Teaching undergraduate technology courses as a full-time doctoral student presents two opportunities for me. First, as a doctoral student, I hoped this book would provide a thorough analysis of the nature of social interactions amongst faculty, students, and other members of online learning communities. As a teacher, I hoped that this book would provide research about successful practices used in computer-mediated learning environments. These interests drove my review of this book.Angela T. Ragusa, the editor of Interaction in Communication Technologies and Virtual Learning Environments: Human Factors, is a lecturer in sociology and course coordinator for the BA Honors Program at Charles Stuart University, Australia. She states that the purpose of this book “is to educate and familiarize everyday users of computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies with the frequently unanticipated outcomes that accompany dialogue in virtual environments” (p. xx). The intended audience for this book includes “system developers, managers and users of CMC (technologies)” (p. xxi).In addition to the contributions of the editor of this book, there are many other participants in the creation of the content of this book. Contributors come from a wide variety of geographical locations; including Australia, New Zealand, United States of America, Germany, and United Kingdom. Having a variety of contributors provides many perspectives on the topics covered in this book. Ragusa summarizes the combination of the contributors’ ideas by stating that they “have shown how changes in the availability, quality and quantity of communication technologies are revolutionizing and fundamentally altering how individuals and organizations interact, communicate and work” (Ragusa, 2010, p. 5).Ragusa suggests that the analysis provided in this book “demands that we question how each social change affects both our global society and shared physical environment, and to ask whether the changes occurring are desirable” (p. 5). This analysis led to the identification of many successes and failures while individuals and organizations attempted to enhance communication and learning through online environments. In addition, Ragusa extends this analysis beyond education by including chapters that describe the use of communication technologies in applied settings, as well as higher education settings.Interaction in Communication Technologies and Virtual Learning Environments: Human Factors is divided into two major sections; (1) communication technologies in applied settings and (2) communication technologies in higher education. There are also sub-sections that give the reader a more detailed understanding of the connection between the chapters. The subsection for Section 1 is “We Want to Communicate in a Globally-Informed World,” which includes Chapters 2 through 5. The subsections for Section 2 include “We Demand Critical Reflection of Technology's Implications” (Chapters 6 through 8), “We Tend to Feel Like Someone's Watching” (Chapters 9 through 12), “We Need Effective Communication Tools in Supportive Environments” (Chapters 13 through 16), and “We Are Creating Adaptable Communication Environments” (Chapter 17 through 20).The first section “examines how contemporary technologies are being used to bridge vast geographical divides” (p. xxii). The chapters in this section provide examples of how institutions of higher learning, organizations, and communities are using technology to enhance collaboration practices by attempting to reach out to individuals in a variety of geographical locations. One great example is provided in the study conducted in Chapter 2. The researchers designed a project that involved students, faculty, mentors, and community leaders who worked together to develop three health awareness campaigns for the citizens of Kenya. These individuals not only came from different geographical backgrounds, but also came from different disciplinary backgrounds as well. Although the disciplinary collaboration did not go exactly as planned, the online environment developed for collaboration for this project fostered effective interactions amongst the participants. Furthermore, this section looks at the necessity of getting the input of the users involved in order to help with the planning and development of communication technologies. The study mentioned in Chapter 3 shows how this can be essential because one of the participants was handicapped, and the recommended changes helped to accommodate the participants’ disability.The first subsection of the second section, “We Demand Critical Reflection of Technology's Implications,” provides a critique of technologies that are currently being used in higher education. One theme that emerges from this section is that online courses are not a substitute for traditional, face-to-face courses. With this in mind, it is important for educators to understand that teaching online courses is different from teaching face-to-face courses so using methods typically used in face-to-face courses may lead to failure in online courses. Another significant point introduced in this section is that some disciplines require individuals in that field to acquire certain skills that can only be taught in face-to-face learning environments. For example, the study in Chapter 7 observes the presence of technology in a lawyer training course. Since some skills could not be taught through online courses, a recommendation was made that blended learning be the ideal learning environment for