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td11 1/29/2010 10:42:32

General Session - Conference Presentation Only (no formal paper)

//Malia Mallchok, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, mallchok@hawaii.edu//
 * Animated Conversations: Creating Dynamic Asynchronous Discussions with Video**

Asynchronous discussions have long been a vital and meaningful component of online courses. Students use discussion forums to build on ideas from other students and generate meaningful dialog and interaction. Asynchronous discussion can also serve to generate a sense of community and collegiality among participants by encouraging them to compare perspectives and share experience in an informal and non-threatening environment. Traditionally online discussions have been conducted purely through text-based communication; however, there are notable limitations of text-based communication, including the lack of personal connection and the inability to fully express ideas and concepts through text. Over the past few years participants in online courses have been transitioning to a variety of online tools that can provide a more interactive experience for synchronous communication through video. This move toward video-based communication can now be considered for asynchronous discussions as well.

This general session will explore how video and audio approaches to asynchronous discussion forums can create dynamic online conversations. The session will examine the limitations of text-based discussions and the opportunities for enrichment through the use of video. Using VoiceThread, an online tool for collaborative, multimedia conversations, a prototype for asynchronous video-based discussion was developed for a hybrid faculty orientation course created at the College of Education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The VoiceThread prototype will be demonstrated during the session, and a planned study will be discussed that intends to examine participant responses to asynchronous conversations using the prototype.

All Audiences asynchronous discussion, VoiceThread