroom instruction
10. Participating inJomA'L'f office-hours helped my learning 0 0.00 9.52 61.90 28.57
in this course
11. Participating in ^e Anicam-Live lecture sessions helped 0 0.00 9.52 64.29 26.19
my learning in this course
12. Overall, I was satisfied with the quality of the Anicam- 0 2.38 9.52 61.90 26.19
Live instruction (lecture). Please also explain your rea-
son in the open-ended text-area
13. Overall, I was satisfied with the quality of the JO/HA'^T of- 0 2.38 16.67 61.90 19,05
fice-hour. Please also explain your reason in the open-
ended text-area

•"SD = strongly disagree; D = disagree; U ~ unsure (no commeni); A = agree; SA - strongly agree.