Reggie,
Great idea. You do have to be flexible to determine what fits for the course and the students in them. Even in an online course, the personality of the course is different each time you teach it.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I am not sure we have this freedom to decide actually--most schools have these features enbedded in the course structure and I tend to follow what the school provides. I do however enjoy synchronous communications and will schedule chats and other communication tools to achieve a higher level of learning, if the school policy permits--Dr Jim Young
I think you decide based upon where your students are physically located and you can always guage how your class is going from an interaction standpoint. You may have to have an random chat to bring people back in if you don't see what you expect on the discussion boards or whatever medium you are using and when you have people that are in different time zones it's probably more effective to use asynchronous communication tools.
Gwenda,
Many do use several different ways of communication, it is important to make sure students know what is expected of them.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
My school requires us to use both. I provide a live chat session each week (which is also recorded) and I also have online office hours.
Additionally, we have discussion boards for interaction, Announcement boards, and email.
Jenifer,
You make a great point. You can create dialog within your group; it is dependent on what is allowed.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
To begin we're bound by what our LMS and institution supports/allows. Also, some activities are better suited to each dif tools. Choose the tool to fit/support the activity, not the opposite.
Nichoe,
AS long as you can engage them I think it is important to use a variety of communication tools.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Amy,
That is true. There could be a hardware barrier that prevents the chats to be effective. Bad video chats are . . . bad!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Yvette,
I agree with you. I think you have to use both tools but the synchronous is tricky. If you have students that are in several time zones and all over the world the timing becomes I think an unnecessary workload issue for you for the benefit. (This is my opinion).
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Allen,
That is so interesting that you are using Linkedin. I also admire you for experimenting with other technology both educational and other more mainstream technology. You do have to factor in impact and your own workload. Great post.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Allen,
That is so interesting that you are using Linkedin. I also admire you for experimenting with other technology both educational and other more mainstream technology. You do have to factor in impact and your own workload. Great post.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I do not decide in my courses to use asynchronous or synchronous communication tools as both are built into the course. Students use discussion boards, review content, etc., asynchronously and attend a weekly live chat.
In my particular course, we have a weekly live lab that is scheduled at the beginning of the term. I encourage students to attend these sessions for help with the weeks assignments, questions, etc. I will often have a presentation prepared that gives an overview of what is to be covered in that week. When students attend, they often have the benefit of one on one assistance.
If a particular student needs assistance and is not engaged, then I will call and/or email the student to set up an individual online session with them. The problem that I often discover is that some students do not have video chat capabilities.
I use both in most cases. Being in a naturally asynchronous environment, most often we are using asynchronous tools. However most online programs have some synchronous tools to be used at some point during the week. Personally, I like synchronous tools because I, too, like the interaction. I make sure to make the most of my synchronous time with students. I like to provide a great deal of information during that time, so the students feel the synchronous learning is valuable and make an attempt to attend. But I try to make the information available outside of that time so that those that cannot participate due to scheduling conflicts can still benefit from the information shared during that time.
Hello All,
Good morning! I teach for three different online universities and all of the courses are set up to be asynchronous. By my own efforts, I have tried to use synchronous communication tools for the class as a whole, but I have never been fully successful for the entire class. The main reason being is different time zones and schedules. I was putting in a lot of effort with very little impact. Given this fact, and that the overall course structure is asynchronous for the classes I teach, I have focused more of my efforts there.
I am very effective with discussion boards, course announcements, email, and the other standard tools that come with an online learning management system. More recently, I have ventured out and am now using social media. Giving the career focus of linkedin.com, that is the primary agent that I use. Google Docs is another tool that I am experimenting with, and I am researching effective ways to use Twitter. My goal here is to make sure social media has effective applications and contributes authentically to the learning process. I do not want to use social media just to use social media.
Have a great day!
Al
Michelle,
I am with you on this. It is dependent on the type of technology. I use both as it does provide much more flexibility. Great post.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
In your online course, how do you decide whether to use asynchronous or synchronous communication tools?
There truly is no easy way to answer this question. Which tools I choose definitely depend on the LMS. Some learning management systems allow for both while others may not. I personally, like the idea of utilizing both types of communication tools. I like the flexibility an asynchronous environment allows. For example, most discussion boards or forums are asynchronous in nature. This allows for the students and instructor to participate when it is convenient.
I personally like to include synchronous communication tools wherever I can. Some learning management systems I currently use allow me to record live sessions. This gives the students the opportunity to participate in the live session if they are able to simply watch the archived session. I utilize chat rooms and instant messaging daily. This is a great way to meet with students one on one. Instant messaging also gives my students direct access to me whenever I am online.
As some others have stated the synchronous environment is also a GREAT place to offer tutoring and review sessions.
Pamela,
I like it also. It is a way students can connect with you.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Having a variety of both asynchronous and synchronous options is the best way to engage students. One feature I like in many of the synchronous options such as live lectures is the use of a web cam. By using a web cam students connect with the instructor on a level seeing you are not just a computer screen but a real person. With varying time zones and work schedules being able to record the live lectures is also a plus while this turn the synchronous live lecture into an asynchronous recorded lecture those who cannot attend live still receive the benefit as if they attended.
