Audio Teleconferencing in Distance Education

Ashley Thomson is a full librarian at Laurentian University and co-editor or co-author of nine books, most recently Margaret Atwood: A Reference Guide, 1988-2005.

In 1983, Hadj Benyahia argued in Education and Technological Innovations: Academic Performance and Economic Advantages (Montreal: Renouf; see CBRA 1983, entry 4326) that available technology should be used in education only if it is at least as effective as traditional teaching methods and if clear cost savings can be realized over time.

The book under review is, with one major caveat, a case study that Benyahia might welcome. For what Brookbank has done is analyse the impact of audio teleconferencing in four correspondence courses offered by the Institute of Public Affairs at Dalhousie University in 1981/82. By audio teleconferencing, the author means telephone hook-ups of up to nine students with their instructors and with each other at pre-defined times.

Using standard, rigorous research methodology (experimental groups/control groups; pre-tests and post-tests), Brookbank’s conclusions are measured and responsible: there was no significant difference in results among students taking the courses, although students enrolled in “conceptual-based” ( as opposed to “knowledge-based”) courses may have done marginally better, to warrant further research with larger numbers.

The author also examines the impact of audio teleconferencing on students’ expectations and looks at its impact on the instructors involved.

While clearly a pilot study, this book will have great interest in higher education circles since it deals with a topic of great relevance there.

Thus, one only regrets that Brookbank, unlike Benyahia, does not concern himself with the equipment costs. For even if audio teleconferencing proves attractive under certain circumstances, one would like assurance that the benefits are affordable.