The impact of innovative technology on students' communication behavior and perceptions of teacher immediacy
Computer-mediated communication is an increasingly popular method for attempting to engage students. This dissertation explores several areas of connection between technology and communication apprehension and perceptions of teacher immediacy. Students who utilized electronic communication options (email, electronic discussion groups, etc.) had higher GPAs than those who did not, but interestingly, students who communicated with a professor after class and in office hours had no significant difference in academic performance. Teacher immediacy was also looked at with reference to the student's use of electronic communication options. No relationship was found between student perception of teacher immediacy and their use of alternate forms of communication. There is also evidence that students utilize whatever form of communication is available to them. Students who spoke, also used computer-mediated options, and those who did not communicate where equally disinterested in both forms. This finding held true for apprehensive communicators as well. Those students did not use the alternative formats of communication any more than they did the traditional. The only difference discovered was that apprehensive students' computer-mediated communication behaviors model those of their traditional communication patterns. They participate in a passive way only. They listen in class and they read computer postings. They will ask a question in private office hours or after class if necessary, and they will send a private email to the instructor. These students do not utilize communications that require a public medium. When analysis was performed on the content of the messages, it was found that, when students spoke in class, the comments were more likely to be about class content, while verbal comments outside of class were about class processes but not necessarily content. Electronic messages seemed to be most like the comments made in the classroom setting, and were primarily substantive in nature
Thesis, Dissertation, English, 2002