A Visually Enhanced Synchronous Interaction Tool for Blended E-Learning

Experience within academic blended e-learning projects and in traditional academic education points out the need for enhanced services for synchronous communication between teachers and students. The E-studium project (E-studium, 2009; Falcinelli, Falcinelli, Laici, & Milani, 2007; Falcinelli et al., 2007), developed at the University of Perugia, includes tools for synchronous and asynchronous communication between teachers and students or among students such as forums, chat rooms, messaging, etc. In this paper the different interaction tools widely available in most Course Management Systems (CMS) and e-learning platforms are analysed from a didactic perspective, focusing on the interaction they allow between teachers and students. The experience of blended learning projects supporting lectures for undergraduate courses in Computer Science and Mathematics is also described and analyzed. The analysis suggests relevant criteria and parameters for design and development of a visually enhanced tool for synchronous communication between teachers and students that has been implemented, as Virtual Office Hours (VOH), a Moodle CMS compatible module (Falcinelli & Milani, 2007; Moodle, 2009), and integrated within the E-studium project in a blended e-learning academic setting. The theoretical motivation, functional, and architectural requirements and structure of such a tool are described.