Synchronous Online Learning... and Teaching

Until recently, when LinkedIn asked me to contribute to an article about it, I hadn't heard of the term synchronous online learning. But it's much more descriptive than just saying online learning, which holds many different types of learning (some considerably more challenging than this type) for the student. I'm finishing the yearly course, "Landscape and Environmental Science in English," for my alma mater in Japan. I teach this course to the entire junior class at my university department. They are lovely students, and I look forward to teaching this class every year. The first year I taught, it was primarily in person. I've seen the difference between teaching the course in person and remotely in both asynchronous and synchronous online learning platforms. Here, I will give my perspectives on why synchronous online learning can improve your academic experience as a student. Although optimally, I would like to teach face-to-face, it's not feasible in my current situation. That being said, teaching synchronous online learning has a balance of advantages and disadvantages. Although I want to see them in person, feel the room out, walk around, and have the natural situation of being in the classroom with my students, that's the only negative that I can see for synchronous online learning. I don't feel as though I'm unable to engage my students. Because I was trained at Sonoma State University's Linguistics Department in Teaching English as a Second Language and subsequently taught for 10 years as a native language teacher in Japan, I learned many tactics for engaging students that perhaps other university lecturers might not know about. Questioning the students, providing them with a range of mental and physical actions that they can take inside and outside the lecture time, the use of realia, and finally providing boundaries by letting them know the importance of classroom participation through substantial grading and verbal warnings tend to be pretty motivating for many students. Also, the scheduled time allows them to be prepared with their preparatory materials for the lesson, and they know they must be there or their grade will go down, further motivating them. I use my phone to provide extra points to students who participate, and breakout rooms allow the students to engage with each other in real time. We also have classroom discussions on different topics; the 1.5 hours don't feel long enough. I know that for some lecturers, keeping the camera on is not required; it is in each of my 35-student classes. This allows engagement with others and shows them that other students are in the class, giving it a more natural classroom feel. My classes are interdisciplinary, and I teach the students as much about real life as possible, providing real-life reasons why they need to have critical thinking skills or know English, so much so that they have repeatedly told me they would not have been exposed to these otherwise. I'm also very encouraging to them, and I let them know that whoever they are, they are valued, and their perspectives and their thoughts are essential for the future. This kind of respect and love towards one's students, no matter their age or the subject, allows them to feel like they can move forward and empowers them as students and as people who will soon be acting as adults. It also improves rapport in the classroom and with the teacher. None of these things require the teacher to be in the same room with the students. However, it does require the teacher to be able to interact with the students in real-time. Another advantage of synchronous online learning is that the students and teacher can be almost anywhere that is relatively quiet with an internet connection and still attend the class. Many of my students join me from their homes or cafes. They can stay after class or message me if they need to talk to me. Overall, I have seen that these classes are convenient for the students. They can answer quizzes, have conversations, and do the work from almost anywhere. They have a set schedule, so they don't have to worry about making their own schedule, and all they need is their computer or phone. They know the requirements, which makes them feel like they can succeed as long as they try. They can converse with classmates and interact with the class without being there. As time passes, I continually refine my methods for the synchronous online classes. It's got its challenges because technology is constantly changing. Still, because of the convenience and connection it provides to people in diverse geographical locations, it has been a boon in my life, and as far as I can tell from my students, it has been the same for them.

The Lonesome Warbler - short story

by Sofia Penabaz, 2024-02-18

He absent-mindedly looked into the mirror, arching his head back and tracing the jawline for stubble. "Arg, I missed a spot." He picked up the razor and ran it across his skin. Ouch. A drop of blood appeared. He put the razor under the water, feeling its warmth on his fingers and washed away the blood, then continued to rinsing his chin and neck. He continued the ritual, then left the bathroom, and started changing. He was going to wear a nice crisp shirt, with jeans and his favorite tennis. Not that it would matter, since there weren't any women anymore. He reached for his Dunhill and sprayed some on. This scent filled the area like an invisible cloud, calm and reassuring. He suddenly felt depressed. What a waste of time. He was going to go out and look for someone who didn't exist. But the whole ritual, going out to, everything, it was something he just couldn't not do. He had to try to find someone, even though there was no one there. Because if he didn't, he knew he'd go nuts. He walked out of the house and towards the bar.

Humans had done it to themselves, it wasn't the aliens fault. It had started with the genetic modifications for health reasons. In the earlier days of science when people didn't know as much as they did, now. He heaved a sigh, trudging on. Then, with the advent of Androids, people didn't need children because they used money and it was much more difficult to have children when you were partnered with an Android. The early genetic modifications haven't been a problem until the disease came, changing human DNA so that fertility levels went close to zero. And then within a period of 10 years, had been the third wave of COVID-88, wherein most of the global population had died.

50 years before, there had been an influx of alien life on Earth. The aliens, called Lilliputians, after the creatures in the literary classic Gulliver's Travels, were highly developed and intelligent creatures. They were sensitive and kind, and were looking for a place to live. After some hesitation, the great world governments had decided that the Lilliputians were not a threat, and allowed them to stay. The Lilliputians tried to integrate with human society. That being said, they didn't have much interest in human health so when the humans got sick, the Lilliputians didn't really put much effort into trying to find a medical solution. Why should they? The humans were advanced, intelligent, and knowledgeable enough in their own health care to do this kind of thing for themselves... and they had also dug their own grave.

He ran his hand through his sandy brown hair. He would have been attractive to many women. He was in good shape and he was a nice person. But there just weren't any women left.

He opened the board bar door and walked in. While he'd passed a few on the street, there hadn't been such droves of them. The place was packed with Lilliputians sitting at the bar and at the tables, and dancing. They didn't look like humans at all, with her hard-shelled exoskeletons and five eyes. 

He asked for a drink in broken Lilliputian. "Sure thing," said the bartender amicably, and started mixing it. It. He looked around. The Lilliputians had appropriated music from over 100 years ago, some music from the 1980s was really popular. There were several people dancing. A few couples in the corners were making out with their thin tentacles and glinting arms. 

It wasn't just the humans who had been wiped out on earth. The humans themselves had caused a myriad of environmental problems and destroyed entire forests in their greed for resources. He thought about all of the last males calling out to a mate who didn't exist anymore, and felt a pang of guilt and sorrow for himself and for the world that had been before. If only they had treasured the world more, it would still be in their hands and he might have a wife and maybe a couple of kids.

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Next time you cut down a wild tree or prune it back severely, take down the wild grasses or replace the wild things with your own flowers, think about how many living things may have depended on that. Before doing anything, please observe any interactions with it for a couple of minutes; appreciate it. You may find that there are many creatures that depend on it. At the very least, please try to find out more about the native animals in your area and support them with your landscape. Kindness would suggest creating homes and provide water, since we have taken it. And, prudence advises that you also make a landscape that you can consume yourself, with rainwater retention and wild edible plants from the area, so that if there's another COVID-19, or something happens, you and your family don't end up without food. There are many lonesome Warblers in 2024. Try to be empathetic.