Visualizing Communication Structures of Nonverbal Information for Online Learning Environments

Abstract

This doctoral level study aims to advance research in the visualization of Spontaneous Interactive Gestures produced by students in online learning environments, and how they can best be used as interfaces in compute-mediated communications. Visual channels, both gestural and graphical (Visual Co-Activations), will be evaluated in the performance of demonstrating participation and facilitating feedback (interaction) for online synchronous communication, more specifically multi-videoconferencing. The goal is to give a more naturalistic, integrative and interactive means of synchronous computer-mediated communication for use in future applications of distance education, based on the role of Visual Co-Activations of Spontaneous Interactive Gestures with the use of vision-based interfaces. A multidisciplinary approach within design, social and computer sciences is used in order to widen implications of the importance of design research for education and human development within computer technologies. This study employs multiple data collection procedures, a two-phase developmental design, in which qualitative and quantitative methods are employed sequentially to understand and determine the role of gestures in distance education application methods. Data suggests that joining both gestural and graphical nonverbal information is better visualized in group communication at a distance, but also demonstrates participation and facilitates interaction in online learning environments.