Asynchronous and Synchronous Communication in Blended Learning Environments
The purpose of my site is to create a blended learning environment that supports multiple forms of communication. This consideration is important to support a community of learning that is inclusive and mindful of the role of parents in the development of primary students. The face- to- face aspect of the traditional brick and mortar school is important in developing a social component. Indeed, face- to -face interactions allows the educator to develop social skills such as appropriate responses and reading body language and offering appropriate responses. At the same time, the online component allows students to extend their learning outside of the classroom environment. Another important aspect of the website is to provide broadcast or one- way communications. However, the various communication and activity features in Moodle also encourage two-way communication that allows for prolonged communication and collaborative writing or learning. The difficulty, for me, was to create communications that were informative for parents and to also incorporate meaningful learning experiences for students. I quickly learned that there are many ways to encourage communication and to get information to parents. The days of lost notices and mixed messages can be addressed using online communication tools.
The first task, for me, was to gain a firm understanding of the communication tools available in Moodle in order to design communication opportunities and student interactions. As Anderson finds, “The design and construction of the course content, learning activities, and assessment framework constitute the first opportunity for teachers to develop their teacher presence” (2008, p. 346). The planning of communication opportunities and student interactions is of utmost importance because it establishes teacher presence. The updating of information, learning activities and site communication furthers teacher presence throughout the year. A site that is rarely updated with new information, activities or teacher feedback discourages parents and students to continually check back and use the site on an ongoing basis. Instead, the asynchronous forms of communication and collaborative learning will be developed throughout the year. Anderson contends that designing and organizing learning activities “within the learning community can proceed while the course is in progress” (p. 346) which allows for flexibility and adjusting activities to the needs of the learners.
A thorough inventory of the available communication tools and a careful consideration of what I wanted to accomplish made me realize that I would not be using the synchronous tools such as the Moodle built-in chat tool. Primarily, this is due to the fact that the face- to- face component is addressed in our classroom interactions. As well, expecting grade 1 students and their parents to all be available at a given time would be unrealistic. There would be little benefit of including this activity.
In contrast, there are many asynchronous tools that would greatly benefit students and parents alike. For example, Grade 1 parents often receive information in the form of notices that detail new activities to be completed by students or with classroom news. By using the calendar, parents can instantly see upcoming events. As well, the News forum allows the teacher to post new information such as the beginning of a home reading program, new schedules, field trips, or important information for parents. This is easily accessed by parents and updated by the teacher. Teacher presence is established through the continual updating uploading and designs of new learning activities. The design category of teacher presence is of utmost importance in establishing a learning community through purposeful design.
The parent discussion forum is another asynchronous method of communication that encourages two- way flow of information. This serves to develop a sense of community among parents and establishes teacher social presence. (Anderson, 2008). Parents can pose questions or issues on the board that may be relevant to the classroom community. Parents can weigh in on issues and the teacher can also respond where appropriate. Developing and “facilitating discourse” (Anderson, 2008, p. 350) is more difficult with Grade 1 students. This discourse is often encouraged in the face-to-face classroom with a teacher moderator in order to extend thinking and encourage connections from other students. However, a discourse around student learning is an important component of this site because parents are viewed as important partners in the growth and development of their child.
A Rationale for using a Class Wiki
After considering how to engage students in cooperative and collaborative writing, I decided to use a wiki blog to help students engage in writing for a purpose. In essence, I set up a class wiki that students would take turns adding to and editing. I created a new topic in Moodle titled Tim the Tigers Weekend Visit. The activity within this topic is a wiki that allows students to take turns journaling their weekend with the class mascot, Tim the Tiger. Every Friday, a student take Tim ( a stuffed tiger) home in his little house with his belongings. On Sunday evening, students are asked to write at least one sentence detailing something Tim did with them. Of course, they can write as much as they want, but it was important to establish a minimum for reluctant writers. Furthermore, students are able to upload pictures or a video to the wiki. On Monday, we would read the wiki entry together. Students are also encouraged to read the message with their parents at home and to add a comment. This activity is a version of an activity that I have done with students every year. Rather than an online wiki, students would write in a journal book. However, this way, there is a record of entries that parents and students alike can access, without having to wait until their turn arises with Tim and the hard copy of the journal. The increased access to the wiki supports a shift to technology for student writing. As well, by encouraging students to use digital means to communicate, we are also “encouraging children to reflect on their existing and developing uses of technology in different contexts” (Burnett, 2009, p. 23). Wikis are indeed a new means for developing digital literacy. By introducing literacy activities in this way, students begin to understand that there are many ways to read and write in order to communicate. Students are also learning how to navigate the technological spaces where learning occurs. For students who continue to struggle with fine motor skills in grade 1 but understand phonetic relationships, they can more comfortably form sentences by using a keyboard.
