Part II. Sample Synchronous and Asynchronous Activities

1. Part II. Sample Synchronous and Asynchronous Activities (David Brown, Syllabus, January 2002, p. 23; October 2001, p. 18)

2. From Learning Designers to Experience Designers(Reinhard Ziegler, March 2002, e-learning) “How are we going to create environments, simulations, and real learning experiences unless they’ve participated in them and reflected on their importance for themselves?”…the key is “how to design the interaction so the user lives the experience.”

4. How Bad Is It? “Some frustrated Blackboard users who say the company is too slow in responding to technical problems with its course-management software have formed an independent users’ group to help one another and to press the company to improve.” (Jeffrey Young, Nov. 2, 2001, Chronicle of Higher Ed)

5. We’re Handing out degrees in electronic page turning!!! • To get the certificate, learners merely needed to “read” (i.e. click through) each screen of material

6. More Online PowerPoint(even terrorists would be too bored to read)

7. IIA. Ten Asynchronous Activities • Social Ice Breakers: Storytelling Cartoon Time • Learner-Content Interactions: Challenges, Animations, Self-Testing, Double Jeopardy Quizzing • Scenario-Based Simulations • Anonymous Suggestion Box • Student Formative Surveys • Role Play: Assume the Persona of a Scholar • Case-Based Laboratories & Online Experiments • Authentic Data Analysis • Just-in-Time Teaching; Just-in-Time Syllabus • Perspective Taking: Foreign Languages

8. 1. Social Ice Breakers • Storytelling Cartoon Time: Find a Web site that has cartoons. Have participants link their introductions or stories to a particular cartoon URL. Storytelling is a great way to communicate.http://www.curtoons.com/cartooncoll.htm

10. 2a. Learner-Content Interactions: Self-Testing

11. 2b. Learner-Content Interactions: Double-Jeopardy Quizzing Gordon McCray, Wake Forest University, Intro to Management of Info Systems • Students take objective quiz (no time limit and not graded) • Submit answer for evaluation • Instead of right or wrong response, the quiz returns a compelling probing question, insight, or conflicting perspective (i.e., a counterpoint) to force students to reconsider original responses • Students must commit to a response but can use reference materials • Correct answer and explanation are presented

12. 3. Scenario-Based Simulations “There’s something new on the horizon, though: computer-based soft skills simulations, which let learners practice skills such as negotiation and team building.” Clark Aldrich, The State of Simulations, Sept. 2001, Online Learning

13. eDrama (Front Desk Hiring)

14. Intermezzon: MoneyMaker Sales Training

15. SimuLearn’s Virtual Leader

16. Virtual Leader Goals • Employ real-time decision-making • Role play and practice leadership • Foster creativity to generate ideas • Recognize, monitor, and adjust tension in meetings • Uncover underlying issues • Learn how and when to introduce, support or oppose an idea or colleague

17. Ninth House: Management Scenarios

18. 4. Anonymous Suggestion Box George Watson, Univ of Delaware, Electricity and Electronics for Engineers: • Students send anonymous course feedback (Web forms or email) • Submission box is password protected • Instructor decides how to respond • Then provide response and most or all of suggestion in online forum • It defuses difficult issues, airs instructor views, and justified actions publicly. • Caution: If you are disturbed by criticism, perhaps do not use.

19. 5. Survey Student Opinions (e.g., InfoPoll, SurveySolutions, Zoomerang, SurveyShare.com)

21. Poll Students for Formative Feedback

23. 6. Role Play A. Assume Persona of Scholar • Enroll famous people in your course • Students assume voice of that person for one or more sessions • Enter debate topic or Respond to debate topic • Respond to rdg reflections of others or react to own

24. Role 1: Starter/MediatorReporter/Commentator • Summarizes the key terms, ideas, and issues in the chapters, supplemental instructor notes, journal articles, and other assigned readings and asks thought provoking questions typically before one’s peers read or discuss the concepts and ideas. In effect, the starter is a reporter or commentator or teacher of what to expect in the upcoming readings or activities. Once the “start” is posted, this student acts as a mediator or facilitator of discussion for the week.

25. Role 2: Wrapper/SummarizerSynthesizer/Connector/Reviewer • Connects ideas, synthesizes discussion, interrelates comments, and links both explicit and implicit ideas posed in online discussion or other activities. Here, the student looks for patterns and themes in online coursework while weaving information together. The wrapping or summarizing is done at least at the end of the week or unit, but preferably two or more times depending on the length of the activity.

26. Role 3: Conqueror or Debater/Arguer/Bloodletter • Takes ideas into action, debates with others, persists in arguments and never surrenders or compromises nomatter what the casualties are when addressing any problem or issue.

27. Role 4: Devil's Advocate or Critic/Censor/Confederate • Takes opposite points of view for the sake of an argument and is an antagonist when addressing any problem posed. This might be a weekly role that is secretly assigned.

28. Role 5: Idea Squelcher/Biased/Preconceiver • Squelches good and bad ideas of others and submits your own prejudiced or biased ideas during online discussions and other situations. Forces others to think. Is that person you really hate to work with.

29. Role 6: Optimist/Open-minded/Idealist • In this role, the student notes what appears to be feasible, profitable, ideal, and "sunny" ideas when addressing this problem. Always sees the bright or positive side of the situation.

