Media Richness

One major issue that arises frequently in discussions of distance education is whether the use of electronic media for online education lacks nonverbal cues which are vital for student learning and as a result leading to reduced communication channels, decreased social presence and the learners feeling disconnected. Lack of nonverbal cues can generate problems for both students and teachers. The question on whether the electronic media used in online courses is rich to facilitate outstanding student learning arises. According to Hirschheim (2005), “Students miss the lectures, discussion, questions, assignments, group work, and the professor’s views and perspectives—all part of traditional classes.” (p. 98).

Media richness theory is defined as the degree with which the communication media can eliminate ambiguity and uncertainty. (Daft & Lengel, 1986). The communication that takes place face-to-face is deemed to be rich media because it has less ambiguity whereby computer-mediated communication is considered to have not as much of rich media  to eliminate uncertainty. Media richness theory explains that computer-mediated communication gets rid of nonverbal cues that exist in a face-to-face environment hence lowering the quality of what was being communicated. The type of media used can either positively or negatively affect the success of what is being communicated. Effective communication is very important because it helps increase the students’ self-esteem as well as improve their problem solving skills.

Newberry (2001) did a study to investigate issues that relate to social presence in an online environment. This study proposed some methods of increasing social presence among learners. The study explored seven media types in relation to their richness. (See Table below)

Media Types in Media Richness (Newberry, 2001)

Criteria	Media Rating
	High	Medium	Low
Feedback	Face to Face Video Conferencing Synchronous Audio Text Based Chat		E-mail Threaded Discussion Asynchronous Audio
Multiple cues	Face-to Face	Video Conferencing	Synchronous Audio Asynchronous Audio Text Based Chat E-mail Threaded Discussion
Message Tailoring	Face to Face	Video Conferencing Synchronous Audio E-mail	Text Based Chat Asynchronous Audio Threaded Discussion
Emotions	Face to Face	Video Conferencing Synchronous Audio Asynchronous Audio	Text Based Chat E-mail Threaded Discussion

Newberry (2001) used a criterion to rate media richness based on whether the media has the ability to provide immediate feedback, convey several cues, for example body language, permit the message to be produced or changed specifically for an intended receiver, and relay the feelings or emotions. Newberry (2001) proposed a method to increase social presence in an online environment, which includes the use of interactive elements such as student pictures, use of voice tools and using synchronous tools such as chat and audio to generate greater social presence, student group work which allows the learners to collaborate in projects and assignments hence building their relationships. Interactive elements are essential to improve the learning experience. 

References

Daft, R.L. & Lengel, R.H. (1986). Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design. Management Science 32(5), 554-572.

Hirschheim, R. (2005). The internet-based education bandwagon: Look before you leap. Communications of the ACM, 48(7), 97–101.

Newberry, B. (2001). Media Richness, Social Presence and Technology Supported Communication Activities in Education. Retrieved June 24, 2008, from Technology Enriched Learning: http://www.learngen.org/resources/module/lgend101_norm1/200/210/211_3.html