Wk_7 Using the best Synch tool...

Several times in the blogs throughout this week’s discussion, I have read about the use of asynchronous communication as a support for synchronous meeting times. The synchronous communication can be a small part of the larger communication effort within a group. Seth Battis wrote:

“I believe the first step is to actually consider the nature of the communication that we are doing and to try to use appropriate tools for the problems at hand…. we have new tools that let us make better use of both our synchronous and asynchronous time. Consider the process of developing a joint document (a proposal for a new course to be taught by a team of teachers, for example). With our triple-threat schedule, we may only be able to find one quick time for a face-to-face meeting, but we can use wikis and other shared document tools (e.g. Google Docs) to share a single, evolving draft of our writing. Technologies are coming into play to allow us to do the same for video and audio editting.”

This really is the best way to make sure that communication is effective for all. A little for thought and reflection on the purpose of the communication can help dialogs flow smoothly.

There were also several resources and articles that mentioned asynchronous and synchronous communication. It was difficult to find one with the message and substance that I wanted to convey or respond to, but the above comment by Battis really said what I’ve been trying to convey in my posts.

One blog of interest was by Derek Wenmoth concerning an e-book review on the topic of synchronous pedagogy. He also had a really interesting article on Twitter and Digital Lemmings.

References:

Battis, S. (2008, January 2). Using what we teach to teach better. Available at: http://battis.net/blog/tag/asynchronous/

Wenmoth, D. (2008, October 15). Digital lemmings. Available at: http://blog.core-ed.net/derek/2008/10/digital-lemmings.html

Wenmoth, D. (2008, May 30). Tips for synchronous eLearning. Available at: http://blog.core-ed.net/derek/2008/05/tips_for_synchronous_elearning.html