Exploring Student Motivationsfor IP Teleconferencing in Distance Education

Abstract

This chapter explores the various motivations students have for engaging in both origination site and distant site teleconferenced sections of an information systems course, enabled by Internet protocol (IP)- based teleconferencing. While in the past many distance learning courses have been asynchronous Webbased offerings, technology and cost advantages now available through IP teleconferencing provide for synchronous course offerings that can serve several physical locations at the same time while retaining the converged media advantages of Internet delivery. To better understand how this new capability can be incorporated into future curricula, it is important to understand student motivations for participating in IP teleconferencing as part of a lecture section for a class delivered across geographically dispersed collegiate campuses. Theoretical perspectives of student motivations for engaging in distance education are examined, and the results of three specific studies of student motivations for IP teleconferencing and multimedia-enhanced instruction are examined and discussed.