Those of us at Teachers.net know and understand the importance and value of asynchronous communication. While many also enjoy synchronous communication in the chat room and in the meetings, the chatboards are the place where most of the communication takes place at Teachers.net. The same holds true in online classes. The major thrust of communication and interaction takes place in discussion forums with a lesser amount of communication occurring between instructor and students in email.

Online courses are designed with communication and collaborative learning as the major emphasis in the learning process. The student must take responsibility for readings, assignments, and discussions. The teacher has the responsibility for facilitating learning through discussions of content and assisting in managing group collaboration. The design of the learning tasks alone strengthens the interaction among the students.

Too often, students are not familiar with this type of learning. They are used to traditional face-to-face (f2f) classes in which the teacher presents the material and students have little to no choice in the learning process. Traditionally, students are not encouraged to reflect and explore content beyond what is presented in class by the teacher. Even in cases where learner initiative is encouraged, the time limits imposed on traditional classes eliminates effective collaborative learning. Online learning is very different; learning is shared among students and the teacher is not the controlling element in the virtual classroom.

Students are quite capable of constructing knowledge with the guidance of the teacher. This means turning over control of learning to the students and is a necessity in online learning. As online teachers, we set up an environment that provides students with the resources for independent exploration. The communication with peers and instructor through asynchronous discussion threads allows for sharing and reflection on the independent exploration of the issues/topics incorporated into the course content.

Online communication provides opportunities for interaction that is not readily available in traditional f2f classrooms. Learners in online classes have the opportunity to and freedom to explore alternative pathways to knowledge and develop their own learning styles. Strategies such as debates, role play, discussion groups, simulation, brain-storming, written assignments, collaborative projects, etc., all play a part in promoting interaction and communication among students and therefore, increases the potential for learning.

Inviting guest speakers to classrooms has long been an effective way to increase knowledge acquisition. In a virtual classroom, the benefits far outweigh those of having a guest speaker in a traditional classroom. In a traditional class, the guest speaker does just that - speaks. S/he speaks to the entire group and then perhaps has time to answer one or two questions at the end of the allotted time limit. In an online class, a guest speaker presents information and then for a week or so discusses and answers questions in an asynchronous discussion forum. In some cases, the teacher may submit questions to the guest speaker so that the guest can prepare answers to post all at one time. In either case, all students have their questions answered rather than just a few who happen to be lucky enough to sit in the front row of the classroom.

Discussions among students are very effective in facilitating learning, much more so than simply listening to lectures in a traditional classroom. Group work in traditional classrooms is limited in its effectiveness by time restrictions. The benefit of group interaction and communication in an online classroom is that discussions can carry on for as long as students need. In a weeklong assignment, students have time to brainstorm, further explore information, reflect on group members' contributions, and discuss and evaluate each contribution. This is problem solving at its best, with no interruption because class time is over. Students bring to a discussion all the knowledge they have gained from listening, reading, experience, and research, as well as other interactions outside of class. There just is not time in a traditional f2f class for all students to fully explore and interact on all this prior knowledge. Such is not the case in an online class environment; time is irrelevant.

In an online class, I present a short mini-lecture via text or audio (in some cases video) and then direct students to the readings in the text and online. Specific questions are asked that promote exploration and research of the issues/topics in the unit and students then begin their reading assignments. During the following week, I post open-ended questions that are designed to facilitate reflection and discussion of the unit content. As students begin to post their answers and reflections, I add further questions based on their initial findings. These additional questions require even deeper exploration in order to evaluate and discuss the topic from different perspectives. At some point, I will incorporate group projects or debates into the unit as well. The list of learning activities that can accompany any online unit is extensive and my goal is to provide many different types of learning tasks so that students can utilize their individual learning styles to the fullest potential. The communication and interaction among the students leads to a greater application of knowledge, far beyond the simple acquisition of information, than I have ever seen in any traditional f2f classroom.

Managing online communication is an important task for the instructor, especially when students are new to online learning. Graduate and adult students seem to have little to no difficulty participating and contributing in a relevant manner to online discussions and collaborative groups. Undergraduate and younger students have much difficulty as they find the medium confusing as compared to a traditional classroom. It becomes the instructor's responsibility to guide the students in appropriate learner-centered activities so they become comfortable and competent in the online learning environment. There are specific responsibilities and strategies for which online instructors must be prepared in order to teach effectively online. My next article will be "The Roles of Students and Instructor in an Online Classroom."