Using Videoconferencing Software to Maintain ...

Please cite as: Marczak, M. (2015). Using Videoconferencing Software to Maintain Classroom Presence for Absent Students. In Turula, A., Chojnacka, M. (eds.), CALL for Bridges between School and Academia Germany: Peter Lang.

Using Videoconferencing Software to Maintain Classroom Presence for Absent Students Mariusz Marczak Pedagogical University Cracow, Poland ABSTRACT

The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in foreign language education is increasingly being treated as an obvious option for teachers to use in order to facilitate instruction and promote the development of a range of learners' competences. However, relatively little research has been devoted to the idea of implementing ICT in order to enable students who are absent from lessons, e.g. due to hospitalisation, to reunite with their colleagues and continue education despite physical absence from the classroom. This chapter is a report of a case study which was administered at a teacher training institution with a view to examining the effects of using videoconferencing software in the EFL classroom in order to enable an absentee to continue course participation. The study focused on investigating the students' views on the need to maintain learners' classroom presence despite health problems, their attitudes towards the utilisation of videoconferencing software for that purpose, the effects of videoconferencing on their performance in a lesson, e.g. levels of participation, the technical problems which they experienced in the course of the lessons under study and the possibility of the experience translating into the teacher trainees' own classroom practices in the future. Keywords: ICT, CMC, videoconferencing software, communicator, Skype

1. Introduction The idea of utilising new technologies in education, including language teaching, is being promoted by documents which regulate international as well as national educational policies, for example: The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: learning, teaching, assessment (CoE 2001); the Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning (Recommendation 2006/962/EC); European Parliament resolution of 24 March 2009 on Multilingualism: an asset for Europe and a shared commitment (European


Parliament 2009); A Blueprint for R.E.S.P.E.C.T. (U.S. Department of Education 2013). At the same time, increased access to the latest Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools (Becta 2008) has rendered contemporary students comfortable with technology (Jones 2011). Since ICT is increasingly being treated as an obvious option for teachers to use in order to facilitate instruction and promote the development of a range of learners' competences, it is evident how research in Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) can be utilised for even less obvious classroom solutions. An example of that is a relatively little researched area of computer assisted education, which is the implementation of ICT in order to enable students who happen to miss lessons, e.g. due to a health condition, to join their colleagues and continue education despite physical absence from the classroom. A tool which can be utilised for that purpose is Skype, the videoconferencing software that has gained a very large group of users internationally. Microsoft prides itself on 300 users worldwide (Guardian 2013), while 250 million people use Skype for voice or video calls on a monthly basis (Murph 2012). In effect, the program has been put into use in educational contexts (Branzburg 2007; Waters 2008), where it has served the purpose of telecollaboration (O'Dowd & Ritter 2006; Smethurst 2009; Jones & Yamauchi 2014) small group instruction or one-to-one tuition (Kozar 2013). The merit of Skype derives from its versatility. It can be used in a number of ways: for communication between individuals, groups and with an individual collaborating with a group. It also permits audio/video communication as well as text-based instant messaging through a chat function. In addition, it allows up to six users to simultaneously participate in audio-only conference call sessions. Skype communication is augmented by file sharing functionalities, whereby the participants can exchange text or graphic files, and screen sharing options, which enables users to display a selected part of their screen, or the whole of it, on the co-communicator's computer. The latter option is a convenient solution for sharing more dynamic content, e.g. multimedia presentations (Eaton 2010). 2. Review of literature 2.1 Computer-mediated communication in the foreign language classroom Skype is a representative of a larger collection of web applications, e.g. Yahoo Messenger, iChat or SN Messenger, that can be used for what is labelled as Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) (Tsukamoto, Nuspliger & Senzaki 2009). CMC has been utilised for the purpose of computer-assisted (language) learning (Young 2003; Xiao & Yang 2005) as it displays a number of advantages.


