User:Sylvesterp

'''Team A Assignment Team Members: Anita Johnson James Murphy Mechele Newell Paul Sylvester'''

Asynchronous and Synchronous Learning

Asynchronous Learning Benefits Self-paced course within time limits Solo learning/Solo instruction Post and return to review feedback Student must be motivated to do well or fall behind Facilitators and learners must be motivated and creative Ability to have facilitator deal with student as an individual (Smith, 2009)

Synchronous Learning Benefits Same time-predetermined web-site/modality Collaboration with facilitator/cooperative learning Interactive /Immediate feedback Facilitators can gauge progress of students and assist in real time Students are usually able to encourage one another as teammates Student may feel as if he/she is “one of many” (Smith, 2009)

The Disadvantages of Each Type of Learning Asynchronous learners are independent and don't have the luxury of interacting with others, discouraging collaborative learning. They may fall behind in learning if not motivated to find support. This prevents learners from having positive critique about their work. Synchronous learners have feedback from others which could discourage one from studying and working independently; deriving one's own thoughts. Sometimes immediate feedback through websites discourages the desire to study (Ballou, 2009).

Differences in Facilitation Strategies Knowing student learning styles is critical when designing facilitation strategies for the classroom regardless if learning is synchronous or asynchronous. Synchronous facilitation strategies should include a learning environment that fosters collaboration, instruction, extended outreach, student informal exchange and, support (Finkelstein, 2006, p. 3). Asynchronous facilitation strategies include process competency, technical competency, online communication skills, content expertise and establishing personal characteristics ("Core Competencies for facilitating Asynchronous Discussion (Distance Learning)", p. 1)

Wiki as a Useful Teaching Tool Team A believes using a wiki can be a useful tool in evaluating student competency while simultaneously helping the student with effective communication IE can the student transfer the knowledge in their head to paper. Students can post their sources of information in the wiki allowing student collaboration by accessing the URL. Having a project with its own URL allows access to a   anyone who has web browser allowing learning from anywhere in the world (Finkelstein, 2006, p. 67).

References: Ballou, J. (2009). Asynchronous Learning Advantages and Disadvantages. Retrieved from http://jamesballou.com/Tabula/?p=32

Core Competencies for facillitating Asyncronous Discussion (Distance Learning). Retrieved from http://what-when-how.com/distance-learning/core-competencies-for-facilitating-asyncronous-discussions                                                                                                                                   d      distance-learning/

Finkelstein, J. (2006). Learning in Real Time Synchrounous Teaching and Learning Online. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Smith, D. (2009). Online Course: Asynchronous Learning or Synchronous Learning, Will You Be Where You Need to Be? Retrieved from http://www.brighthub.com/education/online-learning/articles/22671.aspx