January 2012 Volume 15 Number 1 - Educational Technology ...

I usually engaged myself in listening to the lecture, but when I encounter some problems like an
unclear lecture, an unstable Internet connection, or interference from other events, I miss some
information. I can read the text generated by STR instead.
Due to some problems on the Internet, I experienced unclear speech by the teacher during an online,
one-way lecture when a big number of students attended it. Likely, STR could help overcome such
problem.
In addition, the students preferred to listen to online lectures and read the STR-generated text simultaneously during
online, one way lectures. The reasons for such behaviors were that the students wanted to make up missed
information, clarify lecture content, and enhance their understanding of the teacher’s lecture in a synchronous
learning environment. The students also mentioned that STR-generated texts are useful in simultaneous note-taking;
the students took notes and reviewed them later to get a deeper understanding of the lecture content (SRS, 2011;
Wald & Bain, 2008). The following content is derived from two interviews.
When I paid attention to the lecture, I read the STR text at the same time. I would like to double-check
and make sure that there was no misunderstanding of the content....It is like you listen to the class and
someone takes notes for you at the same time. Thus, it’s easy to understand the lecture.
Text generated by STR during online lectures helps me understand the course content. It is common to
miss some information during the class due to some reasons, but with the assistance of STR text, I feel
more relaxed in class and I don’t have to worry about missing any important information.
Regarding the use of STR-generated texts after online, one-way lectures, the students studied lecture transcripts to
make up the classes they missed, while some students studied transcripts to get a better understanding of lecture
content (Wald, 2010; Way et al., 2008). The students favored the STR-generated text over other media (e.g., video,
audio, and PowerPoint ® slides); it took less time to study the texts. The students also mentioned that STR-generated
texts were useful for post-lecture note-taking and for doing homework. They could copy and paste excerpts from
STR-generated texts into their notes or homework and then revise the excerpts to make final notes or homework. The
following content is the result of two interviews.
I used text generated by STR after online lectures. Mainly I did it for homework, but I am also used to
taking notes to grasp some key concepts from STR text after class, instead of seeing the video lecture.
I often work late, so I am usually late for the online lectures. Then I miss some parts of the online
lectures, but STR text helps me to catch up on that information. It’s easy for me to review and
complete homework using text generated by STR.
Pedagogical Implications
Based on obtained findings, this study makes the following implications and recommendations for educators who
plan to teach in online synchronous learning environments using STR technology. First, we recommend that students
use STR-generated text to enhance their understanding of a teacher’s lecture content in an online synchronous cyber
classroom as well as take advantage of STR-generated text both during and after lectures. Second, the “training” of
STR technology by educators is necessary prior to obtaining a reasonable technological accuracy rate (