Virtual Office Hours

With the proliferation of online chat tools, some instructors consider holding "virtual office hours" instead of traditional office hours at a physical location. Depending on the course and instructor/student availability, holding virtual office hours could be a valuable communication component.  However, as with any technology, instructors may wish to try virtual office hours on a trial basis and determine its suitability given the nature and content of the course.

The University of Minnesota has some centrally supported chat or chat-like tools that could be used to facilitate virtual office hours. There are two basic forms of these chat tools. One version enables synchronous text-chat sessions where instructors and students can connect electronically and type text back and forth. These tools often incorporate automatic recording of the chat sessions. Examples of synchronous text chat tools at the University of Minnesota are UM Chat (Jabber) or WebVista chat. Another type of tool is one like the Wimba "Voice Direct" tool. Wimba Voice Direct allows students and instructors to converse using natural voice. Both the text-based chat and the voice-chat may offer "hand raise" options which allows instructors to manage the flow of discussions or allow scheduling of office hours with individual students.

Instructors considering Virtual Office Hours may find the below links to resources at the University of Minnesota helpful in getting started:

	UM Chat (Jabber) Standalone application UTTC training webpage Login to Web Client
	WebVista Chat Inside a course management system UTTC Online training video or PDF Deciding on whether to use WebVista or UM Chat WebVista Wimba "Voice Direct" Inside a course management system WebVista information webpage
	Moodle Chat Inside a course management system http://www1.umn.edu/moodle/instructor/guides/chat.html

Below are some articles and resources addressing topics concerning virtual office hours:

Quan-Haase, Anabel (2008). Instant Messaging on Campus: Use and Integration in University Students' Everyday Communication. The Information Society, 24 (2), 105-115.

UMN Library eLink

Villano, Matt. (2008) Taking the 'A' out of Asynchronous. Campus Technology.

http://www.campustechnology.com/articles/64817/

Steinman, D. (2007). Educational Experiences and the Online Student. TechTrends, 51(5), 46-52.

UMN Library eLink

Meyers, M. (2003). The Impact of Virtual Office Hours on In-Class Participation. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Chicago, IL, April 21-25, 2003).

http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/recordDetail?accno=ED477799

McKeage, K. (2001). Office Hours as You Like Them. College Teaching, 49(1):32.

UMN Library eLink