Firstly, it has been observed that CMC promotes learning which stimulates learners to participate actively in the tasks to be performed (Tsukamoto, Nuspliger & Senzaki 2009). It also reportedly increases the level of learners' motivation while reducing anxiety (Young 2003; Bueno 2011), e.g. owing to increased anonymity, which reduces the impact of negative evaluation on individual learners' confidence. CMC additionally provides an opportunity for learners to engage in genuine communication with native speakers (Xiao & Yang 2005; Branzburg 2007), whereby they can develop aural-oral language skills through a hands-on experience, which may be particularly useful in settings where access to native speakers of the target language is limited. Xiao (2007) maintains that this mode of communication practice is more effective than non-native speaker studentstudent interaction in a face-to-face context, at least when it comes to the development of target language fluency. Similar findings have been reported by Bueno (2011). In CMC projects students also tend to focus more on the quality of language that they produce, which increases the accuracy of resulting output. They resort to self-correction, which translates into more effective negotiation of meaning and gains in pronunciation (Bueno 2010). Lee (2004), Tsukamoto, Nuspliger & Senzaki (2009) and Bueno (2011) observe that CMC provides learners with a purpose for communicative practice, which otherwise tends to be rather artificial. Consequently, students involved in CMC may display an increased sense of responsibility for task completion, as is indicated in Tsukamoto, Nuspliger & Senzaki's (2009) account of a Skypebased web conferencing project for a group of Japanese and American high school students. The project work primarily involved research on environmental issues; however, the Japanese students also used the opportunity to teach their mother tongue to American colleagues while the Americans helped their Japanese partners improve their English. The real life goal of the project motivated the Japanese learners to such an extent that they devoted their time outside the classroom hours to preparing and planning Skype communication sessions with their partners. Interestingly enough, as Tsukamoto, Nuspliger & Senzaki (2009) add, the purposefulness of CMC may also benefit teachers, who themselves have an opportunity in the course of telecollaboration projects to practise using the target language in an authentic setting, e.g. while communicating with the partner teachers at the planning stage. Notwithstanding the potential benefits of CMC for language learners, it must be realised that its effectiveness may be limited in foreign language education contexts due to the learners' limited proficiency in spoken English, which may stem from: large class sizes (Xiao 2007), instruction-oriented teaching (Cheon 2003), language anxiety levels (Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope 1986), lack of


authenticity (McKeeman & Oviedo 2014), and lack of opportunities for genuine communicative practice (Neri, Mich, Gerosa & Guliani 2008). Other problems, this time relating to CMC at large, may be caused by: technical issues, e.g. unreliable connectivity or faulty audio; the absenteeism of online partners, or unsuccessful partner matching, which may result in learners' reluctance or refusal to collaborate (Bueno 2011). In spite of all these limitations, CMC is for certain a kind of technology that is worth considering as an aid with which to facilitate the teaching of communication skills in foreign language instruction. 2.2 Using CMC to maintain absent students' classroom presence Cases in which computer-mediated communication is actually being utilised to maintain classroom presence for students who cannot attend face-to-face courses due to a medical condition are few and far between, which is confirmed by Jones (2011). In his publication he cites an evaluation report on the quality of services provided by the Education Institute at the Royal Melbourne Hospital by Campbell & St Ledger (2006), in which the authors claim that schools take very little advantage of ICT in order to help students with chronic medical conditions continue education despite their circumstances. What supports Jones' view is the very small number of publications that would describe projects involving the delivery of educational instruction to students who cannot attend lessons in person. An exception to the rule is Jones' (2011) report of the Link 'n Learn programme, run by the Educational Institute at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in association with the Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. It was within the programme that learners continued education via computer-mediated communication tools when medical reasons caused their prolonged absence from school or prevented them from attending f2f classes on a regular basis. Tuition was provided in various configurations both in terms of the technology used as well as the work modes used. The teacher worked in the classroom while using the blackboard or a data projector. The student outside the classroom could follow the lesson and communicate with the teacher thanks to the use of a laptop camera and in-built laptop speakers as well as a webcam, a wireless microphone and a headset, which the teacher used for the duration of the lesson. The videoconferencing software which facilitated the learning process was Dimdim. In total, the learner attended three lessons per week, however, it is worth observing that apart from two technology-mediated lessons, each week he was offered an additional face-to-face lesson, when he was visited by an integration teacher at home. Therefore, it may be stated that, in effect, the learner participated in a blended learning course (Jones 2011).