Burnett et al. (2006) conducted a study in which collaborating primary teachers in England used email in order to encourage students correspond with one another. Their study revealed some important findings that continue to support the use of purposeful writing using technology. Burnett et al. found that meaningful and purpose driven writing resulted in higher degrees of motivation for students to write as they wanted to explore what they could do with the computers, while developing their skills and use of language. ( p.25). As well, Burnett et al. (2006) also note that providing new purposes for writing, wider audiences for their work and additional opportunities to produce writing are all motivators for students to write. Most importantly, Burnett et al note that writing using technology is simply another method for students to connect classroom learning to their “out – of school experiences” because they see examples of digital literacy occurring within their homes. (p. 26). This study highlights the opportunities to encourage students to engage in purposeful, meaningful writing.
Similarly, Sue Halsey (2007), a primary teacher, engaged in an action research project in New Zealand in which she used a class website which featured student writing and work. Literacy activities such as book reviews were particularly motivating for students. She also used her website to encourage online publishing and blogging so that students were able to collaborate on projects and to cooperatively create writing. She detailed other uses for technology such as pen pals through email web based discussions. Clearly, literacy in the primary classroom can be reimagined to include digital means. Technology can provide many new means of developing literacy. These varied opportunities can be very motivating for students as they realize that their writing has an audience that may comment on their work. Students also work together to compile a authentic artifact of their writing development and learning. The class wiki in Moodle is one a preliminary way to begin to redefine writing and to encourage students to write for a purpose.
Finally, I thought that incorporating a collaborative learning opportunity was important. Students are tasked with writing, but also reading, the wiki every week. Students can provide feedback to their peers in the form of comments. This type of two- way communication is important because a quality online environment allows for increased student- to- student interaction. Palloff and Pratt (2001) contend that developing a learning community online requires an interactive component that promotes collaborative learning. This wiki is one practical way to address the interactive component for students.
I think that incorporating various avenues for asynchronous communication is important to develop an online classroom community so that parents feel that they have access to information or other parents and the teacher. Student interactions through continued learning activities are another method to incorporate grade 1 students into the digital domain and to connect classroom learning to their home environment. In totality, these asynchronous communications encourage active participation by the teacher, parents and students alike.
References
Anderson, T. (2008). Towards a theory of online learning. In T. Anderson & F. Elloumi (Eds.), Theory and practice of online learning. Edmonton AB: Athabasca University. Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/02_Anderson_2008-Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf
Burnett, C. (2009). Research into literacy and technology in primary classrooms: An exploration of understandings generated by recent studies. Journal of Research in Reading, 32 (1), 22-37. doi: 10.1111/j/1467-9817.2008.01379x
Burnett, C., Dickinson, P., Myers, J., & Merchant, G. (2006). Digital connections: Transforming literacy in primary school. Cambridge Journal of Education, 36 (1), 11-29. Doi: 10.1080/03057640500491120
Halsey, S. (2007). Embracing emergent technologies and envisioning new ways of using them for literacy learning in the classroom. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 6 (2), 99-107. Retrieved from http://edlinked.soe.waikato.ac.nz/research/files/etpc/files/2007v6n2nar2.pdf
Palloff, R.M., & Pratt, K. (2001). Lessons from the Cyberspace classroom: The Realities of online learning. Somerset, NJ: Jossey- Bass.