Communication Tools

Rationale for Selection of

Asynchronous and Synchronous

Communication Tools

Tobias Blaskovits

61325981

ETEC 565

Dr. John Egan

June 20, 2009

Introduction

The interaction between student and teacher is a critical component of the learning process (Anderson, 2008). In the regular classroom environment, this interaction is fostered though face-to-face discourse, body language, and the development of social presence between the teacher and students. However, in the online learning environment this interaction may be more challenging to create and sustain, due to differences linked to the lack of placedness and synchronicity in time and place (Anderson, 2008). Without face-to-face contact instructors need to rely on other tools such as asynchronous or synchronous communication (Chickering & Ehrmann, 1996). Learning management systems, such as WebCT and Moodle, are designed to support a wide range of such communication tools.

Asynchronous Communication

Asynchronous communication is probably the most recognized form of communication supported in online learning environments. Common tools, such as e-mail, wikis, blogs, discussion groups or forums, support student-student collaboration as well as individual teacher-student communications. Asynchronous communication allows for temporal freedom, as discussions can take place quickly or over a long period of time. Participants can reflect and formulate their responses before posting, allowing for succinct thoughtful responses. One potential concern is in the sheer volume of information that can be generated for students and teachers to respond to. With the demands placed on teachers, they do not have the ability to respond to every question or comment immediately. Although this type of communication can create solid communities of learning, great care must be taken to keep people interacting.

I have chosen to use the online discussion forum for my Moodle site because it provides an excellent environment for facilitating collaborative discourse. I plan to supplement my classroom instruction with an online environment in which students can expand their learning and construct their own meaningful connections. The discussion forum facilitates student-student interaction and puts less pressure on the teacher to respond to each student. This type of discourse is less teacher-centered, with the role of the instructor to monitor and encourage students to communicate with each other. This in turn, creates a solid community of learning, resulting in higher levels of cognitive, social, and even teaching presence (Anderson, 2008). Discussion forums are also relatively easy to use. Users simply click on a discussion topic and formulate their response in the easy to use interface, prior to posting. It is important that students and teachers do not spend a great deal of time in learning how to use educational technologies or on making them work (Bates & Poole, 2003).

Synchronous Communication

With the rapid evolution of the internet and increased bandwidth, synchronous communication has emerged out of a necessity to facilitate a more immediate real time form of online communication. Synchronous forms of communication use text, visuals, audio, as well as video. Examples of such tools include, virtual classrooms, web conferencing, and live internet chat rooms. Benefits of this form of discourse include the spontaneous interaction between participants, as well as increased student motivation. Drawbacks include, reduced temporal freedom for students by requiring people to be available at a particular time. In addition, participants responses are usually more superficial and not as thought out. Synchronous tools are also difficult to support beyond small numbers of students. Another issue with synchronous communication concerns student access to technology able to support audio, visual, and video elements. Students need access to a high-speed connection and a computer that can run such powerful applications.

I have chosen the Moodle built-in chat because it offers many different advantages for both students and teachers, and compliments other tools within the LMS environment.  A chat room is a simple tool to facilitate the sense of community and connectedness between students and teachers. As a synchronous communication tool, the built-in chat allows students and teachers to collaborate and explore misconceptions in real time. Due to its simplicity, users will not spend a great deal of time in learning how to use this technology. This is an important feature of new technology, which allows for increased success (Bates & Poole, 2003). Most students are familiar with this kind of communication tool and have utilized similar communication tools such as, MSN messenger, ICQ, and yahoo chat for their personal communications. In addition, all previous chat sessions are archived and can be shown to users. This allows teachers to monitor the use of the chat tool, to encourage participation and maintain order. I also intend to use this chat tool as a live forum, once per week, making the teacher available online during a specified time period to respond to real time questions from students. By providing a simple resource for this need, I help enhance student achievement and enthusiasm.

Limitations of the online chat are similar to that of discussion forums. This built-in chat tool focuses exclusively on text, and is unable to support the use images, audio, or video. The other limitation to chat rooms is that the quality of real time discussions is related to the typing abilities of the users. Touch-typing is an asset when it comes to chat rooms, and poor typing skills may limit in-depth discussion and analysis.

Conclusion

Although, the flexibility of virtual communities allows for more universal participation, a single environment that responds to all students’ needs does not exist (Anderson, 2008). In an effective online environment both asynchronous and synchronous communication tools need to be utilized. My primary focus is to create an online learning community outside of my regular classroom environment. As a result, I wanted to select tools that are simplistic and meet the needs of my students. I teach full time, so I wanted to select tools that promote student-student interaction, taking some of the pressure off of the classroom teacher. I also wanted to use tools that were embedded in my Moodle LMS providing convenient access for the users.

References
Anderson, T. (2008). Towards a Theory of Online Learning.  In: Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Athabasca University. Accessed online June 15, 2009 from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/02_Anderson_2008_Anderson Online_Learning.pdf

Bates, A.W. & Poole, G. (2003). Chapter 4: a Framework for Selecting and Using Technology. In Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education: Foundations for Success. (pp. 77-105). San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers.

Chickering, A.W. & Ehrmann, S.C. (1996). Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 49(2), 3-6.Accessed online June 16, 2009 from http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples.htm