The document discusses the integration of synchronous and asynchronous learning environments, exploring various tools and methods for enhancing online education. It highlights the benefits of using both approaches for social engagement and community building while acknowledging the challenges of balancing timely participation with independent learning. Recommendations include not making synchronous sessions compulsory and leveraging technology for recording and archiving interactions.

1. SYNCH AND SWIM:
Blending Synchronous and
Asynchronous Learning
Environments
Michael Coghlan
BAW 2014
25/1/13

2. WHO‟S ONLINE TODAY?

3. WHERE ARE YOU?

4. Buenos Aires
The Andes
Egypt
Cape Town
London
NY
Australia
Hawaii
India

7. WIRELESS IS EVERYWHERE

8. Question:
Are you
A) In your office?
B) In a computer suite?
C) At home?
D) Other?

9. MULTIPLE VENUE
PRESENTATIONS
(MVPs)
remote
students
CLASSROOM/
F2F VENUE
guest
lecturer
public
space

10. Question:
IS ANYONE TEACHING IN FULLY
ONLINE MODE?
(Classroom + online =
BLENDED LEARNING)

11. 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

12. SYNCHRONOUS
ASYNCHRONOUS

13. 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

14. COMMUNICATION AXIS
Reflective;
monologue
Structured;
expository
Asynch
Synch
Spontaneous;
dialogue
Oral
Minimalist; rapid
(evolving)
Written

15. COMMUNICATION AXIS
Most classroom communications take place here
New – have been enabled by technology (only happen online)

16. ASYNCHRONOUS TOOLS
 Email
 Forums, discussion boards
 Blogs (eg Blogger, Edublogs)
 Wikis (eg Wikispaces, PBWiki)
 SMS

17. ASYNCHRONOUS TOOLS
SOCIAL MEDIA/NETWORKING
 Facebook (tip: use the Groups feature)
 Google+
 Foursquare etc (Geolocation)
 Flickr (images)
 YouTube (videos)
 Slideshare (slides)

18. 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://ict4elt2014.pbworks.com/w/page/70331411/Week2

19. *** VIDEO LITERACY ***
See also Ustream and Google Hangout

20. Synchronous approaches can be employed
beyond the face to face (f2f) classroom

21. The Original Synchronous
Environment – plain text chat

22. 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

23. Web Conferencing/Virtual
Classroom

24. Virtual Worlds
See
Second
Life in
Education
See also
OpenSim

25. Your Experience?
 Have you experienced the use of
synchronous tools in online courses that
you have either taught or studied?

26. Question
 Why do you think it is important to
include synchronous tools in online
courses?

27. 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)

28. 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.”

29. 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

30. What kinds of tasks/activities work best with
ASYNCHRONOUS?
SYNCHRONOUS?

31. 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)

32. 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

33. 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

34. 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

35. NEAR
SYNCHRONOUS
TOOLS

36. What‟s this?

37. 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

38. TRACKING THE BACK CHANNEL
CC image: Dean Shareski

39. 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

40. Purdue University: In-house
Application
http://www.itap.purdue.edu/learning/innovate/tools/hotseat.html

41. Cover It Live

42. POLLING TOOLS

43. Today’s Meeting – Your
Feedback
http://todaysmeet.com/elearning11

44. 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 √

45. 21st Century Skills
http://atc21s.org/index.php/about/what-are-21st-century-skills/

46. 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.

47. http://rheingold.com/netsmart/

48. http://aruljohn.com/fun/communication/

49. 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

50. A Webheads Theme Song
CHORUS
Webheads – all over the world
Webheads – we’re all over the world
See http://webheadstheme.wikispaces.com/

51. Contact Details
MICHAEL COGHLAN
http://michaelcoghlan.net
e: michaelc@chariot.net.au