Computer-Mediated Conferencing: Grounded Guidelines

Students talking about what it feels like to be 'conferencing'...

There was quite a lot of fumbling around working out how things went.

Everyone in the project was pretty familiar with this standard design process...It was just a matter of following the steps using the technology we had.

It was a bit contrived, it wasn't actually flowing out of a learning and development kind of process.

We set up a separate conference, but again it just operated as a thread and in fact is pretty similar to the one that it was separated from, not that much different to it. That was an attempt to set up a different sort of conference, but it didn't really take off.

We've used it as email this year. Last year we had assignments we had to do collaboratively, so we used it as a bit more of a focus but we also had a practical issues folder didn't we?

We haven't used it to come up with one collaborative piece of work this time. It's just a means of communication...

There's a lot of confusion between staff and students about what you're actually trying to achieve in these kinds of projects.

...I doubt if the enthusiasm we had for the project would be present if the module was being run for three hours a week over twelve weeks; our enthusiasm came about because I felt the project seemed more like a working environment than an academic one.

In terms of the stages we went through, it's the same stages we've been drummed into since the start of first year...The only thing that was really new was using the technology to do the process.

Everyone in the project was pretty familiar with this standard design process.. It was just a matter of following the steps using the technology we had.

The way I really saw working was from a developing concept somebody would draw something on the whiteboard, and then we could talk about it, and somebody else could say, "have a look at this"...It's as close to the way you would normally do conceptual design, where it would be a real whiteboard and you would talk about it, or sheets of paper or whatever.

Students in conversation on-line..

Halleluya. Through to you at last I hope. Much assistance provided by Mr. H. This is really neat!

Don't know what I've done differently this time but I can now access First Class will someone now please send me a message !

Hello all,

V has taken pity on me and let me use her computer to logon (don't even know if that's the right word) so I'm taking this opportunity to annoy you all. That's it. Can't wait till I'm ready to do my E-mail project, looks like fun.

M, I got a phone call from AO and have managed to sort out my new identity!! and a password - I'm back on line! Thanks for your help see you Monday

Hi G, I think I've finally made it in. I'm looking for the Mars Bar!! Let me know if you get this message. That means I am a fully paid up member, H

Finally got connected - I hope! Desperate for a Mars Bar. Please send messages to prove the connection is not a figment of my imagination. Your deepest Ayrshire jungle correspondent, H.

PS Now need to discover how to send attachments - Help! suggestions which are printable would be useful. Ta, muchly.

Hi there - nice try with the data but sadly my system can't read it, argh! Try sending by firstclass if you can and I should be able to read it (alternatively give me a hard copy on Monday and I'll put it in Monday night!) Thanks, V.