Video conference teaching at an Open Distance Learning (ODL) university in South Africa: Analysis of benefits and drawbacks

Abstract

Video conference-based education is the use of communication technology to provide education from a central site to remote distant education sites using live interactive audio-video communication. The purpose of the study was to describe the factors that influenced attendance of the Health Services Management's video conference sessions held at UNISA. A questionnaire containing both closed and open ended questions was posted to students registered for Health Services Management in 2012. Two hundred and sixty (260) questionnaires were returned and the narratives were analyzed using qualitative methods. Students shared both positive and negative views about attending the video conference. The students were happy about the clarity of the course content and feedback on assignments. However, the lecturers were reportedly hasty to finish the content within allocated time. Travelling to these venues was also expensive as some students needed to book accommodation. The majority of students benefited from the information shared during the video conference sessions but felt that compiling the information on a Compact Disk (CD) would be helpful to the students who were not able to attend the sessions. The online teaching strategies need to be revisited as they pose challenges to students.