SYNCHRONOUS MEETINGS

Synchronous meetings are a great way to increase the community feeling within your course. However, they can be difficult to coordinate due to conflicting schedules, difficulties for people participating in a second language and the technical literacy and access of the users.

When designing your course

CHAT

Chat is the easiest synchronous form of communication for low-bandwidth participants. Additionally, chat lowers the disadvantage level of those participating in a second language. Chat is built into each P2PU course.

VIDEO/VOICE/TELE CONFERENCING

Video/Voice conferencing is an adventure. First meetings can often go awry regardless of the technological literacy of your participants.  If you decide to use an online conference tool, it's crucial to run a "test" meeting with your group before you try to get work done. Trust us on this one. Make sure you have a back-up option (free conference calls or chat) if the group decides that the tool complicates rather than facilitates social events. 

☞ See Community Toolbox for various video/voice conferencing tools.

SCHEDULING

For big classes, timezones and other commitments can make scheduling difficult. Keep in mind that as course size increases, compatibility decreases. A common way to handle this is having additional meetings. Naturally, this increases your time commitment, but makes communicating easier for participants in your course.

When Is Good is our favorite tool for finding out when everyone is free for your next meeting or event. No sign-up form. No password to choose. No fuss at all. It will tally the number of people who can and cannot  make each time slot, handles different timezones, and uses various techniques to let you select different subsets of the group to see what the best fit is for holding course meetings.

World Clock Chances are, you'll have a global distribution of participants. What time is it in Cape Town? Delhi? Kansas City? It's the easiest way to find out.

☜Return to Course Design Handbook Overview