Facilitating OnLine Discussion: Asynchronous

1
Facilitating On-Line DiscussionAsynchronous
Synchronous Techniques
Presented by Paul J. Giguere, EDC
2
Asynchronous Tools Benefits

• In-depth thoughtful messages
• On-going discussions/archiving
• Communication with temporarily diverse
  participants
• Allows participants time to respond to an issue

3
Asynchronous Tools Disadvantages

• Lack of immediate feedback
• Discussions take time to mature
• Overwhelming numbers of posts in large classes
• Participants may not check new messages often
  enough

4
Synchronous Tools Benefits

• Virtual office hours
• Team decision making
• Fluid thought
• Opportunity for brainstorming
• Community building
• Dealing with technical issues is easier

5
Synchronous Tools Disadvantages

• Getting participants online at the same time can
  be difficult
• Poor typists can be intimidated
• Conversations can be difficult to moderate
• Less time for reflection by participants
• Large numbers of participants can create a
  chaotic atmosphere

6
Asynchronous Tools Recommendations

• Have participants work in teams
• Provide feedback in summary form
• Provide participants with a communications
  protocol for discussions
• Have participants provide peer feedback
• Use posting notification or email option
• Provide clear requirements for posting reading
  messages

7
Synchronous Tools Recommendations

• Meet in smaller groups of participants across
  multiple times
• Provide frequent chat times
• Allow limited amount of lurking
• Choose tools procedures that facilitate
  moderation of online chats
• Provide participants with a communications
  protocol for chats

8
Strategies to Facilitation

• Reflect on your being in-space online
• Get others to reflect on their experience and who
  they are
• Have people tell their stories
• Create a place/community that is safe and
  conducive to sharing
• Change the language we use

9
Techniques for Different Cognitive Skill Levels
Type of Communication
Synchronous
Asynchronous
Instructor Controlled

• lecture
• demonstration

• assigned readings
• audio/video taped
• demos and lectures
• mail (postal or email)

• annotated problem-solving
• case study/self-contained

• role play
• tutorials
• guided simulations

Guided Learner Controlled
Level of Performance

• original problem-solving
• open-ended case study
• interactive video
• CBI

• open-ended case study

Learner Controlled
10
Synchronous Communication

• teleconferencing
• web-based instruction (text, multimedia)
• computer conferencing
• audiographics
• telephone
• MUDs/MOOs

• television
• radio
• lecture
• web-based instruction

Content Interaction
Interpersonal Interaction

• CAI interactive multimedia
• audio/videotape
• BBS/FTP/gopher
• print (text documents)
• web-based instruction (including computer
  conferencing)

• facsimile
• postal mail
• electronic mail
• computer conferencing (discussion groups)
• web-based instruction

Asynchronous Communication
11
A Framework for Electronic Communication Tools
Different
Same
TIME

• Workgroup Tools
• Document Sharing
• Asynchronous Discussion
• Kiosks

• Electronic Meeting Systems
• Presentation Tools

Same
PLACE

• Email
• Electronic Mailing Lists (ie Listservs)
• Hyper/Multi-media

• Video Conferencing
• Live Chat
• Interactive Whiteboard

Different
12
Facilitating Online Communication

• Pedagogical
• Social
• Managerial
• Technical

13
Facilitation - Pedagogical Aspects

• Have clear objectives
• Remain flexible
• Encourage participation
• Dont be authoritarian
• Be objective
• Expect less
• Dont rely on off-line materials
• Design for private conversations

14
Facilitation - Pedagogical Aspects cont.

• Find unifying threads
• Use simple assignments
• Make material relevant
• Require contributions
• Present conflicting opinions
• Invite visiting experts
• Dont lecture
• Request responses

15
Facilitation - Social Aspects

• Lurkers will be there
• Fear is common
• Dont use humor or sarcasm
• Have people post introductions
• Promote opportunities for interactivity
• Encourage good discussant behavior
• Discourage bad discussant behavior
• Deal with flames quickly and decisively

16
Facilitation - Managerial Aspects

• Maintain informality
• Provide a list of participants
• Be responsive
• Be patient
• Use participant names
• Engage in meta-communication
• Synchronize and resynchronize

17
Facilitation - Managerial Aspects cont.

• Provide procedural leadership
• Prompt frequently and be clear
• Dont overload people
• Move misplaced content
• Handle tangents appropriately
• Call on individuals
• Develop participant leaders
• End the sessions

18
Facilitation - Technical Aspects

• Make technical support available 24X7
• Give feedback to problems
• Provide study guides
• Provide time to learn
• Allow for peer learning
• Lecture only when appropriate
• Give clear directions

19
Role of a Moderator

• manager
• firefighter
• facilitator
• filter
• marketer
• discussion leader
• helper
• expert

20
Preparing for a Conference

• Technical problems are inevitable
• Have familiarity with the software
• Contract for participation
• Be clear on what participation entails
• Make expectations explicit
• Limit group size for discussions

21
Organizational Issues

• Spur participation
• Move misplaced messages
• Decisively end topics
• Dont lecture
• Dont overload
• Be clear
• Avoid procedural trivia
• Contextualize

22
Organizational Issues cont.

• Define rules and boundaries
• Use email to individuals
• Be aware of time zone issues

23
Social Issues

• Realize that first reactions are critical
• Welcome participants
• Provide positive feedback for early efforts
• Be responsive and respond promptly
• Request meta-communication
• Gently correct the misinformed
• Praise and mention people by name
• Establish trust early

24
Intellectual Issues

• Summarize discussions
• Tactfully ask for change in questionable behavior
• Present conflicting opinions
• Provoke and instigate
• Contextualize away missing cues
• Verify accuracy of participants
• Weave salient points together

25
The Welcome Message

• Emulate the expected discourse
• Be as informal as possible
• Warm, friendly, and personable
• Celebrate and identify differences
• Consider cultural icebreaker activities
• Use open-ended questions

26
The On-going Conference

• Be overly responsive at the start
• Keep things clear
• Utilize email to alleviate problems and clear up
  misconceptions
• Solicit conflicting opinions
• Summarize discussions
• Keep objectives in sight
• End message threads appropriately

27
References

• Facilitating Online Learning Effective
  Strategies for Moderators George Collison, et
  al
• E-Moderating The Key to Teaching and Learning
  Online Gilly Salmon

28
(No Transcript)