Abstract

This paper shares an epiphany about a feeling of empowerment and reinvigoration of teaching through the use of a Virtual Classroom (VC). This is an example of “energizing your teaching” and adds to the rich variety of ways that this energizing might be achieved (Cunningham (1999), Hanno (1999) and Wilson (1999)). It reports on the use of a VC to assist in delivery and assessment of a variety of activities used in undergraduate advanced accounting courses during semester 1, 2003 at Southern Cross University. Observations, notes and limited student feedback reported in the paper indicate that the VC has been successful for a variety of reasons that mirror what happens in a face-to-face class session. Activities and assessment tasks used successfully in previous face-to-face offerings have been effectively utilized in the on-line offering. This demonstrates that the VC can be an integral educational technology component of such offerings. While it is probably necessary to explore this reasoning in a larger class group, and in a more systematic manner, the effects and procedures are readily identifiable with the traditional approaches we adopt in conducting face-to-face classes and teletutorials.

Introduction

The world is so huge. If you learn how to learn, and love it, that’s a good basis [for being flexible and ready for the educational challenge]. And great teachers know that. In the end you don’t teach facts, you teach a love of learning (Wendy McCarthy, quoted in Switzer, 2003, p30).

There have been many calls for accounting education to move from a long-standing content and rule-based (or technical) focus to the development of higher-order skills, or a shift to a non-technical focus (see for example Jordan (2003), Smith (2001), Albrecht & Sack (2000), Boyce (1999), Rebele et al. (1998a), Rousch & Stevenson Smith (1997), HERDSA (1994), Clout (1994) and IFAC (1994), (AVCC (1992)[1]. Higher-order skills include capabilities of judgements (Arthur Andersen & Co, et al., 1989), preparation for life-long learning by developing skills, knowledge and a professional orientation (AECC, 1990), and basic problem solving and analytical skills, as well as teamwork, communication and negotiation skills (Jordan, 2003).[2]

These call for the development of a life-long learning approach in recognition of the dynamic business environment for which we train future accounting professionals. This expanded social context of accounting has been explored by Tinker (1985), Hines (1988) and Tinker and Koutsoumadi (1997) and is eloquently summed up by Albrecht:

Accountants need to have a broad business background first and be an accountant second. Dramatic changes are taking place in the business world, and accountants who don’t keep up with these changes will soon become outdated. (Jordan 2003, p34)

Boyce (1999, p212) calls this “considering not just how to do something, but also what should be done” in order to develop critical thinking skills. Smith (2001, p664) synthesizes life-long learning to mean the development of skills in decision making, problem solving and self-management so that an accounting professional can “determine what needs to be learned and how to learn it”. Recognising the need to develop these skills is one thing, but being able to incorporate that development into education delivery modes is another. Given the intention of this paper to present the benefits of using a VC, a narrower focus on the role and use of educational technology in accounting education was identified. Rebele, et al. (1998b, p207) suggested future research was needed to “explore how accounting educators can contribute to the continuing evolution and improvement of accounting education”. Using Rebele et al.’s computer-based learning (CBL) and other technologies classification, Bryant and Hunton (2000, p131) responded to this challenge by providing an excellent overview of the range of educational technologies available[3]. Their overview is significant to this paper because it highlights that a VC is but one of an extensive range of resources available, just as many of these technologies are available within traditional classroom teaching “spaces”.

When reviewing distance learning studies, which is the category where a VC resides in their classification, Bryant and Hunton (2000, p146) report “a lack of research encompassing newer technologies such as asynchronous and synchronous (also known as “interactive chat”) web-based delivery.” This paper aims to fill some of that void by reporting the use of a VC in an accounting education setting. Specifically this paper will add positive support to the suggestion that “computer-assisted learning may also contribute positively to the process of reforming accounting education, by helping to develop a range of generic or ‘soft’ skills, such as writing and other communication skills, interaction, interpersonal and collaborative skills, and critical thinking skills, including critical awareness” (Boyce, 1999, p192), in line with the long-standing calls for reform identified in this section.

