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Voices over the Internet: UNE staff explore new possibilities

October 20, 2006

webtalk.thumb.jpgStaff members at The University of New England have launched a project aimed at helping their colleagues to make the most of new technologies that allow teachers and students to literally TALK to each other over the Internet.

They established an interest group called “Webtalk” at a staff forum earlier this week.

A member of the “Webtalk” team, Dr Helen Fraser from UNE’s School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, said: “Internet audio is revolutionising online teaching around the world by allowing teachers and students to speak and listen to each other despite being separated by distance and time.”

Dr Fraser explained that “Webtalk” was designed to allow UNE staff members to work together in exploring the possibilities for using voice communication in online teaching. She and her fellow team members – Catherine Clarke (Teaching and Learning Centre), and Isabel Tasker and Associate Professor Kerry Dunne (Languages, Cultures and Linguistics) – introduced participants in the forum to a WebCT site they have created for “Webtalk”.

The site is intended for both experienced and beginning users of online audio. It allows UNE staff members to experiment with communication tools before using them in their courses, to share ideas and skills, and to form working groups on topics of interest to them.

Dr Fraser said that functions already available, and being used increasingly around the campus, included “podcasting” of lectures, voice e-mail, voice bulletin boards, and “voice chat”. “In the near future we will be introducing another tool, that will allow students to talk among themselves (with or without a teacher’s participation),” she said.

The forum also saw a demonstration, by Ian Truswell and Dr Robyn Smyth (Teaching and Learning Centre), of UNE’s broadband video-conferencing technology – technology that is helping UNE to maintain its position as a leader in distance education.

Dr Fraser said that those people at UNE already using Internet audio were finding it beneficial both for themselves and for their students. “The conversational immediacy of Internet audio can reduce the sense of isolation that distance learners sometimes experience,” she continued. "The spoken word is a much more natural means of communication than a written text, and students really benefit from the personal touch.

“For teachers, it offers the opportunity to explain things to students in a natural way, without the constraints of a formal, written explanation.

“’Webtalk’ isn’t only about teaching, however. Kerry Dunne and Isabel Tasker, as well as other staff members of the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, are actively engaged in research into online language learning. And others around the University, working at the forefront of online audio, publish their findings in academic journals. We hope that ‘Webtalk’ will facilitate new collaborations among these scholars.”

“Webtalk” is supported by UNE’s Teaching and Learning Centre, the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the Faculty of The Sciences.

The “Webtalk” Web site is open to all staff members of the University. Those who would like access to it should e-mail Catherine Clarke (cclarke@une.edu.au).

Posted by Jim Scanlan at October 20, 2006 02:38 PM