Alright, so here we go fully capable of blogging. One of the most educational aspects of the course; thus far, was the learning of synchronous and asynchronous technologies. I just finished the assignment I, and I am amazed by the terminology that has already been developed. I truly believe that Module 2A was the start of the entire course. I have been doing a lot of the required reading and it's amazing some of the different technologies deployed both synchronously and asynchronously.
One of the many issues that I have been having with learning about the two types of communication is that they are rarely ever used in combination. I think the majority of distance education courses are focusing too strongly on one type of communication, and avoiding the other communication methods all together. I don't want to go to deep into the session; however, the Wimba session was a perfect example of diversifying the methods of communication. The majority of the time we use asynchronous technologies as a mode of communication in this course (OMDE 603); however, to have a mix up and communicate via Wimba (synchronous) adds a lot to the course. One of my complaints about the majority of asynchronous courses is the lack of personal touch and the interaction is too distance. The problem I have with synchronous is that too much of it takes away from distance education and a student may as well take the class on campus (if available). See you on the next topic....
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I agree that adding a few synchronous sessions to an asynchronous course is a good idea. It really makes the class feel more "real" instead of just words on a computer screen and in books. I used Wimba for the first time this weekend for my other class and was impressed by the software. I liked that it combined the audio stream with the white board for the power point presentation with the typed chat window as well. While it is nice to be in an asynchronous class and not have to log in at specific times each week, I do think that having 1 or 2 synchronous meetings each semester can be very useful.
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