Week#4AsynchronousClassSummary(ElfeDona)

Forweek#2(Jan.2026,2014)Dr.Stoverrecordedourclasswhichwasmeaningfulsincethetopicofthis
sessionwastofigureoutwhichpresentationalmode,synchronousorasynchronouscommunication,is
preferentialtousandwhy.

Interestinglyenough,Dr.Stoverstartedwitharemindertoavoiddistractionswhenviewingtherecording.I
believethatthisisoneadvantageoftheasynchronousrecordedsessionthathavingthephoneoffthehook
orconfiningthebarkingdototheupstairsquartersislessnecessarywhenlisteningandwatchinga
recordedsession.

Adefinitionof"synchronouscommunication"followed:Dr.Stoverexplainedthatsynchronousmeansit
happensatthesametime.Itisalivesessionwiththepresenterbeingonlineatthesametimewithus.
TraditionallytheIDOLcertificateclassesarebeingtaughtusingthatapproach,butDr.Stoverventuredout
topresentustheopportunitytolistentoanarchived,recordedsession.Thesession,whichispresently
underreviewisanasynchronousexampleofpresenting.Dr.Stoveristeachingusherebydoing.By
listeningtotherecording,weexperiencethatdifferentmodeofpresentation.Thiswasthefirsttimeforme
towatchandrespondanIDOLcertificatequalifiedclass,sinceIhavenevermissedasessionbefore.

Inthenext32minutes,Dr.Stoversummarizedwhatwelearntlastweekandpointedoutareasof
improvementforus.Sheprovidedseveralexemplaryexamplesofstudentsinourclass(Bertke,Garman,
Hayden)toillustrateherpoint.Mytakeawayfromthiswas:

a)Rememberyouraudiencewhencreatingslides.
b)Gettothepointandbeclear.

c)Haveonebigidea.

Dr.Stoverwentontopointouttechnicaldifficultiessomeofushad,such
asforgettingtoactivatethe"talk"buttonbeforerecording.Dr.Stover
sharedhercheckistofthingstodopriortomeetingstudents
synchronously.Whatwasnewformeishersuggestiontodoa"qualitycheck"withourvirtuallisteners.
Finally,Dr.Stoverreviewedagainwhataheadline,titleandinformativesentenceisonaPowerPointslide
accordingtothepreferredBeyondBulletPoints(BBP)format.

Aftertheseintroductorycomments,Dr.StoverlistedtheContentOverviewfortheassignmentforweek#2.
Thetopicis"DigitalDiversity"meaningwhathasdigitaltechnologygivenustocommunicatewiththe
worldandhaveaccesstoamorediverseculturalcontext.

 OurAssignmentforWeek#2hastoillustrate
exampleofdigitallydiverseelementsandhowthey
relatetoourpersonaland/orprofessionallives.
TenNPRpodcastsandmultiplelinkswere
providedforustoselectexamplesfrom.
ThreeYouTubevideolinkswereincorporatedin
Dr.Stover'srecordedsessiontoillustratehow
technologyimpactsourviewoftheworldandhow
theworldisaccessibletousviatechnology.

Screenshot of Dr. Stover's Definition

URLofthreeembeddedvideos.

a)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqHPRHOHcN8
b) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEyUFHfJ9Eg
c) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYjemlMjs90

Forthereader'sconvenience,Ihaveaddedtheonevideo,whichimpressedmethemost.

Catie Couric
Interview

with Bill Gates on

Role of Internet on

Doubleclickontherightuppercornertostartthevideo!

