New Directions Forum: blending asynchronous and synchronous formats.
Lehman conducted a question and answer session with 5 panelists on blending asynchronous and synchronous technologies. Three panelists represented the college and university segment, one was an instructional designer in a corporate setting and one was an independent training consultant. Lehman’s goal was to have the panelists define blended learning, and discuss how they actually use it. While each panelist had a slightly different definition, all agreed that it involved using more than one type of learning technology to meet learning objectives. One panelist stated that blended learning “is picking different types of delivery methods from textbooks to satellite, very low tech to very high tech, and combining them in such a way where the students can most effectively learn” (p.2).
The panelists took different approaches when it came to utilizing blended learning. One said his college online programs used WebCT as their asynchronous tool and supplemented learning with weekly synchronous web conferences. Other learning materials were distributed to students using CD’s. Students utilized web conferencing tools to work together in small groups, which made up a substantial part of their courses. Another panelist—representing an online university—utilized both asynchronous and synchronous tools to teach instructors how to teach online. In the first phase, they allowed instructors to learn asynchronously by posting information, questions and activities for instructors to work through individually. Then the instructors practiced the skills they learned synchronously by completing exercises in real-time with other instructors. This exposed them to situations they would encounter in the virtual classroom. Another panelist—the training consultant—said she refrains from looking at a program as a whole and then trying to determine which way to teach it. Instead, she breaks the content into appropriate size chunks and determines the best way to teach each chunk. This may be synchronously or asynchronously. Another panelist—a college instructor—makes information available to students both synchronously and asynchronously and lets them decide which they prefer to use.
In closing, one panelist—the instructional designer—summed up the thoughts of the majority when he stated “Design is everything. It doesn’t matter what technology you use, it doesn’t matter what format, what platform, what bandwidth, what anything. You have to know that you are doing the right things for the right reasons” (p.5).
There are several takeaways from this panel discussion. When trying to determine the best method for delivering information to students, the most important consideration is what will work best for them. The instructional designer had the right idea. Instead of looking at a course and trying to decide whether it should be taught synchronously or asynchronously, an instructional analysis should first be performed, performance objectives written and test items constructed. Only then can an appropriate instructional strategy be determined. That may require the use of both synchronous and asynchronous instruction. Most of the panelists came to the conclusion that a combination of the two worked best. Adult learning theory tends to support this. People learn best when they have a variety of learning options and when they can exercise their preferred learning style. Learning is also more effective when students participate in a collaborative environment. A course management system such as Desire2Learn can provide the asynchronous tools needed, while collaborative software, such as Elluminate, can provide an opportunity for real-time collaboration.
One of the panelists alluded to the need to be careful when relying on a CMS as we design our courses. It is easy to allow the CMS to dictate the design of the course and with that we may end up throwing out other techniques that may work better for students. The solution is to be creative. Use the CMS for what it is best at, and provide additional tools when a different approach is needed.
(2003, August 15). New Directions Forum: blending asynchronous and synchronous formats. Transcript at 19th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning, University of Wisconsin-Extension.