New Media and the Introductory Mass Communication Course

The use of new media communication tools within the college classroom has become widespread and will continue to grow. A recent survey of college computing services reveals that one in four college courses use electronic mail (e-mail) and the usage of other communication tools such as computer simulations, multimedia materials, CD-ROMs, the Internet, and the World-Wide Web (WWW) is on the rise (Deloughry, 1996). The influence of new communication media on the quality of learning and teaching is undeniable. Kussmaul, Dunn, Bagly and Watnik (1996) suggest that as teachers, "we need to be aware of possible and probable uses of technology, so we can identify techniques and methods that further our educational goals" (p. 123). Underscoring the important link between new communication technologies and higher education, Lyman (1995) argues that "liberal education is incomplete if it does not prepare educated people to address the presence of technology - and more importantly, the presence of the information products of technology in the modern world-in an informed and critical way" (p. 4). Within the last few years, articles about the integration of new media technologies within the classroom have appeared in various scholarly journals and across disciplines. Massy and Zemsky (1995) and others suggest that the use of new media technologies in education benefits students and teachers by providing access to enormous quantities of information available through the Internet and various on-line databases, easing the limits of time and space for educational activities, increasing access to more and better information resources, improving studentteacher and student-student interaction, enabling students to be active within the learning process, accommodating different learning styles, and enhancing the ability of institutions to stimulate experimentation and innovation (see Baily and Cotlar, 1994; Niemi and Gooler, 1987; and Rudensteine, 1997). Researchers from various disciplines have begun to investigate the effects of the use of new media technologies in their classrooms. For instance, there has been a plethora of information published concerning the use of e-mail. Several studies suggest that the use of e-mail in the classroom leads to greater collaborative efforts and I cohesion among students (see Cohen,1994; Poling 1994; and Zack, 1995), allows for students to work independently at their own pace (see Coulehan, Williams, and Naiser, 1995; Krooneberg, 1995; and McComb, 1994), increases student performance on exams, (see Beauvois, 1995; Elasmer and Carter, 1996; McCollum, 1997), and enhances the perceived quality of the course and the effectiveness of the instructor (see Guardo and Rivinius, 1995 and Zack, 1995). Hunter and Allen (1992) and Schmitz and Fulk (1991) also found that user satisfaction and frequency of use of email can be predicted by the "media richness" model. Information concerning the integration of new media technologies in the journalism and mass communication discipline is growing. In fact, it is predicted that the "Internet is bound to become an integral part of mass communication teaching before the turn of the century" (Guanaratne and Lee, 1995, p. p. 34). Singer et al. (1996) assessed the attitudes of journalism and mass communication students and faculty members about new technology and concluded that journalism programs play a vital role in shaping the attitudes students have about new media technologies. Comparing student satisfaction levels of a media law course delivered in the traditional manner (i.e., lecture and discussion format meeting once a week) with those receiving the course through a variety of new media tools (i.e., e-mail, on-line bulletin boards, and on-line discussion areas), Smith (1994) found "mixed results on the measures of satisfaction with computer-mediated communication version of the course . While most students ultimately concluded that the new technology `helped,' a substantial minority hoped never to be subjected to it again" (p. …