Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning Environments

This has been a hectic week. The TCAP learning assessment was this week in our state which affected much of my planning time (homework time). I had to use family time to complete the assignments this week and I still had to stay up way past my bedtime; yes, I have one. I spent many hours in our asynchronous learning environment at Walden doing research and reading. The asynchronous environment has many advantages that work for me. If I had not have had the opportunity to log-on at my convenience, I would not have been able to successfully complete and submit assignments. I am not very confident that I completed one of the assignments to specification, but at least it is done. C'est la vie!!

This week I chose to critique MOODLE, WIZIQ and more- new ways of expanding your physical classroom boundaries. I found this blog to be both interesting and insightful. I like that Inma Alcázar chooses to discuss a tool that supports both asynchronous and synchronous learning environments. She discusses Moodle which is an asynchronous environment. I was not aware of the history of the tool until now. I had no idea the tool has been around since 1999. I thought it was relatively new. She also lists advantages to students as well as to the teachers that use the platform. Other tools mentioned that can be used in conjunction with Moodle are Elluminate and Wiziq. These platform supports synchronous formats. There is a hyperlink and a video that gives more information about Wiziq. Overall, the site is very informative and I give it two thumbs up. Just in case you can not access the site by clicking on its title, here is a direct link to the site:

http://myeslcorner.blogspot.com/2009/01/moodle-vs-wiziq-two-ways-to-create-your.html