Abstract :
This paper outlines the possibilities for using broadband videoconferencing
within the larger context of changing the focus for teaching from the teacher
to the learners. It also explores opportunities that might be created by this
technology to facilitate learner-centred engagement in learning and to provide
new opportunities for collaboration and support for students studying by the
distance mode. As part of the wider discussion, it presents a decision-making
framework for teachers to consider when integrating videoconferencing into
their curriculum. The bandwidths possible from broadband Internet
connection rather than the integrated services digital network transmission
increase the richness of videoconferencing to a much closer approximation of
natural communication, thus creating opportunities for more creative uses
for the medium. The outcomes of trials undertaken at the University of
New England during the last two years provide the basis for predicting the
usefulness of the technology for learner-centered interactions when the
majority of students are learning from locations quite remote from the main
campus.
