Tips for Synchronous Learning (Collaborate sessions)

In my online course Successful Teaching Online Mentoring Program (STOMP), my instructors (aka my students) were discussing the use of Collaborate as a virtual synchronous teaching tool, and had a few questions I would like to answer here.

Whenever you incorporate a new technology tool into your curriculum, it is important to evaluate how effectively it helps your students meet the course outcomes. Utilizing a synchronous learning tool like Collaborate could certainly add positively to your course, since it allows for real-time discussion, lecture and collaborative engagement. Collaborate is probably the closest we get to offering the face-to-face classroom experience in an online setting. 

Snow Day Solution

Some of the instructors I work with use Collaborate when there is inclement weather and they still wish to hold class. The session can be accessed live for anyone with the technological capacity to join the lesson, and the archived recording is available for those students who were unable to join the live session. Chicago had a terrible winter this past year (January 2014) and in response, many instructors came to me trying to figure out how to make up for the lost time; Collaborate was one of those solutions.

Office Hours and Study Sessions

Other instructors use Collaborate regularly for office hours; they tell students they will be available online during certain days/times of the week and any student can "drop in". They may also offer midterm and final review sessions via Collaborate. Personally, I use Collaborate for one-on-one student meetings, and so far my instructors have appreciated the opportunity and support.

Tips for Teaching with Collaborate

Ideally, if you teach an online course and wish to incorporate Collaborate (or any tool for synchronous learning), you will hold regular sessions. With any online tool, there is a learning curve to consider. It may be rather frustrating to your students to go through the (potentially stressful) process of learning a new technology tool just to use it once and never again. If you are going to require the use of Collaborate, assign a few synchronous sessions so that your students can feel the sense of accomplishment that comes from becoming comfortable and familiar with the new tool. Furthermore, if you "require" participation in synchronous learning (as opposed to just offering optional study sessions or office hours), include the dates/times of the sessions in the course description so that every student is aware of the time commitment before enrolling in your course.

Should you decide to utilize Collaborate or another synchronous learning tool, it will help if you provide your students with tutorials so that they can prepare for the experience and hopefully have less to troubleshoot during the session. Admittedly, I have found that even with my students, who are all college instructors, it is hard to get them to watch/read the tutorials prior to the synchronous learning session. To ensure they do the prep work, you may want to assign a brief quiz that tests them on troubleshooting techniques.