The difference between synchronous and asynchronous discussion, as well as the types of students.
There are different learning styles and students may have more than one learning style.
By getting students to participate in both and asynchronous discussions to make sure they are understanding the material and providing good feedback to them on the material covered.
Being able to have synchronous and asynchronous discussions and meetings helps keeps students engaged to participation and learning. It also keeps the communication open so that students feel involved andit sometimes helps them from being discouraged to falling behind.
New information acquired include the difference between asynchronous and synchronous discussions and how feedback is supposed to be provided to students .
The difference between asynchronous and synchronous discussions, when to use them and not use them and some of the things that can inhibit them. How to give feedback.
stay engaged, post and answer continuously
In this learning module, I learned what Asynchronous and Synchronous Discussions were and the pros and cons of both of them. Learning styles were discussed as well which plays into the students way of learning and if they can learn and how fostering participation works. Before I read this section, I believed that Synchronous Discussions was the better way to learn, however, my eyes have been opened to why Asynchonous Discussions are way better and have many strategies for all learning types. I will most definately consider this in my online classroom first!
Reply to Lawrence Bufalino's post:I couldn't agree more. My school is fairly insistent that we have at least 1 hour of virtual face-to-face lecture time per online class meeting. This information regarding asynchronous methodology will help to convince them that it is not in the students' best interest to treat distance learning the same as in-person education.
I've learned that asynchronous discussions are better than synchronous discussions. Although, asynchronous discussions may vary in nature, they encourage reflection, critical thinking, and more student involvement. Also providing feedback on a timely basis, is essential to student learning and participation.
Taking into account student varying learning styles…I intend to apply all of the above.
I gained great understanding of asynchronous and synchronous discussion,and how to implement in an online class.
I thought it was really useful to learn that no more than 30 minutes in the synchronous environment should be for critical course content. I am also going to be looking more closely at tools for interaction in the synchronous environment.
it is interesting to realize that the non-verbal can be replaced by emoticion and abbreviations that are commonly used in informal communications
Syncronious discussions are best for one on one discussions. It can be overwheling for a few or even all students to keep up.
It is not recommended to use synchronous discussions to instruct important course content or to get for student understanding of the concept. Also feedback should be timely when it comes on to on-line delivery. It is also importnat that the feedback be worded in a way to encourage participation, confidence and motivation. Feedback should also be constructive criticism.
It was interesting to learn that for introduction of big ideas, that a one-on-one conversation, or a recorded module, is the best way to do so. So often teachers try and conduct live class online, when really no student gets the attention that is needed in that format.
In this section I learned the difference between asyncronous and syncronous discussions. I also learned that timely feedback is extremely important in any online learning environment. It is the role of the instructor to continually respond to and/or initiate converstaions with students.
It looks like electronic conversation is going to be key since there isn,t much face to face interaction .
Asynchronous communication is the way to go when it comes to feedback from course work. Synchronous communication should occur while the instructor is on a live camera platform such as Zoom or WebEx.
The use of both types of discussions is a good way to engage students differently. I like the suggestion to use emoji's to emphasize tone.
