• Online education has promoted the growth of new methodologies, mostly asynchronous in nature, and revolving around expertise in creating pre-loaded content, and manipulating email, forums for communication, and designing and marking asynchronous assessment tasks
• Latterly the evolution of virtual classrooms has some fearing a return to a teacher-centric transmission model of education.
• Immediacy of synchronous environments: this appeals to more social learners, those who are 'field-dependent' (ie require a degree of structure), and those for whom the anytime/any place approach is just a handy excuse for not doing it!

Multiple Uses of Virtual Classrooms

• lectures (the old transmission model)
  
• allows different channels for processing information (text, audio, visual)
  
• ability to display multiple modes
  
  • lecture
    
  • discussion/collaboration
    
  • slides (text/graphics)
    
  • websites
    
  • application sharing
    
• Guest lecturers
  
• student presentations
  
• unite f2f and distance students
  
• availability of recording/archives

How do you teach effectively in these environments?

Questions:

1. What makes a good face to face teacher?
   
2. If I just talked without pause for 7 minutes, without reference to any visual material or asking questions how would you feel?