Although the computer-mediated instruction reportedly turned out to be effective, the experiment yielded data which revealed a number of issues relating to the use of videoconferencing software for instructional purposes. It seems that a primary barrier to the use of videoconferencing software to maintain classroom presence for absent students is the teacher's lack of training for contexts outside the face-to-face paradigm, for which they are primarily prepared as well as low confidence in their own ICT skills and computerassisted instruction skills. In effect, teachers are likely to approach the very concept of teaching in an online environment with reluctance, at least at the initial stage. The problem may be aggravated by the fact that teaching through videoconferencing while managing a face-to-face lesson may turn out to be a daunting task, particularly for a teacher who has never taught in an e-learning mode before (Jones 2011). One more problem to be resolved is access to technology at school. As Jones (2011) rightly observes, the very presence of technology on the school premises is no longer an issue; what remains to be improved is its accessibility precisely at the time of need. This problem was also reported as one of the findings in a study by Marczak (2013). Therefore, on the one hand teachers are in need of more comprehensive initial training in information and communication technology, while on the other, they need preparation for instructing students in a one-to-one online mode. What is more, it seems reasonable to suggest that what needs to increased is teachers' motivation to engage in technology-enhanced modes of course delivery, so that they can successfully overcome both psychological and technical barriers that prevent them from innovating. 3. Study 3.1 The context of the case study With a view to investigating how the solution described above works in practice, a case study was conducted in the academic year 2012/2013 at a teacher training institution. It involved a group of 11 student teachers, one of whom attended Practical English classes online via Skype due to an injury sustained in a car accident and the prospect of several months off school due to the medical treatment and subsequent rehabilitation that she needed. The study was motivated by the following research questions: 1. What views do students have on the need to maintain learners' classroom presence in case of health problems? 2. What attitudes towards the use of videoconferencing software for that purpose do students have?


3. What effects can videoconferencing have on learners' performance in a lesson? 4. What technical problems can be experienced in settings where learners' classroom presence is maintained through ICT? 5. What impact can such an experience exert on the student teachers' future classroom practices? 3.2 Subjects The subjects of the study were 11 student teachers, each in their early twenties, who declared themselves to be confident technology users, but used a limited number of mobile technology tools, including laptops, e-book readers and tablets. 3.3 Data collection instruments The case study was administered in the context of two Practical English courses: Conversations and Integrated Skills. The data were collected by means of two research instruments: (i) a post hoc structured questionnaire for the f2f students, i.e. the ones who participated in classroom lessons in person; and (ii) a post hoc structured interview with the student whose classroom presence was maintained through technology. The questionnaire was designed in Polish and contained 18 questions which fell into three groups: questions 1-5 concerned the student teachers' overall ICT experience; questions 6-17 referred directly to the lessons in which their colleague's presence was maintained through videoconferencing software; and the last question was supposed to investigate the degree to which the student teachers would be ready to use computer-mediated communication in their own teaching practices (cf. Appendix I for an English translation of the questionnaire). The structured interview with the student who participated in the aforementioned lessons through technology was guided by a set of 20 questions which fell into three groups: questions 1-5 concerned the student teacher's overall ICT experience; questions 6-17 referred directly to the lessons in which the student participated in lessons through videoconferencing technology; and the last question investigated the degree to which the student teacher would feel ready to consider utilising computer-mediated communication in her own teaching practices (cf. Appendix II for an English translation of the questions). 3.4 Procedure