Dr.Stovercontinuedtoexplainthepresentationformatofourfutureassignments.
SheremindedustoinvitegroupmembersbeforewestartRecording#2.Bysendingthemaninvitation,
theyreceivealinkintheiremail.Theycanclickonthislinktobeenteredintoourvirtualclassroom
withouthavingtodownloadanycomponents.Herexamplesincludedinvitationsofmemberswithinthe
courseandoutsidetheclassroom.
Dr.Stoverremindedusthatweneedtoincludevariousopportunitiesforour"fake"studentstointeract
withthepresenter(s)inameaningfulway.Chat,emoticons,whiteboardtool,talktool,andthetestingtool
werelistedaspossibleinteractiontools.
Dr.StoverexplainedinherrecordedsessionwhattheWeek#3andWeek#4assignmentsaboutDigital
Diversityshouldcontain.RemindingustopreparethePowerPointslidesinWeek#3andworkon
recordingthesessioninWeek#4.
Dr.Stoverendedtherecordingwitharemindertocreateaselfreflectionandpeerfeedback.

*****************
(SeebelowthesectiononAdvantagesandDisadvantagesofSynchronousandAsynchronousSessions.)

AdvantagesandDisadvantagesofSynchronousandAsynchronousCommunication

Advantages
Synchronous:Virtualattendeesofsuchasessioncancommunicatewiththepresenterandeachotherinreal
time.Questionsandconcernscanbeaddressedastheyappear.Studentsarekeptalertifthepresenteruses
thetools(emoticons,polling,chat,whiteboard)atleasteveryfiveminutesduringthepresentation.
Collaborationtools,suchasbreakoutrooms,allowinteractionwitheachotherandprovideindividualized
instructionifthepresenterenterstheroomtoassistandclarifypoints.
Asynchronous:Virtualattendeesareenabledtoaccesstherecordedsessionattheirconvenience,regardless
oftimeandlocation.Asynchronoussessionscanbeviewed,rewound,andstoppedatanytimetoclarify
contentthatwasnotunderstoodatfirstviewing.Viewingarecordedsessiondoesnotrequireexpensive
toolssuchasamicrophoneandvideocamera,makingtheviewinglesstoolintensiveandcheaper.Thereal
"live"experiencecanbestressfulforsomelearnersandsotheymightdobetterwithasynchronous
representationofthecontent.

Disadvantages
Synchronous:Sincesynchronoussessionsrequireparticipantstobepresentatacertaintime,which
removestheflexibilitysopraisedinonlinelearning.
Realtimelearningdemandscertaintoolsinordertobeeffective:videocamera,audioequipment,reliable
Internetconnectionallneedtofunctionatthetimethesynchronoussessionisscheduled.
Certainstudentsarebettersuitedtolearninanasynchronoussettingsincetheirstresslevelincreasesifthey
havetoperforminfrontoftheirpeers.
Asynchronous:Whenviewingarecordedsessiononly,studentscannotbeprovidedwithinstantfeedback
orachancetohavetheirquestionsanswered.Itisadisadvantageofanasynchronousrecordingthat
studentscaneasilybedistractedbyeithernotturningofftheTV,theircellphones,theirradio.
Sincestudentsarenotpolled,requiredtochatorusetheWhiteboardtool,itiseasierforsomeviewersof
thosesessionstolooseinterestortheconnectiontotheirpeers.Studentsinsuchasettingmightbemore
likelytogiveup,withdrawfromthecourse,orfeelisolated.

PersonalPreferences
Itisclearlymypersonalpreferencetoattendsynchronous,live,interactivesessionsasopposedtopassively
viewingasynchronousrecordings.OnereasonwhyIstartedtocreateonlineforeignlanguagelearning
coursesweretheimprovementsintechnologythatallowedpresenterstorecreateanalmost"livelike"
traditionalclassroomexperience,butwithaddedbenefits.Inanonlinecourse,itismucheasiertoinvolve
allparticipantsiftheinteractiontoolsprovidedinanLMS,areusedmeaningfully.Ifeelaliveina
synchronouscoursewithmystudents,whomIcanseeviavideo,hearviathetalktool,testviathe
Whiteboardandchattool.Asastudentinanonlinesynchronouscourse,Ifeelinvolved,active,and
motivatedtocontributemorethaninafacetofacesituation.Myattentionlevelishigherthanina
traditionalclasswhereIcoulddriftoffmoreeasilyandhideamongmyfellowstudents.

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