Use of the Internet for real-time class instruction in a graduate health services administration program

The Internet has been used as a medium for distance learning for several years. Many universities are using Internet technologies such as electronic mail, LISTSERVs, newsgroups, and web pages to supplement or replace traditional classroom meetings. However, these modes of communication when used in place of traditional classroom instruction lack the interactivity among students and between the students and the instructor that would be achieved in the ideal classroom setting. Internet teleconferencing, however, appears to offer the opportunity for real-time, interactive class meetings on the Internet. This paper details the use of the Internet for real-time teleconferencing as a substitute for classroom meetings at the graduate university level, and offers some insight into the quality and usability of Internet teleconferencing given currently available hardware, software, and communications links.