Why on-line delivery of advanced courses?

An on-line course provides the ability for students to communicate with each other, resulting in additional interaction, particularly for those studying at a distance (O'Reilly & Morgan, 1999). This section of the paper presents the evolution of the advanced courses in auditing (AA) and financial reporting (AFR) in which the VC was used. These elective courses currently reside in the Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Accounting undergraduate degrees at Southern Cross University.

One of the significant changes arising from the calls for reform resulted in the professional accounting bodies relaxing their strict accounting content requirements for accreditation of the degree program. For the purposes of this paper the effect of this was that the advanced courses moved from being compulsory to elective courses in the degree program. Elective courses, however, were not offered at a distance and only at a single campus. The courses delivered at a distance used print based materials, supported by optional teletutorials and a workshop if sufficient numbers registered interest in participating.

The main reason behind the decision to change the mode of offering the courses to on-line was to explore the ease with which previously developed materials from face-to-face delivery could be adopted for use in the on-line medium so as not to lose the richness of already developed material. The capture of this richness was a challenge because the previous on-campus only delivery approach had not involved set materials or texts, was based on cases and was flexible in terms of content and delivery times to suit the individual needs of participants. This had largely been driven by the participation of students who were studying part-time and working in a public practice. The traditional print-based distance material did not lend itself to this flexibility. Combined with the desire to reach the full cohort of students, the on-line medium was identified as having the most potential for the offering of these courses.

So what is this VC?

In plain language, the VC is a combined online chatroom with an interactive whiteboard feature. This means that it is a synchronous communication tool that allows multiple participants to be simultaneously involved in a class session provided they have an internet connection. The VC used is Tutornet, a plug-in residing in Blackboard-CourseInfo (version 4.11), which is the Course Management System (CMS) adopted by Southern Cross University. In terms of capability, this is relatively ancient technology and far more advanced versions are now available – Southern Cross University is planning to move to version 6 in 2004. All students and staff can access the CMS through the student portal, called MySCU.

To provide a feel for the basic capabilities of this version of a VC, a brief overview is provided here of how the online chat and whiteboard work – other features are available but were not employed in these courses. The chatroom allows dialogue based on questions, responses and comments being typed into a single input line (but not the whiteboard), or cut and pasted from an open document in another window. All dialogue is automatically archived. The whiteboard has a palette of functions allowing basic typing and drawing, in fact, much like our basic writing and drawing in a physical classroom. However, it allows multiple participants to contribute to the whiteboard simultaneously and manouver those contributions around the whiteboard by clicking and dragging. In addition, the writing and drawing can be resized and recoloured if desired. You can also load slides (overheads) into the whiteboard so that it works like an overhead projector.

While newer versions increasingly incorporate voice and video [4]capabilities, they also generally require hardware and infrastructure that is out of reach of the majority of our students (and staff!). More importantly, we make do in education with the resources we have, and this is another good illustration – just another classroom with participants, a whiteboard and an overhead projector!

What was the VC used for?

Table 1, below, sets out the specific assessment tasks that were set for each of the advanced courses. The comprehensive use found for the VC to aid in the completion of the tasks is indicated by the summary that follows. Each item in the summary is discussed in the remainder of the paper.

Advanced Auditing (AA)	%	Advanced Financial Reporting (AFR)	%
Introductory Activities	5	Introductory Activities	5
Discussion Forum: Types of Audits	5	Discussion Forum: International Harmonisation	10
Discussion Forum: Public Sector Audit Issues	10	Case Study: Traditional Industries	15
Discussion Forum: International Current Issues Journal	15	Case Study: Ryder Systems Inc.	15
Research Essay: Independence	15	Virtual Chat: Accounting Issue research & presentation	15
Virtual Chat: Literature Search & Presentation	20	Case Study: Octex Ltd.	40
Using a CAAT: CaseWare IDEA	30

Set out below is a summary of the way the VC was used in conjunction with the specific assessment requirements listed in Table 1, above.

