Post on 06-May-2015
description
SYNCH AND SWIM:
Blending Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning
Environments
Michael CoghlanBAW 2014
25/1/13
WHO’S ONLINE TODAY?
WHERE ARE YOU?
WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE?
The Andes Egypt Buenos Aires
Cape Town London NY
Hawaii IndiaAustralia
WIRELESS IS EVERYWHERE
Question:
Are you
A) In your office?
B) In a computer suite?
C) At home?
D) Other?
MULTIPLE VENUEPRESENTATIONS
(MVPs)
remote students guest
lecturer
CLASSROOM/F2F VENUE
publicspace
Question:
IS ANYONE TEACHING IN FULLY ONLINE MODE?
(Classroom + online =
BLENDED LEARNING)
IS BLENDED BEST?
Face to face? Online? Blended?
Evidence inconclusive. Check resources at http://tinyurl.com/q4lxqwv (courtesy of Curt Bonk) and decide for yourself
SYNCHRONOUS ASYNCHRONOUS
What is synchronous/asynchronous communication?
SYNCHRONOUS (real time) eg f2f conversation, telephone calls, chat, Instant Messaging
ASYNCHRONOUS – some delay between initial communication and the reply eg letters, email, forums, Facebook newsfeed
Asynch
Synch
Oral Written
Minimalist; rapid (evolving)
COMMUNICATION AXIS
Spontaneous;dialogue
Reflective; monologue
Structured; expository
COMMUNICATION AXIS
Most classroom communications take place here
New – have been enabled by technology (only happen online)
ASYNCHRONOUS TOOLS
Email Forums, discussion boards Blogs (eg Blogger, Edublogs) Wikis (eg Wikispaces, PBWiki) SMS
ASYNCHRONOUS TOOLS
SOCIAL MEDIA/NETWORKING Facebook (tip: use the Groups
feature) Google+ Foursquare etc (Geolocation) Flickr (images) YouTube (videos) Slideshare (slides)
ASYNCHRONOUS VOICE
VOICE BOARDS
1. Wimba: try the board at http://tinyurl.com/4lnh9fn
2. Nanogong (esp for Moodle users) http://gong.ust.hk/nanogong/
Free
3. Voxopop: Aiden Yeh’s Advanced Listening Group at http://tinyurl.com/4hzw2of
4. Voicethread: examples at http://voicethread4education.wikispaces.com/9-12
5. Podcasts (eg Podomatic; see http://michaelc.podomatic.com/)
6. See list at http://ict4elt2014.pbworks.com/w/page/70331411/Week2
*** VIDEO LITERACY ***
See also Ustream and Google Hangout
Synchronous approaches can be employed beyond the face to face (f2f) classroom
The Original Synchronous Environment – plain text chat
RANGE OF SYNCHRONOUS TOOLS
Instant Messengers: Google+, Skype, Facebook
Peer to Peer/Collaborative Tools: eg Google Docs (documents), Mind Mapping, Whiteboards, Gaming
Virtual Classrooms Proprietary: Blackboard Collaborate
(formerly Elluminate), Adobe Connect, etc Free: WizIQ, Vyew, Big Blue Button
Web Conferencing/Virtual Classroom
Virtual Worlds
See Second Life in Education
See also OpenSim
Your Experience?
Have you experienced the use of synchronous tools in online courses that you have either taught or studied?
Question
Why do you think it is important to include synchronous tools in online courses?
Social/Affective Benefits
Social, community, and personal engagement
personal engagement/motivation (55%) community building (29%) improving the social experience
(27%)
(results at http:// michaelcoghlan.net/synch/surv_results.htm)
Tension: Synch v Asynch
Terry Anderson, Toward a Theory of Online Learning:
“….the major motivation for enrollment in distance education is not physical access, but rather, temporal freedom to move through a course of studies at a pace of the student’s choice.” Participation in (synchronous events) “almost inevitably places constraints on this independence.”
“ The demands of a learning-centered context might at times force us to modify prescriptive participation in (synchronous events), even though we might have evidence that such participation will further advance knowledge creation and attention.”