The study was conducted in a setting in which in each lesson the course teacher worked with a group of 10 students in a face-to-face mode, while providing tuition to a student connected to the classroom via the web communicator Skype. The teacher was equipped with a multimedia desktop computer with the Skype program installed, connected to a desktop microphone as well as a set of standard loudspeakers. In addition, he made use of two wireless microphones: one which he carried around the classroom and talked throughout the lesson; and the other one, which was handed over to the student talking on the classroom forum at any given time. At the desktop computer there was a portable wireless loudspeaker with an amplifier, through which the sound from the wireless microphone was fed. That arrangement enabled the Skype student as well as those in the classroom, including the teacher, to be clearly audible. When the students in the classroom took turns speaking, the teacher's microphone was handed over to them, unless the teacher wished to comment on what was being said, in which case he collected his wireless microphone from the students. For pair work activities, one of the classroom students sat at the desktop computer and telecollaborated with the absent student on Skype. The Skype student worked from home and used a multimedia desktop computer with the Skype program installed, connected to headset, including a microphone. As the student in question reported, the use of a laptop was not possible. The courses in Integrated Skills and Conversations which the absent student attended through Skype involved listening and reading comprehension tasks, short writing activities as well as spoken assignments. For the purpose of effective classroom participation, the Skype student was provided with relevant worksheets either before or during the lesson, depending on need. The handouts which could be distributed before each lesson were posted to the student by email, while the ones that could be delivered at a short notice were delivered via Skype's file sharing functionality. 3.5 Findings The results of the study are discussed below in sections corresponding to the issues investigated through the questionnaire as well as the interview. The data obtained were analysed qualitatively rather than quantitatively due to a very small number of participants involved in the case study. At the same time, it must be realised that generalising the findings with regard to a larger population was not the goal of the research; it was rather an attempt at identifying potential issues relating to the implementation of videoconferencing in order to enable absent students to participate in lessons from a distant setting.


Reasons for continued education. The students involved in the study maintained that it was vital to help absent learners connect to the classroom, e.g. via videoconferencing technology; however, they emphasised that the decision should take into account student-student relations. The reasons for which they perceived it important for absentees to participate in lessons embraced catching up with assignments, maintaining contact with colleagues as well as the target language, and avoiding social exclusion. The Skype student expressed a very similar view; however, she additionally highlighted the fact that videoconferencing constituted a chance for her to maintain contact with the outside world and limit the sense of confinement despite the condition in which she found herself. The use of CMC in teaching speaking skills. On the one hand the participants of the study stated that computer-mediated communication is as useful for developing speaking skills as f2f communication activities; they also noticed that computer-mediated communication facilitates lesson participation as it puts the learner at ease by providing instant access to reference resources, e.g. online dictionaries. On the other hand, they claimed that f2f communication cannot be replaced by any other means, not even by videoconferencing. Besides, they observed that on Skype oral communication may be disrupted by learners typing messages rather than speaking. Sources of anxiety in spoken activities. Two major factors contributing to anxiety levels which usually accompany spoken assignment in the classroom were cited by the respondents: the fear of colleagues' reaction to what learners say and being forced to discuss topics on which they have little to say even in the mother tongue. Although neither of the problems can be directly addressed by the implementation of CMC, they both imply what teachers who attempt to develop their learners' speaking skills, be it with or without the use of technology, need to act upon in order to increase the effectiveness of instruction. Effects of CMC on classroom performance. The respondents indicated a number of ways in which CMC affected their involvement in oral practice. On a positive note, they maintained that CMC made them involve more in the communicative practice organised by the teacher. In addition, the handing over of the microphone increased individual students' participation in oral activities as they knew exactly when to speak. In other words, turn-taking in the spoken tasks was clearly earmarked by physical actions. At the same time, problems related to CMC surfaced through the opinions collected. For instance, it was stated that while on Skype, particular students wished they could participate in face-to-face discussion with the colleagues in the classroom, which they thought they were missing. The microphone reportedly discouraged some individuals from speaking as it made them feel uncomfortable. The lack of face-to-face contact was also cited as a barrier to


