Synchronous Communication in Online Education: The Case of Group Projects

Does synchronous communication further the efforts of online collaboration? At a glance, the answer is definitely "yes" until one looks at the logistics of getting online learners together at the same time. A good number of people choose online education because of the flexibility it affords them, and the ability to continue pursuing their multi-layered daily responsibilities. If we consider Vigotsky's Social Development Theory, much can be gained from collaborative work. Assigning group projects is one way to achieve this. The question is, what are the ideal conditions for promoting active involvement in group projects among online learners? Here, I propose a few strategies:

1. Whenever possible, let the learners select from a group of topics, the project to pursue. When learners are interested in a project, they are more likely to participate with vigor

2. Provide clear guidelines of expectations for each group

3. Have incentives for completing the project

4. Identify a group coordinator

5. Within groups, determine milestones and contributions of each member or sub-group

6. Select the best methods of communicating and brainstorming; determine tools for synchronous communication or whether they should be used at all

7. Set deadlines for reporting to the group coordinator at each stage of the project.

While synchronous communication sounds like a great idea in online education, in reality, it is not particularly convenient or easy for learners to collaborate on projects in this manner. Our own class project (with relatively few team members) has undoubtedly proven this to be so. It is likely that one is able to reach more people who are not in their group than are; these are pehaps people who are ernest about their projects or whose schedules are more aligned, and therefore, should probably have been team members. The temptation to break away and form "side groups" is high but would defeat the premise of the exercise, whose unintended lesson might be to remind us that in real life, the ideal is usually out of reach, but that should not deter action.

Certainly, synchronous communication has its place and should be encouraged in online collaborative activities, but it not the only means through which Vigotsky's merits of social interaction for cognitive development can be attained. As for me, I have learned from others through synchronous communication during these last few days.