Reflect upon the importance of utilizing a synchronous session to “create a true classroom culture” online. How does integrating synchronous learning sessions within the online environment assist in developing a learning community for students? Discuss this question at length in your blog.
I really enjoy the synchronous session opportunities that I provide for students during the week...when students attend. I have two weekly sessions I host; one with students routinely and one without. For my Tuesday evening session, I have two students who religiously attend. I much more enjoy the company of actually speaking to people I know are listening rather than a recording. The girls are great and ask questions as well as just discuss psych concepts they are generally interested in. It makes me excited to actually connect with my online students the way I do my traditional ones. My Thursday evening class is a different story---no one attends. It is a blow to my drive of enthusiasm because there is no one there for feedback. I feel it is SO important because now the students have guaranteed time with their teacher to ask questions and review concepts. I frequently email links to the sessions but am unaware of how many students truly listen to the recordings. I not only review concepts but also go over important class announcements. When students email me questions that I have addressed in the synchronous sessions, I email them back the link to listen for the answer. Since I have been with GaVS our policies about synchronous sessions have fluctuated from non-mandatory to mandatory and back again. When they were mandatory it was just one more thing for kids to do (or not) and of course grade when they did not come to sessions. But being non-mandatory I do not get a rousing number of students to attend. I feel it necessary and stress the sessions to the parents, especially ones who comment that their child needs to "hear" a teacher's voice because they can though this medium.
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