Final Project - Asynchronous v. Synchronous E-Learning

Moving Towards Dynamic Technologies

Static-Dynamic Map
Distance education, while becoming very popular as a course medium, is continuously challenged to provide a learning environment that is similar to that of face to face instruction.  Since, first introduced the media tools available to make distance education successful has grown and continues to grow.  They provide ways for the learners to interact with the course content (Moller, 2008).  However, as we move along the static-dynamic continuum, we are looking to increase the cognitive abilites of the learners.  The focus is not only on how learners will interact within the course, but to some extent, what learners will develop from their exploration of content and resources that leads to knowledge not provided by the instructor.  As I reflect on my experience in the distance education setting, I think I'm in the middle of the continuum.  Much of my experience has been interacting with others during the learning process of a given course.  I have been able to further my career as a result, but I'm ready to step it up another notch.

References:
Moller, L. (2008). Static and dynamic technological tools. [Unpublished Paper].

Engaging Learners with New Strategies and Tools

Graphic Organizer

As technology evolves and distance education becomes more of a norm, it is important to recognize the importance of these technological tools in the learning environment.  It is always feared that online learning does not provide the same value as the traditional face-to-face instruction, however, if technology is properly implemented within the curriculum then one could argue that point.  We must embrace socialization within the distance community.  Social networks are a very popular communication tool today and can be very useful in distance learning.  Establishing such an evironment within a learning community allows for shared knowledge and constant feedback.  In addition to social networks, blogs, chat-rooms and email can be useful.  There is more content related material available on podcasts and video that can be incorportated into the learning envrionment too.  No matter which technology is chosen, it must provide opportunities for students to interact with each other and the instructor in order for a successful learning experience.

Reference:
Durrington, V. A., Berryhill, A., & Swafford, J. (2006). Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an online environment. College Teaching, 54(1), 190−193

Assessing Collaborative Efforts

How to fairly assess members of a collaboration can be very challenging as Siemens (2008) reminds us in his video.  For a long time education has been focused on the success of individuals and now has to be transformed to evaluate group efforts.  One point that stood out in the video was Siemens stating that "not all assessments require a grade."  He was referring to the use of online communities, such as this, where students are engaged in an online dialogue with other professional on a given topic.  I feel that online communities could be a valuable tool in assessing an individuals role in teamwork.  I think of the online community as the board room where everyone gets together to share their concerns.  Yet, if participating in such an activity is required, the parameters and expectations must be clearly stated by the instructor (Paoloff & Pratt, 2005).  Siemens (2008) also discussed being fair and equitable in assessing collaborations.  One may tend to give the person who made tremendous growth during a course a higher grade than the person who made less improvement but had a significant impact in the course dialogue because of points raised.  These two examples should not be compared in terms of quantity or who did more, but instead on the added value brought to the team and the discussions.
To ensure that all members participate in team collaborations, I think its important for instructors to do more than just provide guidelines and expectations.  In this setting you're still dealing with people of different personalities and learning styles and that needs to be taken into consideration.  Palloff & Pratt (2005) offered several suggestions to increase participation but one thing that stood out was involving the learner in the assessment process.  This helps learners take ownership in their learning.  Helping to establish expecations and rubrics that are designed to evaluate individual and team performance should increase member participation on a collaborative team. 

References
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Siemens, G. (2008). Assessment of collaborative learning. Vodocast. Laureate Education, Inc.

Storyboard

This is definitely a work in progress.  I still have some research to do and data to collect for the finished product.  I look forward to all feedback concerning what I've done thus far.

August 14, 2011

I've been trying to  make edits and respond to your comments for some time now and for some reason my comments would not post.  So in response to the feedback I received, I have the ability to control the pace of the text and how it is displayed.  After determining the clips that I want to use, the audio will be recorded.  The audio includes any text that is displayed on a clip.  I will be reducting the amount of text that is displayed to focus only on the key points that viewers should remember.

The basic outline of the stroyboard is:

General Overview of Asynchronous and Synchronous Learning

Definition of Asynchronous Learning

Examples of Asynchronous Learning

Definition of Synchronous Learning

Examples of Synchronous Learning

Is one preferred over the other?

Conclusion

References



Elements of Distance Education

Collaborative interaction is a huge contributor to the success of distance education.  As Siemens (2008) points out in his video, as people enroll in these courses, their comfort level increases.  This hold true in regards with collaborating with other students in a distance environment.  In distance learning courses, the amount of knowledge that is shared is greater than what is shared in your face to face courses.  Those students who are less likely to share in the traditional setting may be more comfortable sharing online. I am one of those individuals who does not speak much in the traditional setting, but I have a lot to share concerning education and how to improve the profession.  However, along with this new level of comfort comes a mutual respect of the diverse class.  Distance learning provides the opportunity to collaborate with others in your field who are located in other geographic regions.  It is through these collaborations that educators are able to improve their educational pracitices and make improvements in their own environments.  Typically, collaborations are done through discussion boards, blogs, or a media such as skype.  Collaborations have helped me a great deal in all of the courses that I've taken and can't imagine what a course would be like without it.

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore: Author.

According to historical trends, distance education will continue to grow with time; however, there may not be much difference in its design. Huett, Molley, Foshay, and Coleman (2008) all believe that one way to ensure the success of distance education is with trained professionals for instructional design team. So often faculty try to replicate an instructional design from face-to-face classes to a distance learning class and it's not successful (Simonson, 2008b). Simonson (2008b) discusses further the need for equivalency between distance education and face-to-face instruction. He states that the goal should be to achieve the same learning outsomes and within distance education, one must provide the technology resources need to achieve such outcomes.

As I reflect on distance education courses I've taken over the years, I can relate to what Simonson is saying. I've taken some classes where it was only discussion boards. The instructor was trying to hold the same discussions online as he would in the classroom without providing additional resources for the discussion. This format did not work for me as a learner and I felt that the class was a waste of time. As a potential candidate for instructing distance courses, I will have to keep in mind Simonson's Theory of Equivalency and how it can determine the success of the course.

Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W.R., & Coleman, C. (2008). Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (part 3). Tech Trends, 52(5), 63-67.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008b). Equivalency Theory [Video program]. Available from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5260640&Survey=1&47=9024095&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1