oral communication. A single student did not experience any particular impact of CMC on lesson participation. The student who joined the lesson via Skype claimed that she spoke less than she would have done if she had been able to attend classes in person. She also found turn-taking difficult and missed nonverbal feedback due to the lack of video cues. In addition, she stated that the expression of emotions by non-verbal means was impossible without the use of a webcam. One more problem that she faced was the fact that pressure she experienced while speaking on the class forum, when she realised that every single person in the classroom listened intently to her words. Impact of CMC on communication. The respondents reiterated that communication was disrupted by the lack of non-verbal feedback, which usually constitutes a supplementary information channel in out-of-class, natural conversation. The absence of video was also believed to lie behind the lack of communicative realism; it was a limitation which did not make the students feel natural as they attempted to communicate with their colleague on Skype. That in turn implies that the lack of non-verbal feedback is likely to affect both the level of students' classroom performance at large as well as the quality of communication in which they were involved. On the other hand, the student who attended lessons via Skype maintained that she would have felt more intimidated if the webcam had been used for communication, given her medical condition. She would have felt even more inhibited, had she been forced to speak on camera, with her colleagues watching the performance on a large screen. Thus, form that particular student's perspective, the use of audio only cushioned her feeling of discomfort caused by her medical condition. The study participants added that it occasionally happened that their interlocutor on Skype did not respond to their utterances, only voiced her own opinion, and the whole conversation felt more like a monologue. Technical problems which were experienced in the course of the CMC-based lessons comprised: unstable web connection which delayed preparation for the lessons; issues regarding sound settings, e.g. the lack of sound or poor quality of microphone audio; arranging for the right equipment before the lesson, including the need to collect portable microphones, a portable loudspeaker and a laptop; and setting up of the software utilised, which occasionally consumed too much time. The Skype student additionally faced problems caused by the fact she was forced to leave the bedroom and sit at a desktop computer in order to be able to attend the CMC-mediated lessons, the physical pain she experienced as a result of her medical condition, the lack of non-verbal feedback from the teacher and the feeling of dislocation or physical detachment from colleagues.


Impact of CMC experience on student teachers' future classroom practices. A majority of the student teachers maintained that videoconferencing software seems to be a powerful solution and an excellent tool that creates extensive opportunities for both teachers and students. They claimed that CMC helps the teacher to break away from the classroom routine. Others declared that they would consider implementing CMC if their circumstances required it. Only two respondents stated adamantly that they would not run CMC-based lessons; however, they did not motivate their stance. The Skype student admitted that she had ambivalent feelings about the experience, and she would have preferred f2f participation, had it been physically possible. At the same time, she noted that CMC enabled her to work systematically and follow the course despite her temporary disability. In hindsight she added that her preference for f2f instruction may have derived from the physical pain that accompanied her during the Skype sessions, and less pain could make her more ready to participate in CMC activities. All in all, within the group of student teachers observed it turned out that computer-mediated communication has a potential to encourage learners to speak and help teachers lead innovative lessons. However, depending on individual students, it may also inhibit learning, feel artificial or even limit the scope of communication that learners engage in. CMC may work as an excellent tool with which to enable absent students to continue education despite a medical condition; however, the solution is far from universal and it may have negative side effects, including students' tension and the resulting inhibition. Decisions on the implementation of CMC for maintaining classroom presence should be informed by individual learners' attitudes towards this kind of work mode, their overall sensitivity, the degree of social integration within a group of learners as well as the physical condition of the absentee(s). An example which illustrates this issue is the use of the webcam in CMC, which is not an obvious option as, on the one hand, it enhances communication, while on the other intimidates students, particularly when it is being used by student with a medical condition. Last but not least, it appears that the very experience of CMC-based instruction may be a factor encouraging future teachers to at least trial new ICTenhanced solutions in their own practices, which could translate into even more innovative teaching in the course of time. Should this not happen, CMC in teacher education course could at least help students reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of the solution, so that they could develop a sound view of it. 4. Conclusions


Although the findings obtained cannot be extended to a larger population, due to the small scale of the case study, they offer a number of implications for handling the attitudinal and practical aspects of CMC-based work mode as well as for further research in this area. First and foremost, the study has demonstrated that research in CMC can lend itself to improving language education in a manner that does make a difference and adds new quality. In the light of the results obtained, CMC can be effectively used to enable absent students to participate in language lessons. What is more, it may be stated that all the potential problems relating to the kind of CMC investigated within this study can either be counteracted or, at least, minimised. Therefore, it is advisable to promote this solution among preservice and in-service teachers e.g. through instruction on how to organise it effectively. However, it must be remembered that such instruction should reach beyond theoretical training and be enhanced with workshop activities which would enable the participants to get some hands-on experience. At the level of actual classroom implementation, a number of suggestions may be offered to language teachers. Firstly, the artificiality of CMC may be reduced by involving students in electronic modes of communication, especially synchronous ones, so that they have an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the specificity of it. It may also be a sound idea to explain to students that CMC is becoming a regular feature of professional life, particularly in corporate contexts, which means that this kind of language work equips students with a competence which will improve their position on the job market. Secondly, in order to decrease the likelihood of individual students feeling inhibited by CMC, teachers should survey students on their perceptions of this kind of work, including reservations, and preferences. Moreover, when CMC activities are already being used, learners should be constantly monitored, either through interviews or feedback forms, so that necessary adjustments can be introduced to solve problems before they grow or accumulate. Thirdly, the student who joins the classroom online must be attended to by the teacher, particularly if he/she is experiencing health problems, so that their learning needs are catered for and they work in a stress-free environment. Thus, he/she should be offered a choice between opting in or out of this kind of lesson participation. Besides, the kinds of tasks that he/she is involved in vary from individual to pair/group work, so that he/she does not feel excessively exposed. As a follow-up to the present study, it is desirable to replicate it on a larger population in order to generate a more thorough picture of the phenomena under investigation. In the long run it seems tempting to focus further research on how the utilisation of CMC affects the development of foreign language learners' communication skills, including the strategies that they use while negotiating meaning.


