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Synchronous netcourses attempt to reproduce lecture hall-type classes on the Internet. These courses require synchronicity in the form of video, audio, or text. All students and their teacher are present at the same time to "meet" as a class, to hold live lectures and discussions. Proponents of the synchronous model feel that live interaction and discussion is one of the most important features of the traditional classroom, and the most important feature to maintain in an online, distance environment. It is obviously difficult to coordinate students' schedules on a global, national or even regional scale, so synchronous netcourses may turn out to be a very nice model for groups operating within a small geographical area. In the future we may see a proliferation of synchronous netcourses being developed and shared within this type of school district (see the Choice 2000 school, for one example). While some of the classes profiled in the other categories incorporate synchronous technologies into their design, the courses profiled below operate primarily in a synchronous mode.
CHOICE 2000 is an accredited California charter public school that delivers a full 7th-12th grade curriculum online. Students from all over the state earn their diplomas by taking classes from their computers at home. The school serves a variety of learners, including adults, home schoolers, students with medical or social problems, and students who work and/or have children. Approximately 160 students are enrolled for Fall 1997, with about 200 total expected.
Choice 2000 classes are delivered live via a bulletin board service called World Group, by Galacticom. Synchronous classes are largely possible because Choice 2000 students are located within a 300-400 mile area in the same time zone. Close to 20 chat rooms are set up for real-time teleconferencing, and an average of 25-30 students meet weekly in these live teleconferences with an instructor. Teleconferences for students only are also provided. Aside from the real-time classes, students work asynchronously to complete work on self-paced modules delivered via NovaNET, and use e-mail extensively. Classes are a semester in length, but students are free to work ahead if they choose. In 1997/98, Choice 2000 is going to start breaking its schools into teams, incorporating group projects, and using parent advisors to help keep students from falling through the cracks in the absence of physical face-to-face interactions. Choice 2000 also hopes to start incorporating Internet resources into its classes and will require all students to have Internet access this next year
The Fraser Valley Distance Education School (FVDES) is located in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several distance learning centers established by the Department of Education (DOE) to serve adult learners, home schoolers, and students in the province's remote areas. FVDES works with the Open Learning Agency and nine regional schools in the province to offer 11-12 courses over the Internet. "New Directions in Distance Learning (NDDL)" started as a pilot program four years ago to assist small, remote schools. In the 1996/97 year, FVDES had approximately 500 students using the Internet to take courses. The courses are flexible and structured in a manner appropriate to each student's situation, although classes are usually yearly or semester-based to match schools' schedules. Students can take a course by themselves, or interact with other students. In one third grade glass, a teacher found that students spontaneously formed virtual, dynamic work groups via e-mail to work on a project together. This was a completely unexpected but exciting development that was motivated by student desire.
Each student is linked to a mentor who delivers the curriculum, and every participating school has an assistant to make sure students have support and equipment. Each school site has a scanner so that assignments can be submitted electronically. NDDL courses use dual platform Whiteboard software to do audio conference calling in which two computers are linked together like a blackboard. Teachers use this software in conjunction with other materials to deliver lessons and hold discussions. For example, a teacher might send out CD-ROMs with images and then have a group of students all bring up the same image during a teleconference.
The FVDES creates its online classes by modifying the written curriculum it already has in place. Its teachers continue to modify their online material, and will incorporate Internet resources as they become more familiar with the medium. At this point, paper-based instruction and correspondence workbooks still comprise the core of even the online classes. Text correspondence is viewed as a safety net in the event that telecommunications break down (this has been known to happen for up to a month in very remote spots).
One project that describes itself as primarily synchronous is the Testbed for Collaborative Interactive Remote Instruction (IRI), run by the Old Dominion University (ODU) in Virginia. The IRI system was developed to create a synchronous virtual classroom that would allow community college students at various remote sites to earn a BS degree at ODU. During the summer of 1996 it was tested at the K-12 level, and based on successful results, a middle and high school are currently being connected to the IRI virtual classroom. At present, IRI has developed two courses. Information in various formats (video, audio, data) is transmitted over the Internet, while teachers and students at individual computer workstations (consisting of a SUN SPARC station 5, VCR, camera, microphone, speakers, and an Ethernet connection), make up the intranet of the synchronous virtual classroom. IRI classes also incorporate some asynchronous tools such as small group interactions and a Webbook which provides access to homework, exams, recorded lectures, and personal notes.
Athena Preparatory Academy (APA) is a virtual K-12 school based largely on synchronous interactions. APA is part of the non-profit Virtual Online University (VOU) Services International. APA develops classes for schools wishing to offer advanced courses such as foreign languages, higher mathematics, or physics, as well as training courses for instructors who want to learn more about using the Internet in the classroom. Students from around the world can link to the electronic campus via the Internet and participate in real-time online seminars (APA says that they use the seminar over the lecture format in order to encourage active participation by students) and discussions in Multi-User Object Oriented (MOO) environments. A page on APA's web site entitled "Whats a MOO?" describes MOO environments and why they are used in APA classes.
Instructional materials are delivered in hypertext. VOU is working with a software developer to create an HTML front end to their MOO. While the main mode of instruction is synchronous, online sessions are also recorded and logged, so that students who cannot attend real-time sessions will have access to them, and much asynchronous student-student and student-teacher interaction takes place over e-mail. Students also use Internet resources and develop research and computer skills outside of the synchronous environment. (Note: all information about APA comes from their Web site only)
C O N T E N T S :Summary | Unscheduled Asynchronous Netcourses | Scheduled Asynchronous Netcourses | Fully Synchronous Netcourses | Conclusions | Glossary of Terms