Synchronous Delivery Systems in Distance Learning

1. Synchronous Delivery Systems in Distance Learning Dr. Steve BroskoskeMisericordia University EDU 568 Distance Educationand Hybrid Technologies

2. What Are SynchronousDelivery Systems ?

3. SynchronousDelivery Systems • Synchronous: When teachers and students have to be participating in the same activity at the same time (but not necessarily in the same place). • Examples: Live chat (chat rooms), Elluminate, and Skype.

4. Benefits of Synchronous Systems • Interaction: • Students get to interact with the instructor. • Students get to interact with each other. • The teacher and student can have one-on-one conversation. • The teacher can assess student understanding of material. • The teacher and student can experience the benefits of the in-person class away from the classroom.

5. Types of SynchronousDelivery Systems • Fast • Video communication. • Audio communication. • Slow • Text communication (chat room, texting, instant messaging). • Traditional • Extension of traditional in-class activities. • Limits how many students can participate effectively at once. • Non-traditional • More students can participate. • Media allow more time for responses, which leads to higher quality and more confidence in discussion input.

6. Use of Synchronous Systems • Hold a discussion. • Deliver live instruction to the class. • Answer student questions. • Host a guest speaker. • Hold virtual office hours/be available to offer assistance. • Encourage learning from group interaction.

7. Synchronous TechnologiesWe Will Examine • Live chat • Simple technology that is excellent for holding a class (or small group) conversation away from the classroom. • Skype • Popular technology that provides audio and/or video phone capabilities, including conference calling. • Elluminate • Advanced technology that provides many tools to allow a class to be conducted with a group of learners at a distance.

8. Hands-on Activities Live Chat Skype Elluminate

9. Live Chat • Simple: Simple technology that is easy to understand and use. • Familiar: Many (most) students are familiar and comfortable with texting on cell phones. • Use: Ideal for holding a class (or small group) conversation away from the classroom.

10. Brief History of Chat • Chat rooms: IRC (Internet Relay Chat) was an early Internet forum. Chat rooms are still popular today. • Instant messaging: IM was started by AOL in the 1990’s. AOL eventually allowed the entire Internet community to tap into its service. • Text messaging: SMS (short messaging service) allows cell phone users to send 160-character maximum text messages.

11. Using Chat Select names and hit whisper. Type and hit enter.

12. Special Features of Chat • Whisper: The ability to send a private message to one or more participants in a chat session. • Only the participants you select will receive the message. • Enhances social aspects found in traditional classrooms.

13. Special Features of Chat • Save a chat session: • Press control-A to select all of the text (OR highlight desired text). • Copy the text (control-C). • Open a text editing program and paste (control-V) in the text from the chat session. • Save the text file.

14. Let’s Try a Chat • Let’s try the features: • Type a message submission to the chat. • Try the whisper feature. • Let’s hold a brief discussion. • Pretend we are at a distance. • Let’s hold a brief discussion about the following topic: benefits & drawbacks and your impressions/perceptions of using chat in education.

15. What is Skype? • Free PC to PC calls to people anywhere in the world. • Audio or video: • Audio only. • Video and audio. • Number of people on a call: • Two people. • Conference call (up to 25 participants). • Instant message for free. • For a small per-minute charge make calls to phones and cell phones anywhere in the world.

16. Requirements to Use Skype • PC. • Internet connection (preferably a broadband connection). • Headset (speakers and a microphone). • You can use your PC’s built-in microphone and speakers, but the quality will be low. Plus, there is high likelihood of feedback.

17. Feedback • Feedback means that the sound you hear from the other person(s) goes into your microphone, and gets rebroadcast. • This can result in annoying echoes, or ear-shattering noise.

18. Ways to Prevent Feedback • Use a headset: Sound comes to your ears, but does not get funneled back into the microphone. • Click the mute button in Skype: Click the mute icon to mute your microphone so the other person(s) cannot hear you.

19. How to Make a Video Call • To switch from an audio-only call to a video call: • Plug in a webcam. • Click the green Video call button.

20. Making a Conference Call • Open the conference call window. • On the Contacts tab click > Create Conference. OR • Click from the menu select Call > Start Conference Call. • Add people. • Click on a contact's name in Choose contacts box and then click on the Add button below. The contact is now added to Conference participants window. • Click the Start button after you have selected all the participants. • A conference tab naming participants will appear. Participants will be added to the conference call once they answer your call.

21. Making a Conference Call • If you are already in a call and would like to add an additional participant to the call: • Right-click a contact in your contact list and choose Invite to Conference. OR • From the conference tab, click Add Callers and add more participants. Remember that 25 people can take part in a conference call.

22. Let’s Set Up Skype • Navigate to www.skype.com. • Download the Skype software. • Choose a Skype name. • Set up audio and video. • Search for other classmates in the Skype directory.

23. Let’s Try Skype • Try an audio call. • Try a video call. • Try a conference call.

24. Elluminate • Elluminate is an online tool that allows an entire class to be conducted remotely. • Teaching is conducted using audio or video with audio. • An entire class can be connected at the same time. • Provides a host of tools for presenting, and a host of tools for functioning as a student.

25. Features of Elluminate • Two-way VoIP. • Interactive whiteboard. • Application sharing. • File transfer. • Synchronized web tour. • Live webcam.

27. Requirements to Use Elluminate • 20 MB free disk space. • Sound card with speakers & microphone (or headset). • Minimum 28.8 kbps Internet connection.

28. Elluminate for 1 Teacher • ElluminatevRoom: • A FREE, 3-person meeting room with full functionality, except recording and integrated teleconferencing. • ElluminatevOffice: • Personal meeting room for 5 to 20 participants with full recording capability. • ElluminatevClass: • A single virtual classroom for 25 to 200 students, customizable moderator names, and full recording capability.

29. Elluminate for an Entire Institution(Learning Suite) • ElluminatePlan! • Organize and script session content ahead of time. • ElluminateLive! • Real-time online class interaction. • ElluminatePublish! • Create standalone files or industry-standard video files from ElluminateLive! recordings. • Elluminate Bridges • Seamlessly integrate with popular learning and content management systems.

30. Let’s Set Up Elluminate • Navigate to www.elluminate.com. • Sign up for “3 for free” V-Room. • Open your e-mail and follow instructions to set up the V-Room.

31. Let’s Try These Things in Elluminate • Load content. • Ask a question (yes/no, multiple choice). • Raise hands and answer a question. • Chat. • Web tour.

32. Assignments/Activities • Try a Skype call. Add information about your experiences to your blog. • Using Elluminate(or Skype if Elluminate will not work on your computer), teach a topic (approx. 10 minutes) to 1 or 2 other class members (or to others outside of our class if you choose). Add information about your experiences to your blog.

33. Assignments/Activities • Participate as a student in at least one other class member's presentation. On your blog and/or theirs, describe your experiences as a student in that distance learning presentation.

34. Next Week • Achieving student success in distance learning. • Creating a podcast.