Virtual Office Hours Using NetMeetingTM

The use of the Internet to enable communication between instructors and remote students in a format similar to that used for office hours is a typical feature of many Web-based distance education systems. Virtual office hours (VOH) using the Internet can be established using simple asynchronous tools such as e-mail or discussion lists. A much more effective approach uses synchronous, real-time, “live” interaction between instructor and students. An easy and inexpensive way to enable such interactions can be obtained by using an off-the-shelf collaboration tool. In this paper we examine the use of one of those tools, Microsoft NetMeeting, to implement the concept of virtual office hours. The need for virtual office hours and the reasons for choosing that specific tool are presented. Results of VOH experiments using NetMeeting, and the lessons learned are reported.