·                Weekly scheduled sessions:

-                           facilitated by the lecturer

-                           facilitated by the librarian

-                           facilitated by the students (presentations)

·                Mutually arranged sessions:

-                           student presentation practice

-                           student initiated for students

-                           student-to-lecturer presentations.

How was the VC used?

AA had 9 active participants and AFR had 10. Participation in the VC sessions was possible from a variety of locations. Students participated from their work desk and home (a variety of locations within and outside of the state), the university library and university computer laboratories (for on-campus students). The lecturer participated variously from home, the office, and other locations on two occasions – once from the home of a relative (400km from campus) and one at another University (250km from campus). Both broadband and phone line connections proved reliable throughout the semester - with up to 9 participants on-line simultaneously (usually 7), with no apparent decrease in performance of the system.

The student feedback report, independently administered on-line at the end of the semester, provided overall course ratings (using a 7 point Likert scale) of 6.2 for AA (55% response rate) and 5.8 for AFR (60% response rate).

Weekly scheduled sessions.

One 2 hour non-compulsory VC session was initially scheduled for each course during the day. These times were acceptable to participants with a couple of exceptions and this led to the times being re-scheduled to evenings about halfway through the semester to allow the opportunity for participation to those who were not able to access the sessions from work. These VC sessions were designed to supplement the range of discussion forums (DFs) established for courses. Although not discussed in this paper, it is worth pointing out the key role of these asynchronous discussion forums in the successful on-line delivery of these courses. Evidence supporting the  successful adoption of asynchronous discussion forums in distance education for the development of higher order skills is presented by Rowe and Vitartas (2003).

Sessions facilitated by the lecturer

It was quickly apparent that specific rather than general questions needed to be asked to avoid the development of messy and uncontrolled threads of discussion. This mirrors what we do intuitively in a face-to-face setting – if we want a participant to respond (for involvement or to test their comprehension or views) we name the participant we want to respond. So it is on the VC … simply prefix or suffix the question with a name. This is not to deny the role of general or open-ended questions. VC experience suggests that this is an opportunity to direct responses to the whiteboard and not the dialogue entry line.

This approach also proved useful in overcoming a down side in the use of synchronous educational technologies - the time taken to respond due to the typing speed of participants. The experience in these courses was that participants were patient and courteous and willing to be involved when asked so that attention appeared to be maintained. This had implications for the design of activities that maximized the involvement of participants. Some simple examples that worked were listing risk factors and auditing standards prior to discussion. Students were asked to type their contributions simultaneously on the whiteboard and identify their contribution by prefixing or suffixing their initials. This engages them in the discussion rather than, for example, simply providing the material by loading an overhead into the whiteboard.

This timing lag in typing responses was overcome by students demonstrating how you can cut and paste text into the VC. This is included in this section due to the following reflection by the lecturer prompted during the presentation. The student cut & pasted paragraphs directly into the dialogue entry line rather than having to type, or re-type, the material from his paper. The reflection mirrored one of those class presentations where the student just “stands & delivers”. Thinking about this at the time raised memories of being in a lecture, having to listen and simultaneously take notes. What was different about this was that the time taken to read each “chunk” that had been cut & pasted meant that the presenter had the next “chunk” loaded when you finished so that the typing time lag all but disappeared. In addition, there was no need to listen & decide what to take notes about since the session was being archived – you were able to concentrate solely on absorbing the content.

This had the distinct advantage of slowing everything down & allowing participants the time to read, review, think and clarify the point (as directed by the presenter – then, or at an agreed time). It is suggested that this evidence provides an opportunity to overcome the lack of time for thinking, reflection, and self-directed study lamented by Gow et al. (1994). Further, with a little thought, the presenter can build questions or activities into the “lecture” to reinforce the issue or be satisfied that the point is sinking in, supporting the views of Leidner and Jarvenpaa (1993) and Bromson, et al. (1994), that it is the method of using the technology and the context that are the key determinants of its success.

