This paper draws on data gathered during a year-long ethnographic study of graduate education classes in a 2-way audio 2-way video distance education classroom. Cultural analysis of transcript excerpts indicating student reactions to their experiences in the technologically mediated classroom highlight the anxiety and confusion they experience in making the shift from the familiarity of traditional classroom culture to the uncertainty of a new, often strange environment. This transition phase in classroom cultures, what Turner (1969) calls the liminal phase, is a time of high anxiety but also of high learning. Our data suggests that instructors who take on the role of technology guide and provide students the opportunity to vent anxiety and learn about the technology, create environments that significantly increase the comfort levels of students and receive much higher ratings from them.
展开▼
