The session will engage the audience in a conversation about synchronous instruction and its fit within dynamic online learning design. The place for instantaneity is introduced with a framework to explore when, where, and in which subject areas face-to-face immediacy has the greatest potential to enhance the learning process.
An online learning pedagogy, or eLearning pedagogy often includes qualities suggested by Felix (2005) such as flexibility, inclusivity, collaboration, authenticity and personal relevance. These qualities are recognizable as the elements of social media that have influenced learner online expectations. The proposed "Conversation, not Presentation" session will engage the audience in a discussion of new ways of thinking about synchronous instruction and how instantaneity fits into dynamic online learning design.
In a 2018 survey, 15% of surveyed students selected “Some online classes have sessions with set time to facilitate contact between students and instructors” as one of their top three reasons for selecting a program (Magda & Aslanian, 2018, p. 28). In terms of the helpfulness of various online elements, more than two thirds of students surveyed report synchronous sessions as either very helpful (33%) or somewhat helpful (37%) to their learning process (Magda & Aslanian, 2018, p. 41).
The overarching question for the session is: What are the appropriate uses of synchronous online engagement such as problem-based dialogue, simulation, case-based discussion, group project, demonstration, student presentation, or even “lecture” or other forms of instructor-led activity delivered in real time?
The place for instantaneity will be introduced with a framework to explore when, where, and in which subject areas face-to-face immediacy has the greatest potential to enhance the learning process and experience of community. Participants will engage in a discussion of whether instantaneity is particularly or uniquely important to these subject areas and instructional purposes:
- Directly observe a career-based skill, such as in counseling, education or nursing
- Foster rich networking, such as in advanced business or marketing or MBA
- Provide a place for demonstration and explanation, such as in advanced engineering
Collaboration between subject experts and designers includes discussions about how to move away from the impulse to replicate face-to-face teaching online. From a design standpoint, are some instructional moments most efficiently conveyed via a “face to face” connection. Optional or mandatory synchronous elements will be unpacked during the dialogue. Additional themes for exploration include the ways in which synchronous sessions enhance connection and community, and the importance of preparing online faculty in the effective use of synchronous learning elements as an exercise of digital literacy.
The presenter will share evidence for what she has discovered from nearly two decades of work in instructional design and online learning, representing the points of view of the instructional design team and a wide range of global program leaders and faculty subject experts. Following the session, participants will have a set of questions that they can take back to continue conversations about the place for instantaneity in online learning design at their institutions.
REFERENCES
Felix, U. (2005). E-learning pedagogy in the third millennium: The need for combining social and cognitive constructivist approaches. ReCALL,17(1), 85-100. doi:10.1017/S0958344005000716
Henderson, M., Selwyn , N., & Aston, R. (2015). What works and why? Student perceptions of ‘useful’ digital. Studies in Higher Education, 1567-1579. DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2015.1007946
Legon, R., & Garrett, R. (2018). The Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE) 2: A Deeper Drive: Quality Matter & Eduventures Survey of Chief Online Officers. Quality Matters and Eduventures Research.
Magda, A., & Aslanian, C. (2018). Online college students 2018: Comprehensive data on demands and preferences. Louisville: The Learning House, Inc. and EducationDynamics.
Park, Y. J., & Bonk, C. (2007). Is Online Life a Breeze? A Case Study for Promoting Synchronous Learning. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 3(3). Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.154.1849&rep=re...
Sharpe, R and Beetham, H. (2010). Understanding students' uses of technology for learning: Towards creative appropriation. In: Rethinking learning for a digital age: How learners are shaping their own experiences, Routledge: pp. 85-99
Venkatesh, V., Croteau, A.-M., & Ribah, J. (2014). Perceptions of Effectiveness of Instructional Uses of Technology in Higher Education in an Era of Web 2.0. 2014 47th Hawaii International Conference on System Science (pp. 110-119). IEEE Computers in Society .
Yamagata-Lynch, L. (2014). Blending Online Synchronous and Synchronous Learning. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 15(2). Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/