An interesting activity was devised during a session to integrate research skills and current events into the discussion resulting from a student presentation. The students had been given a reference to a newspaper article from the previous day by the lecturer as a result of an issue discussed earlier in the session. It was 9.30pm and the students were asked to access the reference using the research skills developed by the librarian earlier in the semester (see next section). They opened another browser window, went to the SCU library site, accessed the relevant database (Lexis-Nexis) and read the article. They did this while they were having their cup of tea or coffee and taking a 15 minute break. We then discussed the article in the context of the earlier student presentation. It would be difficult to complete this activity in a face-to-face session.

Sessions facilitated by the librarian

The VC sessions facilitated by the Business Contact librarian demonstrated other important benefits to participants. While limited direct interactivity was possible due to intranet constraints, for e.g., navigation was only possible around the first few levels of the Library site, the VC still proved very useful for highlighting library search features that distance students are not easily made aware of since they do not have access to traditional library tours and demonstrations[5].

In order to discuss and demonstrate the various databases and search strategies, the librarian had participants use search engines, electronic journals and databases “live” on their desktop in another browser window. They would then toggle back to the VC and report findings so that results were both demonstrated and discussed actively.

As an indication of the response to students to this skill development, set out below are the number of items included in their literature search papers that were presented using the VC. 60% of the items presented in the literature search presentations were sourced from the on-line library databases and electronic journals. It is suggested that this evidence is in contrast to suggestions by Sangster and Mulligan (1997) that using on-line and electronic sources may lead to dysfunctional effects on the quality, source and relevance of materials by limiting sources to internet searches.

Advanced Auditing
No. of items reviewed per student	29	28	27	26	16	12	8
Advanced Financial Reporting
No. of items reviewed per student	40	38	23	24	15	9	8	8

Sessions facilitated by the students (presentations)

Students used the VC to present their literature search findings to the group. The assessment task required students to choose an accounting or auditing issue, conduct a literature search, post their search results on a DF for other participants to preview and present a summary of their search on the VC. Set out below is a summary of the participation by students in these VC presentations. It shows the dates of delivery and the number of participants – these were part of the normal weekly schedule, and some sessions had more than a single presentation.

Advanced Auditing
Presentation Date	17-Apr	1-May	8-May	29-May	5-Jun	12-Jun
No. of participants	8	7	9	7	7	7
Advanced Financial Reporting
Presentation Date	6-May	27-May	3-Jun	19-Jun
No. of participants	7	6	6	7

The full paper students presented on the VC was required to be available on the DF before the presentation for other participants to preview and develop questions. Used in conjunction with the archiving feature of the VC, this enables the full paper and the discussion to be available for later review, thus encouraging collaborative learning since the resource is readily accessible to all participants, as well as those who do not, or are unable to “attend”.

During student VC presentations there was a constant level of interactivity during the session in terms of passing control of the whiteboard among participants and asking and responding to questions. It was interesting during the student-run VC to observe the ease with which questions were directed at, and responded to, by each student. This is in contrast to face-to-face experiences where reluctance is the norm. An interesting adjunct to this is the explicit encouragement that occurs when responses to the directed questions are forthcoming … something that, in the lecturer’s experience, is not often forthcoming in face-to-face situations.

The student presenters demonstrated clearly the benefit of being specific in directing questions to other participants and organizing them to contribute systematically on the whiteboard. They also ably demonstrated the ease of rearranging things on the whiteboard and toggling between prepared summary slides and those developed during the session - this might include traditional drawing and recording on the whiteboard (for example, graphs, equations, diagrams and annotations to same). The prepared slides were easily annotated by nominated participants using the drawing tools and “cleaned” as required to highlight important points or passages. They also discovered a way to use the palette to create a way to cover the points on a slide so they can be revealed one at a time (just as we tend to using a piece of paper with traditional transparencies!).

Mutually arranged sessions.

As a direct result of the success the students were experiencing with synchronous communication in the weekly scheduled sessions, the use of the VC was extended in three unanticipated ways reported in this section. Each of these were requested by the students. Most gratifying in terms of the “success” of the VC in the eyes of the students was their decision to use it to argue their major case submission in AFR – the third way presented below.

