Abstract

Teleteaching is a major activity conducted through the medium of video conferencing in Indian distance education institutions. A quality problem arises from the fact that distance educators tend to regard teleteaching as an extension of the classroom teaching approach. For this reason, all their efforts are directed towards reproducing conventional classroom instruction, without the least concern for the fact that the instructional delivery medium is a technological interface: that is, a TV screen. This study investigates the use of three television production variables for visual reinforcement of the lecture content, to improve the learning outcomes of teleteaching in the Indian context. The impact of specific techniques (i.e. inserted graphics, video clips, and background electronically inserted by the 'chromakey' technique) was measured in three experiments using two dependent variables: achievement, and attitude towards the presentation and presenter. The study yielded highly significant effects of graphics on achievement and attitude; and a significant positive effect of the chromakeyed background was observed on attitude. The video clips that were used failed to produce any measurable effect. Further research on the effects of such presentation variables in videoconferencing appears to be warranted.