Jane Leight

Barbara, You bring up some good points about both synchronous and asynchronous communication methods. Chat rooms certainly can be difficult places for those students who have poor typing skills. In addition, multiple conversations can be difficult to follow. Also, time zone differences may make it so some students are unable to participate in live chat sessions. Asynchronous methods, such as forum discussions, are terrific for allowing transformative learning to happen. Unlike live classrooms or chat sessions, forum discussions allow students to read and reread postings, research the topic, and offer an informed response. As you said, making use of both… >>>

In this module we addressed the selection of appropriate learning activities in an online course. Assume you are an instructor at a career college that offers associate degrees in web design. You have been asked to convert your Advanced Web Design course to an online format and you have discovered that the course management system you are using supports both synchronous and asynchronous discussion methods. You have always encouraged learners to collaborate with and support each other in your onsite classroom and you want to bring this sense of community to your online course also. Discuss the pros and cons… >>>