Asynchronous Learning Communities

 Introduction to Asynchronous Learning: For those who are unfamiliar with the idea of asynchronous learning, this term relates to a class in which there is no structured meeting time. Therefore, students are able to complete assignments and communications at their own pace with fewer deadlines or checkpoints. This method of learning can be especially popular in higher-level courses where participants may have many outside commitments or jobs that prevent them from attending structured class times. 

It can be quite difficult to create a sense of belonging community in an asynchronous academic environment as students are unable to meet in real time. With this challenge in mind, educators must find ways to create a sense of belonging- which may be correlated to students’ success and motivation to complete coursework. One way to create this sense of community, as discussed in an article from Duke University,  is for facilitators to use the course’s homepage to display a welcome message or even a picture resembling a classroom in order to make students feel as though they are entering a brick & mortar classroom. Although this seems quite simple, small subconscious aspects like this can influence students without their conscious recognition of such. Another way to accomplish this- particularly for younger grades- would be to create a “Bitmoji Classroom” like this one that I made in a prior course (see below) that can even have clickable links to their coursework or other digital classroom materials.

These welcoming strategies can remind students that their course is still an academic class and should be taken seriously, despite the fact that there may be fewer boundaries due to the asynchronous method of learning.

I have taken many online classes throughout my educational career and one thing that I dislike about these courses is that discussion boards always seem repetitive and uninteresting. However, something that my English teacher did with discussion boards during asynchronous learning for the COVID-19 pandemic was having some informal discussion boards in which we were encouraged to share pictures of how we were spending quarantine or things that were important to each of us. Sometimes, she would ask us to share pictures of our pets or things that each of us was doing to take care of our mental health. Regardless of the theme of the posts, I always enjoyed having these ways in which to catch up with classmates and see what they were up to or what mattered most to them. In younger grades, informal discussion boards can also be used as practice with social skills, vocabulary words, and informal writing contexts. This information can be valuable for teachers to assess the development of writing conventions and vocabulary and gauge what students need assistance with.

If students feel comfortable doing so, you can encourage them to upload a profile picture OR a picture of something that matters to them (example: their pet, favorite sports team, or favorite food). This is so simple but it can be beneficial for students to see each other’s profile pictures in discussion boards as a subconscious reminder that they are communicating with other learners and need to be respectful, as well as making them feel supported and sociable. By creating an environment that emphasizes one’s personal interests and passions, and allowing each student to see that they are in a class with other learners like themselves, the environment becomes much more inviting to each student’s ideas and personal attributes.

I absolutely love the idea of informal discussion boards because it is an idea that has stuck with me for years at this point. I really just found it interesting to see how other people were making the most of their time in quarantine. It also gave me an opportunity to share my passion for photography and post pictures of my dog- which I always hoped would brighten my classmates’ days. This concept can also have so many academic applications or be used as an attendance activity to ensure students are interacting with the course every so often. As with all aspects of teaching, however, teachers must monitor their own classroom of learners and try different evidence-based practices in order to find what works for their students.

Theories of Online Learning

 Welcome to my first blog post! In this post, I will be exploring a variety of online learning methods and theories, as well as the impacts of online learning on one’s school experience. 

The first learning theory that I would like to discuss today is behaviorism. In the model of behaviorism, emphasis is placed on outward behaviors, rather than internal mental and physical processes. Managing an online classroom from the perspective of behaviorism would be fairly difficult due to the fact that students are not in-person and therefore cannot be as closely monitored for behavioral actions and their outcomes. This difficulty especially holds true in situations when students are experiencing a variety of learning barriers or disabilities. For example, it is widely known that early diagnoses for students with ADHD and similar conditions can dramatically change their educational outlook. However, from an online behaviorist’s perspective, it would be quite difficult to see outward markers and behaviors that are characteristic of those with ADHD, prolonging the undiagnosed period of this disorder. 

Through the perspective of cognitivism, importance is placed on the mental processes that occur in one’s mind. This means that logic and reasoning are focused on as the main elements of cognition and learning. This theory can be pretty well-integrated as instruction and guided thinking can often be used in an online learning environment. For example, a teacher using cognitivism for a math lesson could include short-response questions prompting thoughts about how and why the order of operations works in a given context. This prompts students to think deeper about the methods that they are using and the way these processes impact other connected topics. Although one’s cognitions cannot truly be consciously and outwardly explained, prompting students to slow down and think further into the methods that they use for solving all kinds of problems is quite important. In doing this, teachers can aid in their students' brain development and higher thinking processes overall. 

Constructivism when used as an online teaching practice certainly has some pros and cons depending on the way in which it is used. The theory of constructivism is largely based on prior knowledge, where the teacher is focused on providing an environment for the student to explore educational topics- rather than lecturing over basic procedures or concepts. For some higher-ed classes where students are expected to have prior knowledge (usually from prerequisites), this model of learning can be highly efficient as it eliminates much of the instruction over content that is already learned. However, using constructivism to teach an online class of first-graders by expecting them to already know how to count would simply not work. Knowing the specific context in which these theories of learning are to be used is critical when deciding which theories to use in the classroom or online classroom. 

A few other terms that are used frequently in regard to online learning are synchronous and asynchronous. These terms can essentially be thought of as opposites of each other as synchronous means that instruction is given at a certain “meeting time” in which students and teachers connect virtually, often with online video-communication technologies such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams. The latter- asynchronous learning- means that there is no structured meeting time and assignments and communications are completed at one’s own pace, or with fewer paced deadlines or checkpoints. While asynchronous learning is more flexible in terms of allowing students to manage their own time, this can also be a downside for students that are not as motivated and cannot manage their time in order to successfully complete their assignments. Both learning models, however, offer flexibility and promote some degree of self-guidance for one’s own unique learning experience.

If you ask any current high school or college student to discuss their experiences with online classes, it is almost certain that they will make reference to the way that the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the world of online learning. Through my personal experience during the pandemic, I was one of the students that did not necessarily thrive in the online learning model. I found that many of my teachers’ constructivist teaching styles left me with so many questions throughout assignments with no way of getting help. This was especially difficult because of the intense course load that I was taking, especially in the areas of math and science in which instruction is pivotal in mastering concepts. Despite my past experiences, many of my peers now find that these online modes of learning can fit their schedules better while balancing outside commitments like jobs. Also in regard to jobs, children practicing digital citizenship skills and using online technologies while learning can better prepare them for a variety of careers and more formal online interactions in the future. Since society is moving towards a very digital world, I anticipate that the prevalence and successful integration of online learning will only get better with time.