Comment on Kayla Tillisch's post:
There are multiple ways to keep students engaged online.
Comment on Maria Rodriguez's post: I couldn't agree with this more. Some instructors think online teaching is easier than in-person. However, I find that you need to be more present and engaging with students becomes a bigger challenge.
Selecting the appropriate learning activities is crucial in designing online courses (OC). Questions, readings, guests lecturers, as well as synchronous and asynchronous discussions are the most common OC activities that we must consider when designing an OC. A balanced set of these activities we motivate students to complete the course and engage them to the content.
With this approach, students can absorb content at their own pace and on their own schedule. It makes more difficult concepts easier to understand.
Guest speakers can mix it up a bit to keep things interesting in addition to give students someone is in the field.
There are advantages and disadvantages to online courses. Most disadvantages can be overcome in creating an online course.
As an instructor -it is important to be present. This helps motivate students and provides immediate feedback- especially in asynchronous when some students may procrastinate, Positive reinforcement can propel and motivate students out of their comfort zone. By nature some students are more outgoing - so providing an opportunity for all to participate ( especially synchronous) keeps the playing field alittle more level
In this module, I learned the importance of asking the right questions in the correct format. The impact on students varies depending on the type of activity—whether it's a discussion, an assignment, a mailbox reading, or an exchange through email. Each question type elicits different responses, helping us understand students’ current knowledge and encouraging them to think critically and generate new answers. These interactions can happen in real time or asynchronously, and all of them help enhance students’ reading skills and comprehension.
A good balance of asynchronous and synchronous work for the students keeps them engaged
I learned the concepts of asynchronous and synchronous learning. Blending the two is a great way of learning, but you need to check on your students to make sure their learning needs are being met.
With this module I learned that in order to for students to retain information, the instructor must be able to engage the student with material they can use to better comprehend the subject. All lessons, activities, quizzes and other learning material must be organized in a way that the student is able to follow chronologically.
The reinforcement that almost every learning activity presented on the ground F2F environment can be replicated in an online environment is noteworthy. Further, while I acknowledge the virtue in guiding the learner to home in on key points of a lesson, I am not entirely sure I agree with the idea that assigning whole chapters to the learner to read is no longer a recommended practice.
There are pros and cons for both synchronous learning and asynchronous learning.
Asynchronous learning pros
- Flexibility, self-paced, and more time to reflect
Asynchronous cons
- Less immediate support
- risk of procrastination
Synchronous Pros
- Live interaction, real time feedback, community building and structured schedule
Synchronous cons
- less flexibility
- tech issues
- time zone challenges
I enjoy the concept of asynchronous learning synchronous learning in the online environment.
To use Synchronous and Asynchronous interactions will have better results
I liked the idea of having guest lecturers who can reinforce content whether it is an asynchronous course or synchronous.
Guest lecturers are an excellent way to break up the module and have free-flow Q & A.
Please don't discourage reading books
Comment on Patrick Lambelet's post: I agree entirely! Reading, and books are still important and students shold expect to read them! They might even find they enjoy it.
Synchronous and Asynchronous methods are effective only if the instructor understands the capabilities of the students. At all times, the instructor must be in communication with them in order to make the necessary adjustments to meet the students' needs. In addition, the use of additional materials such as books and/or targeted materials must meet the requirements of the course. A graduate level class needs more material than an undergrad or vocational class. Assigning entire chapters should not be surprising for higher level courses.
