Computer Mediated Communication (CMC)

Computer technology is all around us. Almost all human being living in this earth use some sort of computerized device every day, whether it is a laptop, a phone, or a GPS device. Such technology is becoming more accessible to most of the world, and as a result, communication is changing. Although Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) is not a novelty, its currentspread is casting a blaze of light on the new environments created by electroniccommunications.The people who are likely most in tune with these changes are children and youth. Most of today’s adults did not have access to touch-screen phones, online social networks, or even the internet when they were younger. But now in our communities, schools, homes, and pockets, technology is ever-present and so is the internet, a vast global interaction between people and computers.It is time to teach students how to use this technology successfully. They’ve grown up with Facebook, cell phones, and Google, but are they using these technologies to their fullest potential? Are they using them safely and responsibly?

Many students may not use computer-mediated communication in their everyday lives. Some students may not even have access to the Internet outside of school, or have parental restrictions that prevent them from participating in online activities. These students can still benefit from this unit. With the growing popularity of technology in our culture, it is likely that they will participate in these things in the future, when they get a job or go to college and they need to be ready.

Computer Mediated Communication or also known as (CMC) is any form of communication between two or more individual people who interact and/or influence each other via separate computers through the Internet or a network connection - using social software. CMC does not include the methods by which two computers communicate, but rather how people communicate via computers.CMC promotes self-discipline and requires students to take more responsibility for their own learning. Using CMC, instructors can vary a course's instructional design to include everything from structured projects to open projects in which students are free to work on "messy" but authentic problem solving.Moreover, CMC promotes an equalization of users. Because CMC is, at present, primarily text-only, the consequent reduction in social cues leads to a protective ignorance surrounding a person's social roles, rank, and status. Further, it is impossible to know if another person took several hours to draft a one screen response, or several minutes.

Computer mediated technology provides tools that are useful in promoting collaborative learning activities that can mediate communication between learners.Asynchronous activities are independent of real-time and are comprised of activities, such as, viewing a web page, composing an Electronic Mail (e-mail), watching a video clip, or downloading a file.CMC can include anything that is text -based, uses ICT as a technological base and can be used for two way transmissions of ideas. Examples of CMC can include emails, mailbases, shared network group folders, discussion boards (forums), and frequently updated hyperlinked webpages.Benefits of asynchronous discussions include opportunities to think about course content and to address a diverse set of topics in more depth than can be done in class or in asynchronous environment, thus allowing students to conceptualize a topic from multiple viewpoints and to contribute to each other’s understanding (Weasenforth et all, 2002).Synchronous activities occur concurrently between two or more users including such real-time applications as chat rooms or instant messaging which allow users to interact simultaneously through text, audio, and video with other users located anywhere in the world. Synchronous CMC includes chat and instant messaging.

Informatics (repositories or maintainers of organized information) include library online public access catalogs (OPACs), interactive access to remote databases, program/data archive sites (e.g., archives of files for pictures, sound, text, movies), campus-wide information systems, wide-area information systems, and information managers.Computer assisted instruction (CAI) refers to instruction or remediation presented on a computer.

Computer-assisted instruction improves instruction for students with disabilities because students receive immediate feedback and do not continue to practice the wrong skills.Computers capture the students’ attention because the programs are interactive and engage the students’ spirit of competitiveness to increase their scores. Also, computer assisted instruction moves at the students’ pace and usually does not move ahead until they have mastered the skill.Harasim (1990) suggests several key differences between computer-mediated and face-to-face discussions such as time dependence, place dependence, the structure of communication and richness of communication.Also, Larkin-Hein (2001) said, “The use of online discussion groups offers a relatively new avenue through which the learner can take an active role in the learning process.”Althaus (1997) stated that, “In theory, online discussions help more students learn better by placing them in an intellectual environment that encourages active, thoughtful, and equal participation from all comers”.He also examines whether supplementing face-to-face discussion with computer-mediated discussion (CMD) enhances the academic performance of undergraduate students in large lecture classes. 142 undergraduates were involved in this study which found that a combination of face-to-face and computer-mediated discussion provides a superior learning environment compared to the traditional classroom alone.However, the virtual learning space of an online forum does not promote the coherent and interactive dialogue necessary for conversational modes of learning. To overcome the incoherence, the role of moderator and facilitator of discussion is important in the online discussion forum.