It is important to be wsomewhat social and offer feedback to halep students build the confidence they need,
Asynchronous is better for larger groups but planning small group discussions can benefit some learners as long as time zones and availability of the learners.
I learned about some techniques that will help me facilitate both synchronous and asynchronus discussions as well as appropriate situations for both types of discussions. I also learned about types of reluctant learners and how to address their styles of learning.
The importance of asynchronous discussion in the online classroom and how to encourage students to participate
The discussions allow students to learn from each other and ensure evryone's opinion is valued.
It's important to use methods in my communication so that students can feel/see my reactions - bolding, underlining, emoticons, etc. Also, constructive feedback needs to be given privately through personal emails.
This module gave me a good perspective on why some students never logged on Zoom to finish out the school year.
Asynchronous is the way to go. It allows the students to follow along at their own pace. They can comment when available and not be rushed during a chat session. They are able to post a more detailed comment when not put on the spot.
It is important to gain the trust of the students. Also it is important to remember that in a normal classroom setting, not all of the time would b used for content base. So it is important to make sure that you do have time to talk with the students. If done at the beginning and end, you can work on discussions and to help promote students to talk. Also doing it at the end also helps to wrap up the lesson.
By encouraging students to participate through the use of break out rooms, side chats and asking students questions.
In this part of the course we learned about asynchronous and synchronous discussions, and how to foster both types successfully. We also learned about different students' learnings styles: Avoidant, Competative, Dependent.
I learned the difference between Asynchronous and Synchronous
I have learned that the emphasis for classroom learning should be via asyncronous learning activities, vs. syncronous means. We need to establish netiquete rules of engagement at the beginning of the course, actively monitor all discussions/chats, and provide timely & meaningful feedback to our online learners in an effort to make the experience worthwhile for them...as well as to facilitate keeping them engaged.
Knowing the difference between synchronous and asynchronous meetings is extremely beneficial. I will not use synchronous discussions for important learning topics because tooo many students may be left behind and I will not be able to give the appropriate feedback to each student.
I think these discussions are a great learning tool for certain lessons. Unfortunately, our school has eliminated threaded discussions so I cannot apply anything I have learned. They would have come in handy during this time of remote learning.
What I have learned from this module is to take it slow, in other words be senstive to all of the student's needs (be aware of their environment) and to know the difference between Asynchronous and synchronous teaching.
Feedback must be encouraging to promote learning. It is my responsibility to keep the discussion on topic. Students will expect me to keep the discussions on the subject. Learners maintain higher interest in discussion forums that have direction. Keeping online asynchronous discussions on topic can be done by carefully designing good questions, by providing guidelines for participants to use when composing their responses, and by providing discussion summaries.
After this lesson, it is more clear to me why some students are disengaged in "traditional classroom" - they simply are not interested in the class or lesson. They need more syncronous contact or one-to-one interaction. This is impractical in a class size near 40 students, however online learning tends to provide more support and feedback for disengaged students.
Class size plays a role in e-learners' participation. As instructors we must planned carefully to encourage participation based on class size. Asynchronous discussions are best in promoting interactions among learners. Most importantly, interaction is higher when learners are rewarded for their effort.
I learned that it is best to use Synchronous discussions when dealing with one student at a time to clarify any misconceptions or to offer personal advice.
I also learned the importance of seeking feedback from students on a regular basis. In doing so I should solicit student feedback about how the course is progressing. Are they getting out of the course what they want? Is the course fulfilling their expectations? Are there some things you are doing that they do not like?
