Electronic Communication
I’ve taken a few different online courses over the years, and all of them used a central portal, like Blackboard, Google Classroom, or Canvas, which offer a few ways to communicate with classmates remotely. Classes can make use of discussion boards, email, or synchronous remote communication, like Zoom, Google Meet, or WhatsApp; they all offer something a little different in terms of engagement, convenience, and learning efficacy. The majority of classwork in my online classes have been in a discussion format: one student creates a post of some kind and other students comment on it. There are a lot of benefits to that format, particularly logistic flexibility. Most of us who are in online courses are working full time, caring for families, or are busy in some way - it’s generally why the online format is sought out. Discussion boards make it easy for everyone to engage at their own pace. You can take time between reading and responding, wh...