2012 CITRENZ/gxLearning/Benefits

Video Conferencing
“Video conferencing is an inherent feature of doing the BCS in Gisborne”.

Benefits of attending classes at a different institution were listed as:
 * “.. better quality teaching that what is offered here in Gisborne”.
 * “I could continue to live at home in Gisborne instead of moving to Napier. This was a big saving in accommodation costs”

Main advantage of the video conferencing technology
 * Students could take courses that would otherwise not be available to them in their region.

Webinar
could attend class at work (Able to "leave" the classroom surreptitiously)
 * Ability to “catch up on classes” if missed (as classes were recorded)
 * “Able to engage in learning and progress through the coursework at a distance”.
 * “Allows flexibility, less travel, ability to work around kids.
 * “Good to have the option of going to class or staying at home. Particularly if you had a one hour class and didn't want to journey in.”
 * “not having to drive out … more than once a day or have to kill time between them.”
 * “Saved on petrol and time.”
 * “Sometimes if you can’t make a class it’s great to see the actual lecture rather than going through slides.”
 * “Full time work during the day prevents me from viewing each lecture. Viewing recorded sessions supports flexible study, and a busy workload.”
 * “Great for recapping lecture especially for in-depth tech lectures”
 * “the classes that started at 8am I had trouble with getting to them on time because of trying to get my family organised in the morning, so I was able to listen back to the recorded sessions on what I missed out on.�My family commitments are important to me, and sometimes they had to take priority, so when I can't make the class I was able to listen back on the podcast.”

For other benefits, respondents replied;
 * “Real time engagement and interactivity opportunities
 * ability to network with other online students
 * Limits the in-class distractions that other students create.”