Voice Mail and the telephone: A new student support strategy in the teaching of law by distance education

Abstract

This article reports on an innovative use of a voice processing system – Voice Mail – to support students undertaking law subjects in the distance education mode. It is contended that the computer‐based voice processing system is a potent and cost‐effective means of minimising isolation, distance from other students and perceived disadvantages compared to internal students studying the same subject. These bulletins are seen as having a variety of possible uses including covering developments in dynamic disciplines after the cut‐off time, extending the ‘shelf‐life’ of print‐based materials, providing students with particular needs with a valued form of contact and being either a regular feature of subjects or used at peak times. They provide a means for spontaneity and for students to share in setting the agenda – features perhaps not often associated with teaching in the distance mode. This report arises out of a particular improvisation and it is anticipated more systematic developments and research will follow this particular initiative.