Resolving the tension between asynchronous and synchronous
approaches
don’t make synch sessions compulsory; use synch for those who want it
use tools that can record or archive the sessions for later retrieval
don’t use synchronous for whole class instruction use for meetings, one-on-one, or in small groups offer informal (social) sessions in synch mode allow student use of synchronous space offer office hours sessions at set times
What kinds of tasks/activities work best withASYNCHRONOUS? SYNCHRONOUS?
Resolving the tension between asynchronous and synchronous
approaches
It’s not all or nothing – use both approaches: Synch for social, spontaneous, decision making
(CONVERGENT THINKING) Asynch for deliberation, reflection, considered opinion
(DIVERGENT THINKING)
Skills of the Live Online Presenter
Golden Rule: 6-8 minutes talking at a stretch maximum
Intersperse presentations with questions, polls, other speakers (from the floor), whiteboard activity
Decide how to handle direct messaging – will you monitor/respond? Or ignore it? Dip in and out of it?
Consider working with a producer/co-presenter More at http:// michaelcoghlan.net/fll/blog.htm#skills
What kinds of synchronous activities?
TEACHING ‘straight lecture’ Guest lecturers Oral presentations Group work One on one (eg
pronunciation)
OTHER Office hours Class to class Social: student -
student
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Conferences, seminars Workshops and Training sessions Meetings (much more cost effective than
teleconferencing) Weekly Webhead sessions
(Learning2gether) http://learning2gether.pbworks.com/w/page/32206114/volunteersneeded
NEAR
SYNCHRONOUS
TOOLS
What’s this?
Twitter as a real time search tool?
May 2008: “Twitter beats media in reporting China earthquake."
• An almost real time search tool– Now being used by some as an alternative
search tool to Google
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29281982@N00/101951607/
TRACKING THE BACK CHANNEL
CC image: Dean Shareski
BACKCHANNEL TOOLS
Direct or instant messaging in web conferencing tools (eg Centra, Blackboard Collaborate)
Microblogging Tools: Twitter, Yammer Live blogging tools like Cover It Live Live polling tools like Poll Everywhere
Purdue University: In-house Application
http://www.itap.purdue.edu/learning/innovate/tools/hotseat.html
POLLING TOOLS
Today’s Meeting – Your Feedback http://todaysmeet.com/elearning11
Can you use Twitter as teaching tool?
Teaching with Twitter (Steve Wheeler)
‘Twit Board’ Notify students of changes to course content, schedules, venues or other important information. (could be done with phone)
‘Summing Up’ Ask students to read an article or chapter and then post their brief summary or précis of the key point(s). A limit of 140 characters demands a lot of academic discipline. √
‘Twit Links’ Share a hyperlink – a directed task for students – each is required to regularly share one new hyperlink to a useful site they have
‘Micro Write’ Progressive collaborative writing on Twitter. Students agree to take it in turns to contribute to an account or ‘story’ over a period of time.
Use the backchannel to provide feedback on classes in real time √
http://www.flickr.com/photos/interplast/141013553/
21st Century Skills
http://atc21s.org/index.php/about/what-are-21st-century-skills/
21st Century Skills
Decentralized decision-making, information sharing, teamwork and innovation are key in today’s enterprises
Whether a technician or a professional person, success lies in being able to communicate, share, and use information to solve complex problems, in being able to adapt and innovate in response to new demands and changing circumstances, in being able to marshal and expand the power of technology to create new knowledge and expand human capacity and productivity.
THE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
ASYNCH
Email (one to one; one to many) Discussion tool (many to many; forum
– in LMS eg Moodle; Facebook, etc; Voice – Voxopop, Voicethread )
Teacher or class blog Podcast site (eg Podomatic) Flickr (or other photo site) YouTube Channel SMS – for messages, reminders
Optional Extra Collaborative Workspace (wiki,
Google Docs)
SYNCH
Chat or Instant Messaging tool (in LMS)
Virtual Classroom
NEAR SYNCH Twitter, Yammer
A Webheads Theme Song
CHORUS
Webheads – all over the worldWebheads – we’re all over the world
See http://webheadstheme.wikispaces.com/
Contact Details
MICHAEL COGHLAN
http://michaelcoghlan.nete: michaelc@chariot.net.au