Technology and Instructional Communication: Student Usage

This study examines 81 undergraduate students' perceptions of virtual office hours



(VOHs). VOHs enable students to interact with their professors through Yahoo Instant Messenger from on-campus and off-campus locations. The purpose of this study is to examine college students’ perceptions and usage of virtual office hours in four undergraduate courses. These students’ perceptions and VOH usage were examined by focusing on the following research question, "What are undergraduate students' perceptions of virtual office hours (VOHs)?" A majority (70 percent) of the students contributed favorable responses towards VOHs. However, only 12 percent of the students in this study actually used the VOH feature. Through this study, the authors present undergraduate college students’ perceptions and usage of VOHs to communicate with faculty.

Keywords: virtual advising, office hours, online teaching, synchronous communication, instant messaging, hybrid courses, college students instructor interactivity, online technology, online communication