Process satisfaction is one important determinant of work group collaborative system adoption, continuance, and performance. We explicate the computer-mediated communication (CMC) interactivity model (CMCIM) to explain and predict how interactivity enhances communication quality that results in increased process satisfaction in CMC-supported work groups. We operationalize this model in the challenging context of very large groups using extremely lean CMC. We tested it with a rigorous field experiment and analyzed the results with the latest structural equation modeling techniques. Interactivity and communication quality dramatically improved for very large groups using highly lean CMC (audience response systems) over face-to- face groups. Moreover, CMC groups had fewer negative status effects and higher process satisfaction than face-to-face groups. The practical applications of lean CMC rival theoretical applications in importance because lean CMC is relatively inexpensive and requires minimal training and support compared to other media. The results may aid large global work group continuance, satisfaction, and performance in systems, product and strategy development, and other processes in which status effects and communication issues regularly have negative influences on outcomes.
The dramatic increase in distance learning (DL) enrollments in higher education is likely to continue. However, research on DL, which includes psychomotor, cognitive, and affective skills, is virtually nonexistent. Indeed, DL for psychomotor skills has been viewed as impossible. Laboratory coursework, which we define as including the acquisition of psychomotor, cognitive, and affective skills, has become a limiting factor in the growth of DL. What is needed is a synergistic integration of technologies and human-computer interface (HCI) principles from computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), collaborative learning systems, and immersive presence technologies to enable achievement of psychomotor learning objectives. This paper defines the computer-supported collaborative learning requiring immersive presence (CSCLIP) research area, provides a theoretical foundation for CSCLIP, and develops an agenda for research in CSCLIP to establish a foundation for the study of this emerging area. It also briefly describes a CSCLIP-based telecommunications lab currently under development. CSCLIP is presented as a major research opportunity for information systems researchers interested in empirical research as well as technical development.