Integrating synchronous and asynchronous internet distributed education for maximum effectiveness

Distributed education delivered via the Internet is a growing practice, with most institutions offering at least course websites and many expanding to full course offerings and even degree offerings. There are two schools of thought with regard to delivery mode; the larger group has focused on asynchronous delivery, accessible at any time via web pages and interactive tutorials and quizzes, while a smaller group advocates synchronous delivery where students are online and interact during class time. This paper summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of the two delivery modes and describes our successful and growing experience of more than a decade using an open source synchronous delivery tool blended with a variety of asynchronous capabilities and classroom instruction. We conclude that a synergistic combination of the two modes with in-person instruction, designed to provide maximum flexibility to the student within the constraints of the subject, offers the best support for student learning.Education for the 21 st century - impact of ICT and Digital Resources ConferenceRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Integrating synchronous and asynchronous internet distributed education for maximum effectiveness

Distributed education delivered via the Internet is a growing practice, with most institutions offering at least course websites and many expanding to full course offerings and even degree offerings. There are two schools of thought with regard to delivery mode; the larger group has focused on asynchronous delivery, accessible at any time via web pages and interactive tutorials and quizzes, while a smaller group advocates synchronous delivery where students are online and interact during class time. This paper summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of the two delivery modes and describes our successful and growing experience of more than a decade using an open source synchronous delivery tool blended with a variety of asynchronous capabilities and classroom instruction. We conclude that a synergistic combination of the two modes with in-person instruction, designed to provide maximum flexibility to the student within the constraints of the subject, offers the best support for student learning.Education for the 21 st century - impact of ICT and Digital Resources ConferenceRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Maximising Social Interactions and Effectiveness within Distance Learning Courses: Cases from Construction

Advanced Internet technologies have revolutionised the delivery of distance learning education. As a result, the physical proximity between learners and the learning providers has become less important. However, whilst the pervasiveness of these technological developments has reached unprecedented levels, critics argue that the student learning experience is still not as effective as conventional face-to-face delivery. In this regard, surveys of distance learning courses reveal that there is often a lack of social interaction attributed to this method of delivery, which tends to leave learners feeling isolated due to a lack of engagement, direction, guidance and support by the tutor. This paper defines and conceptualises this phenomenon by investigating the extent to which distance-learning programmes provide the social interactions of an equivalent traditional classroom setting. In this respect, two distance learning case studies were investigated, covering the UK and Slovenian markets respectively. Research findings identified that delivery success is strongly dependent on the particular context to which the specific distance learning course is designed, structured and augmented. It is therefore recommended that designers of distance learning courses should balance the tensions and nuances associated with commercial viability and pedagogic effectiveness

Maximising social interactions and effectiveness within distance learning courses : cases from construction

Advanced Internet technologies have revolutionised the delivery of distance learning education. As a result, the physical proximity between learners and the learning providers has become less important. However, whilst the pervasiveness of these technological developments has reached unprecedented levels, critics argue that the student learning experience is still not as effective as conventional face-to-face delivery. In this regard, surveys of distance learning courses reveal that there is often a lack of social interaction attributed to this method of delivery, which tends to leave learners feeling isolated due to a lack of engagement, direction, guidance and support by the tutor. This paper defines and conceptualises this phenomenon by investigating the extent to which distance-learning programmes provide the social interactions of an equivalent traditional classroom setting. In this respect, two distance learning case studies were investigated, covering the UK and Slovenian markets respectively. Research findings identified that delivery success is strongly dependent on the particular context to which the specific distance learning course is designed, structured and augmented. It is therefore recommended that designers of distance learning courses should balance the tensions and nuances associated with commercial viability and pedagogic effectiveness

University Students’ Perceptions in Implementing Asynchronous Learning during Covid-19 Era