Student presentation practice sessions

If the students requested assistance, the lecturer was available for them to have a dummy run for their presentations to develop confidence in using the fundamental features of the VC described earlier and to load and annotate any slides they had prepared. Four students availed themselves of this opportunity.

Student initiated sessions for students

These were initiated by the students so they were able to discuss their major case study outside of scheduled VC sessions and were only applicable in AFR. There were no direct marks allocated for participation in these sessions. Student participation is shown below – there was no involvement by the lecturer. It should be noted here that 7 of the 9 active students in the course participated in these sessions - 2 participated in all 3 sessions, 2 in 2 sessions and 2 in 1 of the sessions.

Advanced Financial Reporting
Student initiated session dates	26-Apr	3-May	17-May
No. of participants	5	4	7

These sessions provided excellent evidence of the developing higher order skills of the students. The ability of the students to organize their time, select issues for debate and resolution, agree to disagree on issues and discuss sources of professional guidance to follow-up was evidenced in the archives of their discussions. This development of professional judgement was an important objective of the courses. This evidence supports the work of Chorover (1984), Underwood and Underwood (1990), Holt, et al. (1995) who suggest that computers can be used to develop flexibility of thought and allow concentration on higher level skills of planning, thinking, problem-solving and reviewing by fostering a supportive educational environment allowing participants to interact. Although not presented in this paper, the archive content for these sessions demonstrates these skills in action.

Further, it is suggested that these outcomes provide evidence to challenge the views of Collins (1983), Boyce, et al. (1996) and Boyce (1999) that the development of soft skills using computers in accounting education has more than limited potential and applicability as the capabilities of the technologies using the internet allow teachers to adopt more and more techniques that have been successful in face-to-face settings for fostering interaction among participants in the teaching and learning process.

Student-to-lecturer presentations

Each session to present their major case submission was scheduled for an hour but rarely went that long. These sessions using the VC were unanimously chosen by the students rather than a telephone alternative offered. The decision was made to offer this choice during discussion in a regular scheduled VC session and was based on their positive experience with the VC for regular and student organized sessions.

The lecturer noticed in one-on-one sessions that it was very easy to identify when the students understood the issue(s). The submission had been lodged atleast two weeks prior to the session allowing the lecturer ample time to review and assess the material. Within 10 minutes it was clear how comprehensive the student knowledge was – this mirrors the experience of the lecturer in oral examination settings with this case, audit practice sets using a team approach and case studies in previous iterations of the courses.

Conclusion.

The paper has presented an effort to avoid what Palmer (1993) calls “the privatization of teaching”. He suggests that too often we try new, innovative or different approaches behind the closed doors of the classroom, take them back behind the closed doors of our offices and thus avoid sharing these valuable experiences with professional colleagues.

The paper reports ways the VC was used for teaching to improve contact and interactivity with and between the students. It demonstrates that the technology is enabling … it enables us to do many of the things for distance students that are not possible with print-based delivery, but that we have traditionally done face-to-face. Using the VC has led to the feeling of being very much in touch with students and a realization that many of the experiences mirrored face-to-face teaching. On reflection, there was a conceptual connection that the VC space was just like the physical classroom space, with generally the same (limited) tools available – whiteboard and overheads! There is always a desire for more resources in the classroom but meaningful learning, without all the bells and whistles, is normally achieved. The paper demonstrates that it need not be any different using this “new” VC. The technology and facilities may vary, but it is the way we are able use the technology and facilities that makes the difference, not the technologies or facilities per se. The experience reported demonstrates that the effort required is not as great as often feared because it is practical to use those resources that we already have and use!

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Acknowledgements

The author particularly wishes to thank the students who participated so patiently and willingly in the two advanced courses. Their willingness to share their experiences and experiment in the on-line delivery and assessment has made the descriptions in this paper possible. I also wish to acknowledge the contribution of the Business Contact librarian to the skill development of the students in the courses.