Asynchronous vs. Synchronous tools
As an online instructor, do you feel that asynchronous, synchronous of a combination of these tool types, is most effective in the online classroom setting?
We always make a space for synchronous each week in the form of a conference call with the instructor to discuss questions on the content of the week, but response is very light. Our online learners don't want "appointment based" instruction, they want to do it on their schedule.
Syncronous discussions can be great when the students are engaged. I try to keep them engaged by further elaboration of the topic. I sometimes include YouTube videos, or recent articles from the news to further promote the topic & relate it to what they will be doing in the real world. However, I do get discouraged when students wait until the final day of class to post their final posts. I wonder if they are really understanding all of the materials when they only post their initial post, and wait until the final day to make their subsequent posts. To me this is not active engagement, but they still get credit because they submitted their reponses, and did so in the time requested.