individuals who are studying to be lawyers. This may be the case in other areas as well, which stresses the need for a critical analysis of teaching methods for a particular area of study when technology is involved.The second subsection, “We Tend to Feel Like Someone's Watching,” examines the observation component that's characteristic of some virtual learning environments. The integration of technology in higher education has changed the way we view distractions or undesired behavior. Often times, educators may just be misinterpreting what their learners are doing. For example, lurking behavior in online discussions may be viewed as learners not wanting to participate or other negative behaviors. The study in Chapter 10 highlights different factors that educators should take into consideration before being so quick to judge students, such as cultural differences. This section also highlights the role of teacher and administrators as observers. An example from the study in Chapter 11, which examines the impact of teacher observation methods on gifted students, warns educators of the danger of restricting students’ behavior by using monitoring to ensure that students are completing required tasks. In this study, the students were given online tutorials to view, and the teacher monitored whether students viewed them or not. In addition, the students knew that they were being monitored. Forcing the gifted students in the class to watch tutorials on material that they were already familiar with may have hindered their learning because they were wasting valuable time.The third subsection, “We Need Effective Communication Tools in Supportive Environments,” “shares perceptions of marketers, nurses, psychologists, and Instructional Technology specialists about the desirability, adoption and adaption of virtual learning technologies in contemporary educational environments” (p. xxviii). The perceptions of the previously mentioned individuals emphasized the need for careful planning and design of online technology resources and learning environments. For example, Chapter 14 presented an online resource that was designed to aid business students in completing a real-life business task for a marketing course. The task required students to apply marketing theory that they learned in the course to several businesses. The online resource provided information that helped students to complete the task because the content that was provided included area-specific help in research and writing. In addition, the results from the study conducted in Chapter 15 indicate that online educators must understand how to conduct online discussions, and how to successfully facilitate student learning in online courses.The fourth subsection, “We Are Creating Adaptable Communication Environments,” provides research on the use of “group-work, virtual scenarios and a variety of learning communities to share with the readers ideas they may be able to take away and adapt for their own virtual communication environments” (p. xxx). Many educators are turning to Web 2.0 tools to help foster discussion in online learning environments. As seen in the study conducted in chapter 17, Web 2.0 tools can help learners to go beyond just learning content and develop life skills that are needed in the workforce, such as collaboration. Another benefit of online group work is mentioned in chapter 9 is the potential for learners to build social connections. This would be truly beneficial for individuals in purely online courses who may feel isolated since they are working alone.In conclusion, Interaction in Communication Technologies and Virtual Learning Environments: Human Factors is an easy read for individuals in the field of computer-mediated communication. The only part that I found to be difficult to read was the beginning because the terminology being used was that of a sociologist. The contributors to this book do a great job of covering the essential elements of their particular topic. The ideas that are brought up and tested throughout the book help to solidify the role of technology in a variety of real-life scenarios. The critical nature of the contributors ensures that there is a balance of perspectives. Although contributors may have been researching a particular method of computer-mediated communication that they created themselves, they were careful as to point out the positive and negative results from their findings. In addition, I was under the impression that each contributor had a significant perspective that added to the richness of the content within this book.This book centered on the theme of using computer-mediated communication technologies for building stronger, more effective social connections. Overall, this book does a good job of staying on topic and blending the different perspectives of the contributors so that they match with the theme. A major caveat that exists is the readability of this book for nonscholars. For example, the introduction chapter can be difficult to understand if you are not somewhat familiar with the field of sociology. In addition, some chapters may have terminology that fits for their field but may be difficult for individuals outside of their field to comprehend. I also would question the transparency of the implications mentioned in some chapters solely because they were tested within a specific field or area. Nonetheless, I would highly recommend this book to all individuals who work with computer-mediated communication technologies.
Justin Allison (Fri,) studied this question.