This study aimed to know students' opinions about the implementations of asynchronous learning (Screencast-O-Matic and Google-Form apps) during COVID-19, to identify the advantages and disadvantages were produced by these devices, as well as to analyze how big the students' confidence on this type of learning when implemented in the rural area. The subject of this study consisted of 45 respondents from the English education study program. They spread in the 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8thsemester. Qualitative descriptive students were used in this study. Among the questionnaire, open-ended questions and interviews were the methods to collect the data. The results of this study indicated these platforms had shown various obstacles. Over half of respondents criticize that limited internet access was one of the most significant restrictions when implementing asynchronous learning (Screencast-O-Matic and Google-Form apps). Although Screencast-O-Matic and Google-Form had some barriers in their virtual class, they provide more advantages. Many respondents believed they have all these advantages compared to the limits. The majority of respondents argued that it facilitated EFL students to increase acquisitions of language software that could contribute to students' ICT capabilities in particular

Effectiveness of Implementing Synchronous and Asynchronous Blended E-Learning in Stunting Prevention and Treatment Training Programs

The Covid 19 pandemic has had such a big impact on the education system, especially the National education system. In the conditions of the Covid 19 pandemic, national learning is carried out online, both formal and non-formal education (training). Related to this, the authors conducted a study on the application of asynchronous and synchronous blended learning in Stunting Prevention and Handling Training held at the Ministry of Social education and training institutions. The purpose of this study is to find out the effectiveness and constraints of implementing asynchronous blended learning and synchronous training. The method used in this study is a literature study. The results of the study show that the implementation of asynchronous and synchronous blended online learning Training on Stunting Prevention and Handling is not yet effective. This is due to the asynchronous setting being carried out only with independent asynchronous (AM) without the presence of a facilitator. The existence of a facilitator can play an important role in maintaining and maintaining the level of student learning motivation and facilitating relationships between training participants and with the facilitator. Then in the implementation of synchronous online learning Training on Stunting Prevention and Handling is also considered less effective. The main obstacle is the internet network which is not accessible to participants, especially from remote areas. So that it is very difficult for participants to follow synchronous learning as a whole

MAXIMIZING THE USE OF WHATSAPP IN ENGLISH REMOTE LEARNING TO PROMOTE STUDENTS’ ENGAGEMENT AT MADURA

There are ample remote learning platforms to be used and obviously each of them has strengths and weaknesses. However, based on a survey, WhatsApp becomes the top choice to be used by students in Madura for some reasons; this is a case study on maximizing the use of Whatsapp to promote students’ engagement in English remote learning. The data are collected through Google form questionnaire and in-depth interview via WhatsApp voice notes. The subjects are English lecturers and higher education students of English department from several Universities in Madura whom are volunteers to be taken as sample. The result showed that exploring the various features of WhatsApp, blending various learning platforms to WhatsApp and lecturer’s creativity in maximising the use of WhatsApp enable to promote the students’ engagement toward the English remote learning. Thus, it is suggested to maximize the use of WhatsApp as to promote the students’ engagement towards the English Remote Learning

The Effects of Synchronous Online Course Orientation on Student Attrition

Online course offerings are becoming more abundant in post-secondary education; such is the case with science courses at Tidal Wave Technical College. Online courses bring many benefits to students including flexibility, convenience, and the ability to learn anywhere, anytime. However, despite these benefits many challenges are also associated with online course offerings including student attrition. Using a non-major biology course as the test model this research sought to trial one possible way to alleviate the problems associated with online learning by incorporating a synchronous online orientation. Data on student attrition, success, and perception was gathered to gain insight into the effects of using synchronous online course orientation. The data showed a significant difference between the withdrawal rates in the synchronous and asynchronous treatments. Additionally, student success (measured by student grades) was higher in the online sections when the synchronous online course orientation treatment. Finally, after implementation synchronous online orientation treatments and face-to-face courses showed no significant difference between withdrawal and student success rates. These findings will help incorporate ways to improve attrition rates and student success and help to increase the equivalency between online and face-to-face courses