Who says you can't have face to face interaction?
First off, I am an instructor for Bryan University Online where we have LIVE lecture. In our live lectures, we the instructors have microphones and cameras as do the students and therefore we do in fact have real interaction. Essentially, our class sessions are held in a Skype-like environment, but with a fully interactive learning environment that includes a white board, application sharing abilities, web-touring abilities, presentation uploading abilities, and much more. So you could probably imagine my amusement with the portion of the presentation for this course that discussed the idea that face to face interaction does not take place in an e-learning environment :-)
It is important to keep the chats accessible to the students for review or when they cannot attend a chat. I don't like requiring students to attend a chat because one of the reasons that students take online classes is to be able to learn at anytime, anyplace. When we make chats mandatory we may be causing a hardship on our students.
I like the idea of using Skype for online learning when we don't have a LMS that supports "live interaction".
Kimberley,
Some students will not show up to live chats no matter what! But....for those students who do, they will gain a lot from their time!
Shelly Crider
I think that live lectures are a great idea especially when teaching tough topics. My only concern with Skype is will my students want to use it? I think at times students get comfortable with being in an online environment that the urge for face time is less needed.
Will, you read my mind! I also offer live lectures. The students seem to really benefit from them. Students who are unable to attend them can view the recorded lectures. This feature is an effective way to meet the needs of visual and auditory learners.
Will,
In an online class, on can have face to face interaction if the educational platform has a chat function. They do not have to see you, but do need to meet at the same time and place as others.
Walter
Walter van Poollen
10-10-12
Will,
You have to love Skype! This is a free program that can easily be accessed....thanks for bring Skype to our discussion!
Shelly Crider
