Methods for Synchronous Class Facilitation

Not all online courses are created equal.  Not by a long shot.  Unfortunately, the vast majority of students sign up for classes because it seems easier to have the freedom to complete coursework on their own time.  Typically, these students are wrong, or at least that is what I have found to be the case.  Students who struggle with time management, hectic lifestyles, lack of motivation, or lack of enthusiasm (and let's be honest... how many of your students don't struggle with at least one of these challenges?) are likely to not only be challenged by most online courses, they are likely to bomb them altogether.  

Freedom, you see, is not actually all it's cracked up to be.  Especially for adult learners who spent their entire childhoods and adolescences (and probably much of their adult lives) following a rigid learning schedule that dictated what time they had to wake up each morning, when to take restroom breaks during the day, what time they ate lunch, and when they were allowed to relax in the evenings.  Very few adult learners today have experience with facilitating their own learning 100% of the time, which means that going to an asynchronous only online learning model turns their world upside down.  

Enter synchronous learning experiences in your online courses.  If you work with adults who like some structure (whether they admit it or not), perhaps you could try incorporating some synchronous learning experiences into your online course.  While the asynchronous activities are great (in fact, they are the foundation of online teaching as we know it today) because they do provide busy students with the flexibility to make learning convenient to their hectic schedules and lifestyles, they aren't great at providing the same level of support that synchronous learning experiences give.  

Some methods for facilitating synchronous learning are:

• Magnetic Brainstorms: In this activity, collaboration and brainstorming are both in full swing.  Students respond to a prompt or question by posting words or phrases that come to mind on a shared whiteboard space.  Magnetic brainstorming allows students to share their personal thoughts and opinions with the class in real time.  
• Stone Soup: Learners are separated into breakout rooms based on an interest or response to a topic or question.  Once in breakout groups, the students of like minds work on a project or task together.  
• Cracker Barrels: Students divide up into breakout groups.  In each breakout group, there is a facilitator (usually another student, but could also be a guest speaker or other relevant person) and a group of students.  After a specified amount of time, the students rotate their breakout groups, moving to the space of a different facilitator.  This activity allows several students the opportunity to act as facilitators or instructors, and lets the learners discuss a variety of topics throughout the class meeting.  

Questions to ask yourself before you begin scheduling your synchronous class meetings:

1. Is the product cross-platform, and does it work on all browsers? (For a list of free synchronous meeting host products, click here.)
2. Are your students in different time zones?  Make sure you find a time that works for everyone.  If you can't find a time that works across time zones, make recordings available to the students who were unable to attend.
3. Is a software download required for your students?  If so, be sure to make that clear before you begin.
4. Are you familiar with the product?  If you're iffy on the details, be sure to set up a practice run.  

Synchronous class meetings can be a great way to supplement your asynchronous learning tools or they can be the place where you deliver the bulk of your course content.  Either way, it's a good idea to include them in your classes, since you will keep your students engaged, motivated and connected, and therefore successful in your online course.  Good luck!

Do you have any experience with synchronous course facilitation?  What works for you and your classes?  

References:
Finkelstein, Jonathan. Learning in Real Time:Synchronous Teaching and Learning Online. 1st ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2006. Print.