Asynchronous Learning and Trends RSS
Asynchronous Learning and Trends
Asynchronous learning, or teaching and learning that occurs when the interaction between the instructor and students is not constrained by time and place, can cause feelings of isolation, resulting in disappointment and low retention rates in online classes. Faculty Focus examines new, proven collaborative learning techniques you can use in the online classroom to promote social interaction and have a positive influence on learning, motivation, and problem-solving.
June 1 - How to Jumpstart Online Discussions
By: Jim Guinee, PhD in Asynchronous Learning and Trends
Online discussions are sometimes difficult to get going, and often the students (at least at first) seem to respond too superficially, punctuated by an occasional treatise by an overeager student. Here’s how I jumpstart discussions in my family relations online course.
May 12 - Using VoiceThread to Build Student Engagement
By: John Orlando, PhD in Asynchronous Learning and Trends, Teaching with Technology
Online educators have long known that asynchronous discussion is deeper than face-to-face discussion due to the increased thought time and the “democratization” of the classroom. But one major disadvantage of traditional online discussion is that it is separate from the lecture.
April 30 - Building a Connection with Online Students Right from the Start
By: Patti Shank, PhD, CPT in Asynchronous Learning and Trends
When teaching and designing courses, I find that it’s easy to slip into autopilot and use the same tools and strategies over and over. Autopilot can be comfortable and easy, but I know I don’t do my best work in that state. So I try to look at my courses and materials with fresh eyes as often as I can. Often, I’ll ask another faculty member or designer to look at what I’m designing with a critical eye, and I return the favor for their courses.
April 5 - Considerations for Your Wiki Projects
By: Baiyun Chen, PhD. in Asynchronous Learning and Trends
Wiki technologies are being used by many instructors and students as an effective tool for a variety of collaborative projects, such as composing group papers, creating a rich knowledge base, managing projects efficiently, and forming virtual communities. The benefits of using wiki tools include ease of use and collaboration, good instructor control, and anytime/anywhere accessibility.
February 26 - Three Ways to Increase the Quality of Students’ Discussion Board Comments
By: Sedef Uzuner and Ruchi Mehta in Asynchronous Learning and Trends
As more and more courses go online, interaction and knowledge building among students rely primarily on asynchronous threaded discussions. For something that is so central to online learning, current research and literature have provided instructors with little support as to how they can facilitate and maintain high-quality conversations among students in these learning environments. This article responds to this need by offering three strategies instructors can use to ensure educationally valuable talk in their online classes.
December 14 - How Wikis Streamline Student Collaboration Projects
By: Mary Bart in Asynchronous Learning and Trends
Utter the words “group project” and you’re likely to hear at least a few groans from your students. The reasons for their dislike of group work are many, but logistical difficulties of getting everyone together and lazy group members who don’t pull their own weight are two of the biggest complaints.
December 11 - Should You Let Students Lead Discussion Boards?
By: Joan Thormann, PhD. in Asynchronous Learning and Trends
Several years ago, a colleague suggested that having students lead discussions in the online classroom would be a good idea. I agreed and searched the literature for research on this topic but found nothing. No one at that point had been looking at having students moderate, or they hadn’t written about it. I still thought it was a good idea and decided to pursue this line of research by having my students moderate and follow up with an end-of-course student questionnaire.
November 23 - Synching up with Your Asynchronous Learners
By: Rob Kelly in Asynchronous Learning and Trends
Some students are reluctant to enroll in online courses, afraid they will miss some of the social aspects of the face-to-face classroom. For these students, it makes sense to incorporate online synchronous sessions to provide some of the benefits of the face-to-face class while maintaining most of the flexibility of an asynchronous online course.
November 20 - Questioning Styles for More Effective Discussion Boards
By: Rob Kelly in Asynchronous Learning and Trends
Meaningful online discussions that promote learning and build community usually do not happen spontaneously. They require planning, good use of questioning techniques, and incentives for student participation.
October 19 - Understanding the Instructor’s Role in Facilitating Online Discussions
By: Michelle Everson, PhD. in Asynchronous Learning and Trends
In my classroom-based courses I have always valued discussion as a powerful learning tool that provides students with opportunities to explain their reasoning and understanding, learn different perspectives and points of view, and re-think and possibly revise their own conceptions based on careful reflection of potentially disparate viewpoints. As I prepared to teach my first online course five years ago, it was only natural that discussion would be a part of it.
