9. What is synchronous/asynchronous
communication?
SYNCHRONOUS (real time) eg f2f
conversation, telephone calls, chat
rooms
ASYNCHRONOUS – some delay
between initial communication and the
reply eg letters, email, forums, Facebook
10. COMMUNICATION AXIS
Reflective; Structured;
monologue expository
Asynch
Spontaneous; Minimalist; rapid
dialogue (evolving)
Synch
Oral Written
13. ASYNCHRONOUS TOOLS
SOCIAL MEDIA/NETWORKING
Facebook (tip: use the Groups feature)
Google+
Foursquare etc (Geolocation)
Flickr (images)
YouTube (videos)
Slideshare (slides)
14. 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
1. Voxopop: Aiden Yeh‟s Advanced Listening Group at
http://tinyurl.com/4hzw2of
2. Voicethread: examples at
http://voicethread4education.wikispaces.com/9-12
3. Podcasts (eg Podomatic; see http://michaelc.podomatic.com/)
4. See list at
http://baw2013.pbworks.com/w/page/59955947/Week2
21. Your Experience?
Have you experienced the use of
synchronous tools in online courses that
you have either taught or studied?
22. Question
Why do you think it is important to
include synchronous tools in online
courses?
23. 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)
24. 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.”
25. 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
26. What kinds of tasks/activities work best with
ASYNCHRONOUS? SYNCHRONOUS?
27. Resolving the tension between
asynchronous and synchronous
approaches
It‟s not all or nothing – use both approaches:
Synch for social, spontaneous, decision making
Asynch for deliberation, reflection, considered opinion
28. 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
29. What kinds of synchronous activities
can you use in classrooms?
TEACHING OTHER
„straight lecture‟ Office hours
Guest lecturers Class to class
Oral presentations Social: student -
Group work student
One on one (eg
pronunciation)
30. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Conferences, seminars
Workshops and Training sessions
Meetings (much more cost effective than
teleconferencing)
Weekly Webhead sessions at Noon GMT
http://learning2gether.pbworks.com/w/page/32206114/volunteersneeded
33. Twitter as a real
time search tool?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29281982@N00/101951607/
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
34. TRACKING THE BACK
CHANNEL
http://www.slideshare.net/mchaelc/tracking-the-back-channel
35. BACKCHANNEL TOOLS
Direct or instant messaging in web
conferencing tools (eg Centra,
Blackboard Collaborate)
Micro Messaging Tools: Twitter, Yammer
Live blogging tools like Cover It Live
Live polling tools like Poll Everywhere
40. Can you use Twitter as
teaching tool?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/interplast/141013553/
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 √
41. 21 st Century Skills
http://atc21s.org/index.php/about/what-are-21st-century-skill
42. 21 st 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.
45. THE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
ASYNCH SYNCH
Email (one to one; one to many) Chat or Instant Messaging tool (in LMS)
Discussion tool (many to many; forum – in Virtual Classroom
LMS eg Moodle; Facebook, etc; Voice –
Voxopop, Voicethread ) NEAR SYNCH
Teacher or class blog Twitter, Yammer
Podcast site (eg Podomatic)
Flickr (or other photo site)
YouTube Channel
SMS – for messages, reminders
Optional Extra
Collaborative Workspace (wiki, Google
Docs)
46. A Webheads Theme Song
CHORUS
Webheads – all over the world
Webheads – we’re all over the world
See http://webheadstheme.wikispaces.com/
47. Contact Details
MICHAEL COGHLAN
http://michaelcoghlan.net
e: michaelc@chariot.net.au