30. Role 7: Idea Generator Creative Energy/Inventor • Brings endless energy to online conversations and generates lots of fresh ideas and new perspectives to the conference when addressing issues and problems.

31. Who do you think invented the Internet??? Alt Role: Connector/Relator/Linker/Synthesizer

32. "Internet?  Is  that  thing  still around" Homer Simpson Role: Questioner/Ponderer

33. Funny thing is that Al thinks he invented e-learning as well!!!

35. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY(June 26, 2002) *AL GORE IS TEACHING a distance-education course on the role of families in discussions about community development.    Videotapes of the two-semester course, made this past year, are available for other institutions to use.   SEE http://chronicle.com/free/2002/06/2002062601t.htm

36. Role 11: Controller/Executive Director/CEO/Leader • In this role, the student oversees the process, reports overall findings and opinions, and attempts to control the flow of information, findings, suggestions, and general problem solving.

37. Role 12: Slacker/Slough/Slug/Surfer Dude • In this role, the student does little or nothing to help him/herself or his/her peers learn. Here, one can only sit back quietly and listen, make others do all the work for you, and generally have a laid back attitude (i.e., go to the beach) when addressing this problem.

38. 7a. Case-Based Laboratories Virginia Polytechnic Institute: Veterinary Medicine (Active learning goal: access diagnostic test results, interpret significance, & read ref materials) • Instructors provide all materials for case-based labs: WP files, patient photos & materials, color slides of specimens • Create Web images through scanning photos, slides, radiographs, and computed scans. • Students view patient info (photo, lesion photos, history, physical exam findings) • Can click on active links of sounds (breath, cardiac, etc.) • Students encouraged to discuss cases before class

39. 7b. Online Co-Laborative Psych Experiments PsychExperiments (University of Mississippi) Contains 30 free psych experiments • Location independent • Convenient to instructors • Run experiments over large number of subjects • Can build on it over time • Cross-institutional Ken McGraw, Syllabus, November, 2001

40. 8. Authentic Data Analysis Jeanne Sept, IU, Archaeology of Human Origins; Components: From CD to Web • A set of research questions and problems that archaeologists have posed about the site (a set of Web-based activities) • A complete set of data from the site and background info (multimedia data on sites from all regions and prehistoric time periods in Africa) • A set of methodologies and add’l background info (TimeWeb tool to help students visualize, analyze, interpret, and explore space/time dimensions)

41. 9. Just-In-Time-Teaching Gregor Novak, IUPUI Physics Professor (teaches teamwork, collaboration, and effective communication): • Lectures are built around student answers to short quizzes that have an electronic due date just hours before class. • Instructor reads and summarizes responses before class and weaves them into discussion and changes the lecture as appropriate.

42. Just-In-Time Syllabus(Raman, Shackelford, & Sosin) http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/jits.htm Syllabus is created as a "shell" which is thematically organized and contains print, video, and web references as well as assignments. Goal = critical thinking (analysis, evaluation), developing student interests, collaboration, discussion e.g., Economics instructors incorporate time-sensitive data, on-line discussions as well as links to freshly-mounted websites. Instructor reads and summarizes responses before class and weaves them into discussion and changes the lecture. e.g., To teach or expand the discussion of supply or elasticity, an instructor would add new links in the Just-in-Time Syllabus to breaking news about gasoline prices or the energy blackouts in California

43. 10. Perspective Taking: Foreign Languages Katy Fraser, Germanic Studies at IU and Jennifer Liu, East Asian Languages and Cultures at IU: • Have students receive e-newsletters from a foreign magazine as well as respond to related questions. • Students assume roles of those in literature from that culture and participate in real-time chats using assumed identity. • Students use multimedia and Web for self-paced lessons to learn target language in authentic contexts.

44. Part IIB. How can you motivate with synchronous? (Sheinberg, April 2000, Learning Circuits)

45. Help WantedJennifer Hoffman, Online Learning Conference (2001, Oct.) Wanted: Synchronous Trainer. Experienced training professional with 5 yeas working with synchronous training methods. Must be able to create HTML, PowerPoint, and use various authoring tools in order to create engaging media. Masters in Educational Technology preferred.

46. Synchronous WBT ProductsJennifer Hoffman, ASTD, Learning Circuits, (2000, Jan) • Deluxe (InterWise, LearnLinc, Centra) • 2-way audio using VOIP, one-way or two-way video, course scheduling, tracking, text chat, assessment (requires thick client-side software) • Standard (HorizonLive, PlaceWare) • One-way VOIP or phone bridge for two-way audio, text chat, application viewing, (requires thin client-side app or browser plug-ini) • Economy (Blackboard, WebCT) • Browser-based, chat, some application viewing (Requires Java-enabled browsers, little cost, free)

47. Web Conferencing Features • Audio (VOIP, bridge) and Videostreaming • Application Sharing or Viewing (e.g., Word and PowerPoint) Includes remote control and emoticons • Text (Q&A) Chat (private and public) • Live Surveys, Polls, and Reports • Synchronous Web Browsing • File Transfer

49. Web Conferencing Features • Content Windows—HTML, PowerPoint • Discussion Boards—post info, FAQs, post session assignments • Archive Meeting—record and playback • Breakout Rooms • Shared Whiteboards • Hand-Raising and Yes/No Buttons