COW: Conferencing on the Web

Abstract

This article describes a Web-based social work practice course which provides instruction in text, sound, images, and video and allows students and faculty to communicate with each other asynchronistically.

Videoconferencing: A Viable Teaching Strategy for Social Work Education?

“…Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/termsand-conditions rooms'), computer-based instruction, distance learning and web-based courses that are often used to augment existing traditional face-to-face classroom teaching, and, interactive TV-ITV also referred to as compressed video, interactive video or videoconferencing (Freddolino, 1998;Forster & Rehner, 1998;Cauble & Thurston, 2000;Forster & Washington, 2000;Petracchi & Patchner, 2000, 2001Schoech, 2000;Hicks, 2002;Seabury, 2002). In the US, as distance education has been increasingly spreading in social work education, the Council of Social Work Education Commission on Accreditation established in 1994 a special committee to address quality issues of distance learning in the profession.…”

“…Its cited advantages include enhanced accessibility for learners in remote communities, financial savings by sharing resources and decreasing travel expenses, exposure of a large audience to exemplary teachers, facilitating interaction between students and with instructors and extending opportunities for the class to exist as a learning group beyond the traditional in-class limited time, improving and enhancing teaching creativity, cultivating technological skills, infusing international content into the curriculum, and, in the case of web-based courses, enhanced opportunities for active participation of students who are hesitant to express themselves in a traditional classroom setting. Furthermore, distance learning has been reported to have a positive impact on clients and agencies in the communities of the distance sites (Jennings et al, 1992;Mchenry & Bozik, 1995;Coe & Elliott, 1999;Quam, 1999;Darkwa & Mazibuko, 2000;Faux & Black-Hughes, 2000;McFall & Freddolino, 2000;Pawar, 2000;Petracchi & Patchner, 2000;Hicks, 2002;Cummings & Bonk, 2002;Seabury, 2002).…”