Degree Name

Education Specialist (EdS)

Semester of Degree Completion

1997

Thesis Director

Beverly Findley

Abstract

Audiographic conferencing is a distance education practice being used in schools. Audiographic conferencing utilizes hardware and software to provide interactive audio and data transmission between locations. This study was conducted to assess the perceived effectiveness of the components of audiographic distance education by teachers and students in three Central Illinois High Schools involved in utilizing audiographics as a delivery system in terms of hardware, software, teaching techniques, appropriateness of course content, delivery system, and student achievement.

The study took place during the 1994-95, 1995-96 and 1996-97 school years utilizing a survey of a population of teachers and students involved in audiographic classes. Responses to the survey were received by 7 of the 7 teachers and 118 of the 128 students involved in audiographic classes.

Teachers and students reported general satisfaction with audiographics by assigning the highest ratings (4 or 5) to most areas of the components of audiographic distance education identified in the research questions. Some students and teachers indicated lack of satisfaction with the hardware, teaching technique of interaction between student/teacher and between students and satisfaction with achievement by assigning it the lowest ratings (1 or 2). Eight-six percent of teachers and 33% of students assigned the highest ratings (4 or 5) to recommending continuation of the program of audiographics as a distance education delivery system.

Recommendations as a result of the study included evaluating the audio systems at the schools involved for effectiveness; exploring applying the audiographic system to deliver the instruction over the Internet; providing in-service to audiographic instructors about teaching techniques; looking for alternate modes of assessment of student performance in audiographic classes; and continued systematic observation and data collection to determine whether to continue audiographic distance education.

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