Online education has become deeply embedded in the offerings of most community colleges. This chapter discusses the challenges, models, and approaches to conducting assessment of student online learning and establishing outcomes for online education.
A number of online tools can now be used in courses for group interactions. This article focuses specifically on asynchronous discussion software that allows one-onone and one-to-many interaction, still predominantly text based and independent of time. It remains a useful communication tool because online classes commonly have learners checking in at different times or from different time zones. This discussion tool offers great opportunity to faculty if thought of as “the classroom space,” and skilled facilitation by faculty in these spaces encourages community and interaction not only among class members, but also with content (Bedard-Voorhees, 2005; Dawley, 2007).
Successful online instructors demonstrate technological and content expertise, time management, and instructional and communication skills. While “asynchronous discussion” refers to a software that allows one-one-one and one-to-many text-based interaction independent of time, is it an important communication technique. And within a broader, complex definition of discussion resides the challenge and opportunity for faculty facilitation of student-centered learning.
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