Issues and Challenges of Videoconferencing: Experiences and Recommendations from the Trenches
Linda K. Lau
This paper is divided into four major sections. The paper commences with a definition andthevariousforms ofdistance learning. The next section briefly discussed both the asynchronous and synchronousways of delivering distance learning courses. It then provides a comparison between virtual classroom and videoconferencing, and concludes with the advantages and disadvantages ofvideoconferencing. The third major section ofthe paper addresses several important issues that must be considered when providing videoconferencing courses via the Internet. These issues include hardware equipment, software installations, network/Internet connections, andsupportservices andongoing operating costs. The experiences-including the challenges-encountered by several instructors who conducted at least one videoconferencing course via the Internet, and an IT administrator who provided all of the support responsibilities, are summarized in the next section. Several useful suggestions/or delivering an effective videoconferencing course are also described. This section concludes with several practical implications derived from the experiences and challenges encountered by the instructors.
Linda K. Lau has served as an assistant professor of computer information management systems in the College of Business and Economics of Longwood University since 1994. She worked briefly as a financial consultant with Salomon Smith Barney from 1999-2000. Dr. Lau received her Ph.D. in management information systems from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1993 and her Masters of Business Administration and Bachelorof Science in industrial technology fromIllinois State University in 1987 and 1986, respectively. She is a member of the editorial board for SAM Advanced Manage-ment Journal and an ad-hocreviewer for the Information Resources Management Journal (IRMJ) and the Journal of Global Irformation Management (JGIM). Dr. Lau's currentresearch areas include enterprise resource planning, distance learning, and Web development. She has published several articles in joumals and conference proceedings, and she has also edited two books with Idea Group Publishing, Inc.: Managing Business with SAP: Planning, Implementation and Evaluation, to be published in May, 2004, and Distance Learning Technologies: Issues, Trends and Opportunities, published in 2000.
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