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Appendix I Questionnaire [translated into English] 1. Would you characterise yourself as technology savvy? 2. Do you use various forms of mobile communications technology? 3. Do you feel that you have increased access to digital communications technology at home? 4. Do you feel that you have increased access to digital communications technology at school? 5. Do you think that schools in Poland utilise CMC tools in order to maintain real time contact with students who are absent from school due to a medical condition? 6. How did you feel when you learnt that your group mate would be participating in classes through Skype? 7. Do you think that it is important for a person who cannot attend school to maintain contact with group mates? 8. Why is it so?/What kind of motivation can absent students have to attend classes online? 9. Did you ever experience any technical problems while participating in lessons which your group mate joined on Skype?/What kinds of problems were they? 10. Do you think that your group mate experienced any impediments/limitations to her full participation in lessons due to the fact that she worked through Skype? / What limitations were they?/What aspects of the lessons do you think she missed due to the fact that she participated through Skype, rather than face-to-face? 11. How would you have felt if a webcam had been used? / Would you have had any reservations about it? 12. How did the use of Skype affect the way in which you participated in the lessons?/Did you speak more/less because of that? 13. Do you think that CMC can improve speaking skills more than f2f lessons? If so, why? 14. Do you normally experience anxiety while speaking in f2f classes? If so, did the implementation of Skype reduce/increase your anxiety ? 15. Did you ever use the chat function of Skype while speaking to your group mate? If so, what purposes did you use it for? 16. Did you feel that CMC differed in any way from f2f communication? 17. Was the lack of visual cues a problem in CMC? 18. Given your experience, would you consider using CMC for language learning in the future? Appendix II Interview questions [translated into English]


1. Would you characterise yourself as technology savvy? 2. Do you use various forms of mobile communications technology? 3. Do you feel that you have increased access to digital communications technology at home? 4. Do you feel that you have increased access to digital communications technology at school? 5. Do you think that schools in Poland utilise CMC tools in order to maintain real time contact with students who are absent from school due to a medical condition? 6. Did you feel the desire to continue learning despite your health condition and inability to attend school? 7. How important was it for you to maintain contact with your group mates? 8. Why was it so?/What kind of motivation did you have? 9. Did you experience any technical problems while participating in lessons through CMC?/What kinds of problems were they? 10. Was it easy for you to setup the technology which you needed to participate in lessons through CMC? 11. Did you experience any impediments/limitations to your full participation in lessons through CMC? / What limitations were they?/What aspects of the lessons did you miss due to the fact that you were participating through CMC, rather than face-to-face? 12. What equipment (in what configuration) did you use? 13. Why didn’t you use a webcam?/ Did you have reservations about it? 14. How did Skype affect the way in which you participated in the lessons?/Did you speak more/less because of that? 15. Do you think that CMC can improve speaking skills more than f2f lessons? If so, why? 16. Do you normally experience anxiety while speaking in f2f classes? If so, did Skype reduce/increase your anxiety ? 17. Did you use the chat function of Skype while speaking to your group mates? If so, what purposes did you use it for? 18. Did you feel that CMC differed in any way from f2f communication? 19. Was the lack of visual cues a problem in CMC? 20. Given your experience, would you consider using CMC for language learning in the future?

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