Synchronous Learning Environments

This was another fun topic this week. As a faculty member at an online institution, as well as a PhD candidate at an online institution, I feel very comfortable with most of the asynchronous learning environments and tools that are available. However, I have not had as much experience with synchronous tools. I have used web conferencing, which is the topic of my presentation; and instant messaging, which will be a separate blog post; and class chats, which definitely has both advantages and disadvantages.

Some of the advantages and disadvantages of synchronous learning are: it more closely matches traditional classroom model, allows for real-time communication and collaboration, dynamic and active, helps develop group cohesion and sense of being part of a learning community, real-time collaboration helps learners understand tone, nuance of other learners, learning facilitator responds to questions and concerns immediately, quick feedback available from instructor and other learners, learning facilitator can monitor comprehension and understanding, energy and motivation comes from group interactions, pacing encourages students to keep up with the course, and has the possibility of real-time demonstrations.

Some of the advantages and disadvantages of asynchronous learning are: it is accessible any time, consists of intermittent communication between learners and facilitator, allows time for reflection, learner can easily integrate ideas into working environment, cost-effective due to low bandwidth and low-end computers, more useful for collaboration and learning over time, easier to include learners from multiple locations (time zones), easier to capture history of communication and interactions of group, and has a greater capability to handle large numbers of learners.

It was great to explore some of the other synchronous technologies and hear about my classmates’ use of them. It’s always fun to see what others are using in their various areas of education, as well as what we all find when given the assignment to find examples.