This session examines the experiences of professors teaching in a multi-point videoconferencing instructional environment and how they interacted with students in proximate and remote classrooms. Qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed to gain an understanding of the teaching experience and examine differences between instructor interaction and immediacy behaviors based on student location. Results indicate that no clear difference existed in instructor interaction behaviors with local and remote populations, but that they engaged in more immediacy behaviors with the remote population in their classes. Additionally, instructor interaction behaviors were more closely tied to student interaction behavior than to student location.

Dr. Kathy Bohnstedt received her PhD in Instructional and Assistive Technology from George Mason University. She has more than 20 years’ experience in instructional and information technology administration, distance education support, the design of instructional spaces, and faculty technology training and support in higher education. She is currently serving as an Instructional Technologist with the Volgenau School of Engineering at George Mason University, and has served as the managing editor of the Journal of Technology and Teacher Education. Her research interests center on the impact of technology on instructional interaction, the design of flexible learning environments, and the use of collaborative technology applications in distance education.