CEdO 550 - Week 3 - Putting It Into Practice

For the next three weeks students in the class will be called on to facilitate both a synchronous and an asynchronous discussion.  In my case I chose a topic that I will be able to use in the future, namely how to start and manage an online learning program.  I hope to use the lessons from this topic as I start working to create an online learning program for my company's new software roll out.

The hardest part about selecting the topic for discussion was finding an aspect of the original article that could both provide a basis for the discussion, yet still reinforce the ideas from the text.  The synchronous discussion will be about the different characteristics of online programs and how they will affect the management of the program.  It will specifically address the 6 characteristics of an online program.  The asynchronous discussion will continue this then by asking the students talk about which of the 6 characteristics is the most important.  By talking through both of these topics we can reinforce the key aspects of the article, while still allowing freedom for the students to build on those ideas.

CEdO 550 - Week 3 - Online Education

This week we had to choose

Week 2 CEdO 550 - Synchronous vs Asynchronous

Given that my background is based in IT, I was already familiar with the concept of synchronous vs asynchronous communication.  These two terms appear often in IT, usually referring how to computer programs talk over a network.  It is interesting to see how the same problems apply to teaching as to making these programs work.

The biggest problem with Asynchronous communication is making sure that a message does not get lost.  Because the feedback is not instantaneous, you might not be sure if your message was even received, much less processed.  In online learning, this is like sending an email and not getting a reply.  Did the instructor even read my message?  The key here is to make sure that recipients get prompt feedback, or at least set some expectations about how quickly you will reply to emails.

The biggest problem in Synchronous communication is having too many messages coming at once.  This is like having too many transactions to process on a computer, or having everyone talk at once in class.  Here again the key is to set rules up front.  Let the class know that they should raise their hands, and limit open discussions to very small groups.

Both Synchronous and Asynchronous are needed in order to have a successful learning experience.

CEdO 550 - Week 1 - Creating Online Lessons

I think my biggest take away from this first week is the need for instant and frequent feedback when creating online learning programs.  Just as the assessments need to be varied and adapted to a wide variety of learners, the feedback also has to take many forms.  First of all, the online lessons should be short (10-20 minutes each), and there should be a quick quiz at the end to give the students some instant reward.  If possible this quiz should include real world examples or problems.  Once that is done, then there should also be a larger assessment at the end of a unit, and grades for these should be made available as soon as possible.  Finally. there should also be frequent interaction with the instructor, either in regular weekly sessions, or by email.  Instructors may need to initiate this for the more introverted students in the class.

Online instruction can really isolate a student, especially since there is no face to face interaction.  By providing frequent and varied feedback, instructors can help students stay engaged in a class.