A REVIEW OF E-LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES - Opportunities for Teaching and Learning <s> Synchronous Communication <s> Online learning is growing in higher education contexts around the world, but very few research‐based studies have addressed the cultural aspects of online teaching and learning. In this study, we focused on international students from Taiwan and examined their perspectives of taking a synchronous online course in the US. Specifically, we were interested in their adjustment from learning in a physical classroom to learning in a synchronous online environment, their opinions of synchronous online courses, their interactions in synchronous online courses, and what could be done to accommodate their needs in synchronous online courses. Results showed that although their learning behaviors did not change dramatically in the synchronous online course, the Taiwanese students prefer traditional face‐to‐face courses rather than synchronous online courses. The study also showed that the instructional design of the course interacts with cultural issues, and that the instructional design is more important than the t... <s> BIB001 </s> A REVIEW OF E-LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES - Opportunities for Teaching and Learning <s> Synchronous Communication <s> Higher education institutions deliver web-based learning with varied success. The success rate of distributed online courses remains low. Factors such as ineffective course facilitation and insufficient communication contribute to the unfulfilled promises of web-based learning. Students consequently feel unmotivated. Instructor control and in the courseroom further isolates students, whereas success rate increases when students unite in virtual communities. King (2002) increased student participation in his online classes by creating a virtual student, Joe, as a participating student and supplementary facilitator. This investigation responds to King's call for further directions on how a virtual helper enhances online facilitation. This inspired our investigation of how Virtual Jane might augment online facilitation. King's prediction, ''It seems that Joe Bags may have a family in the future,'' (p. 164) became a reality in a South African masters' web-based class on web-based learning. <s> BIB002 </s> A REVIEW OF E-LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES - Opportunities for Teaching and Learning <s> Synchronous Communication <s> This case study describes the use of a synchronous communication application (MSN Messenger) in a large academic computing environment. It draws on data from interviews, questionnaires and student marks to examine the link between use of the application and success measured through module marks. The relationship is not simple. Total abstainers and heavy users come out best, while medium level users do less well, indicating the influence of two factors. The discussion section suggests possible factors. The study also highlights the benefits of support and efficiency of communication that the application brings. Although there have been many studies of synchronous communication tool use in the office and in social life, this is one of the first to examine its informal use in an academic environment. Keywords: instant messaging; computer-mediated communication; social computing; informal communication; ethnographic research DOI: 10.1080/09687760802649863 <s> BIB003
Synchronous communication has many forms and is the closest technology-supported communication mode to face-to-face communication. It has an immediacy that asynchronous communication lacks. Synchronous communication can be text or audio based and can include video, multimedia, document and desktop sharing. Synchronous communication is facilitated through chat rooms, instant messaging and video-conferencing and is often used in education. The need to support distance education and remote learners has prompted the use of synchronous tools to facilitate communication in environments where face-to-face is not possible. It has been used in a variety of learning environments, including small group teleconferences  ; professional development for teachers ; virtual assistants as online facilitators BIB002 ; and supporting acquisition of study and literacy skills  . Although some researchers have found that there are differences in the use of synchronous tools which are dependent on factors such as culture BIB001 others have found that using such tools may cut through potential barriers. A study undertaken by BIB003 suggests that the use of synchronous communication tools brings benefits to student support through efficient communication. Such tools can also be used to promote cooperation among students who work individually on their computers at home  and to cross national and cultural boundaries (Harrison et al., 2003) .  found that the immediacy of synchronous tools to facilitate class communications afforded a number of benefits to students that asynchronous communication tools did not achieve.