Effective Facilitation in Synchronous Environments
Michael CoghlanNewLearning21/3/13
(Session 1 of 2)
Welcome to Today’s Session
While you are waiting please type your name beside a chair by using the text tool ‘A’.
SHOW US WHERE YOU ARE...
PERSONALISE THE EXPERIENCE
META:
Establish ‘Modus Operandi’ (Ground Rules) for the session
• Questions/Comments: any time? Throughout session? At the end? In text chat? Via voice? Using
the hands-up tool?• How will you handle the
text chat? Will you use a co-
moderator?
TO CAM OR NOT TO CAM?
USE OF WEBCAMS
• Use your webcam (or at least show a picture) briefly at the start of the session as part of the introduction
• Have students do the same if they have them , if they want to, and if bandwidth allows
• I recommend you then turn off webcams to conserve bandwidth, but it is a personal choice.
MULTIPLE VENUEPRESENTATIONS(MVPs)
remote students guest
lecturer
CLASSROOM/F2F VENUE
publicspace
Quiz – Multiple Choice
Are you:
A) In your office?
B) In a computer suite?
C) At home?
D) Other?
MVPs: Implications
Participants can be in a variety of locations:
• F2f classroom, lecture theatre• PC suite• Office (at work)• Home office/study• Other (café, beach)
WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD TEACHER?
TEXT CHATACTIVITY
HOW TO IMPROVE THE HKUST STUDENT EXPERIENCE...
MANAGING THE BACK CHANNEL
Impact for Participants
Advantages Disadvantages
Impact for Participants
Advantages Disadvantages
• Audience is more engaged• You don’t have to wait till the end of a presentation to ask questions or comment• Can communicate with other people in the room about issues raised in the presentation• Provides you with an archive of the presentation (note taking)
• May miss some points while writing commentary, responding to other backchannellers• Is mentally very taxing• May start to stray off-topic (what’s for lunch? How are the kids? Etc)• Opportunity to make negative remarks about the speaker
Impact for Speaker/PresenterAdvantages Disadvantages
Impact for Speaker/PresenterAdvantages Disadvantages
• Can get real time feedback from audience• Can ensure that you are meeting audience needs/answering urgent questions• Promotes greater level of engagement• a listener may elaborate on something you’re saying (eg add more information about a theory, post a URL, suggested a related blog, etc)• May get positive feedback from audience as it happens• Models a new way of teaching/presenting that is less teacher-centric and more network-centric
• May appear as if many are not paying attention• Your audience has access to a ‘critical channel’• Your thoughts may be communicated to an audience for whom they were not intended• Can be overwhelming to keep track of (may require working in tandem with a moderator)
QUICK POLL – ENCOURAGESTUDENTS TO USETEXT CHAT? YES OR NO?
PURPOSE?
• a presentation tool?
• a collaboration/
interaction tool?
HOW MIGHT YOU USE WEB CONFERENCING/VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS?
What kinds of synchronous activities can you use in virtual classrooms?
TEACHING• ‘straight lecture’• Guest lecturers• Oral presentations• Group work• One on one (eg
pronunciation)
OTHER• Office hours• Peer support• Social: student -
student
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• Attend online conferences, seminars, workshops
• Meetings (much more cost effective than teleconferencing)
SWOT ANALYSIS
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES?
SHORT MOVIE QUIZ
DESIGNING FOR INTERACTION
examples of this in this session?
RESOURCE
See the wiki at http://synchfacilitation.wikispaces.com/
Next Session (March 28th)
• Synch v asynch: resolving the tension• The synchronous compact• More on Designing for interactivity
Sample Activity
activity courtesy of LearningTimes
SYNCHRONOUS ASYNCHRONOUS
Asynch
Synch
Oral Written
Minimalist; rapid (evolving)
COMMUNICATION AXIS
Spontaneous;dialogue
Reflective; monologue
Structured; expository
COMMUNICATION AXIS
Most classroom communications take place here
New – have been enabled by technology (only happen online)
Tension: Synch v Asynch
Terry Anderson, Toward a Theory of Online Learning:
“….the major motivation for enrollment in distance education is not physical access, but rather, temporal freedom to move through a course of studies at a pace of the student’s choice.” Participation in (synchronous events) “almost inevitably places constraints on this independence.”
“ The demands of a learning-centered context might at times force us to modify prescriptive participation in (synchronous events), even though we might have evidence that such participation will further advance knowledge creation and attention.”
RESOLVING THE TENSION BETWEEN ASYNCHRONOUS AND SYNCHRONOUS APPROACHES
• don’t make synch sessions compulsory; use synch for those who want it
• use tools that can record or archive the sessions for later retrieval
• Use in conjunction with asynchronous activity • don’t use synchronous for whole class instruction• FLIPPED CLASSROOM
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