Critique of Synchronous Learning

Objectives

The webinar that I participated in was titled “Embedding Music in the Early

Childhood Inclusion Classroom.” It was presented by music therapist Carol Ann Blank.

The purpose of this webinar was to identify ways to incorporate music throughout the

school day in an inclusion classroom. These activities will help to improve social and

cognitive development as well as physical development and motor skills.

Interest and Engagement

To begin the webinar, there are two ladies who introduce the webinar to inform

the participant as to what will be happening and what they will be able to get out of it.

The instructor, Carol Ann Blank, begins introducing herself with a song to get everyone

interested and engaged.I thought this was a great way to attract participants as well as

give an example to use in the classroom.

Communicating Content

In this session, the content was shown using powerpoint slides as well as the

instructor narrating along with each slide. This follows along with the multimedia

principles combining both audio and visual to appeal to varied learning styles. I did find

it at times redundant because it was as if she was reading directly from the slides

instead of summarizing the information. I thought it was beneficial to incorporate

information about the different disabilities and diagnoses that we may see in the

classroom. This gave some background information to show how the music and

movements will help to develop their skills and meet their needs. There were also many
slides that gave exact examples of how to setup your room, instruments to use, and

basic examples and ways to incorporate activities into a classroom.

Interactions and Sharing

Ms. Blank created opportunities for participants to interact constantly throughout

the course. One way was through a poll as one. The poll was taken to find out what

types of professionals were participating. This gave an immediate connection for her to

help cater her instruction to the needs of those in attendance. It was also an opportunity

to immediately establish social presence in a short time frame. There was also a

discussion board that any participants could use to ask questions throughout the

webinar. This also created those interactions necessary in an online classroom,

specifically establishing the teacher presence allowing her to guide and facilitate the

learning.

Management of Software and Technology

In the beginning of the course, there was an explanation as to where the course

information could be found if there was a poor connection or students had trouble

accessing the webinar. The website was available on the slide in case there were any

mishaps. The slides from the webinar were also emailed to registered participants as

well. This was a great way to take care of any technical issues and avoid interruptions

during the lecture.

CoI Framework and R2D2 Model

In this course, the instructor did her best to establish teaching, social and

cognitive presence. In the beginning we immediately see a social presence established

with the poll taken to determine who was in the class. There were also opportunities to

ask questions which helped to develop the community of inquiry.

Throughout the lecture we see parts of the R2D2 model used. The reading and

knowledge acquistion starts immediately with the slides full of information as well as the

narration by the instructor. Reflection time is also incorporated. Due to the fact that the

course is synchronous, students have an opportunity to take in the information and ask

questions or comment on topics in live time. I did not recognize anything that fit the

display concept due to the fact there was no time for learners to really show what they

have learned.

Reflection

Watching the pre-recorded webinar was an interesting experience. It was eye

opening to actually critique a lecture and look for the strategies and tools necessary that

a course should contain. In my opinion, this particular lecture did a great job

establishing the community of inquiry. The teacher made herself available and

facilitated the course, the information made us think and there was even the presence

of social interaction. The webinar did not incorporate much of the R2D2 model which is

understandably difficult in a live session. I think if the instructor wanted tto have

students display their learning she could of had some kind of chat or wall setup during

the lecture to allow students to contribute possibly one piece of information they have

learned. I know we could not see the “doing” aspect of this lecture but i think having

teachers take this information and incorporate the activities in their own classroom

would be the assumption. This definitely points out how important synchronous and

asynchronous learning is. If we want to incorporate both models in a course, it is

unrealistic that all needs will be met with one mode of learning. This has definitely

opened up my eyes to what is necessary when designing an online course.

Webinar Information

Title: Embedding Music in the Early Childhood Inclusion Classroom

Time:Thursday, July 7, 2016 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm, watched- July 12, 9:00

pm.

URL:EdWeb

Presenter: Carol Ann Blank