As noted in a previous post, our class has been undergoing discussions on asynchronous and synchronous technology. Recently, we just completed an assignment on comparing asynchronous and synchronous technologies based on their general aspects, technological and pedagogical views, and their strengths and limitations. At first I wasn't sure how I was going to approach the paper but I soon found that I had much to write about and found it quite difficult to stay under the word limit. The two technologies I chose to compare were AT&T Connect (which I had never heard of) and Moodle (which I have heard of).
What I'm finding rather interesting is that I'm starting to favor synchronous technologies a lot! As I progress through my studies I'm beginning to get a stronger grasp on what type of learner I am. That is one of the points of these classes and assignments such as these, to reflect on what you have learned and how you assimilate that information. To get back to the assignment, as I do more research on the different technologies and actually test out programs for each technology it brings me a step closer to understanding why these two technologies are equally important.
In my opinion, they should coexist within distance education courses. I think the biggest benefit is to keep students on track but still allowing that element of flexibility within their busy lives. Student retention and student success will both be higher if distance education courses employ both asynchronous and synchronous technologies. Of course some classes will need to utilize one more than the other but they definitely should coexist within one course. For some students it'll help them to stay focused by implementing synchronous class meetings and for others it'll serve as a refresher to know that they're on the right path.
All in all, I'm thoroughly enjoying researching these technologies!
In that paper I wrote on WebEX and Blackboard. Similarly, I found seveal interesting points. I knew webex was a synchronous platform but I did not know it was originally designed for training. It does have some capabilities for asynchronous meetings through recording.
ReplyDeleteBlackboard on the other hand is an asynchronous platform with some synchronous capabilities.
I don't believe any of the platforms can afford to be totally asynchronous or synchronous in the current technological environment. I think all the platforms will move toward interaction with the mobile applications