0. Tools for Online Student Participation
Can my online students participate in class the way my students do in person?
What tools are available to me, and what does each of them do?
Why would I choose one kind of online participation over another?
In this quick overview, we will explore some of the ways that your online students can have discussion and collaboration, both in real time and asynchronously. From live web conferencing or phoning in during lecture, to thoughtful blog posts or discussion board threads, students can participate in class dialogue in many ways.

1. Synchronous vs. Asynchronous
Synchronous: interaction happening in real time
Example: telephone conversation
Asynchronous: interaction is delayed as
participants contribute over time
Example: comments on a blog

2. A word of caution:
Not all of these methods are available to all online courses.
Many campus classrooms have technical limitations. Consult with your course producer about what media are right for you!

3. How can I have synchronous participation online?

4. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class entirely in a web conference
Over 100 Extension School courses this academic year are held in web conference alone!
Note: Must be listed this way in the Course Catalog before registration begins.

5. What’s a web conference?
More info:
Breakout Session II
in room G125:
“Web Conferencing -
Is It for Me?”

6. Web conference platforms
Blackboard Collaborate
Fully supported by Extension school tech support
Google Hangouts
No tech support by Extension, must use Google’s support
Requires all users to have personal Google accounts
More info:
Big Blue Button
Incorporated as part of new Canvas platform
More info:
Others you may have heard of:
WebEx, Adobe Connect, GoToMeeting

7. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
How does communication become 2-way?
*where available

8. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available

9. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment
*where available

10. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available
+ Easy tool to learn and use

11. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available
+ Easy tool to learn and use
- Students have to type everything out

12. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available
+ Easy tool to learn and use
- Students have to type everything out
- Works best with a second TA to monitor chat

13. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available
+ Easy tool to learn and use
- Students have to type everything out
- Works best with a second TA to monitor chat
+ Can answer quick questions within chat, without interrupting class

14. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available
+ Easy tool to learn and use
- Students have to type everything out
- Works best with a second TA to monitor chat
+ Can answer quick questions within chat, without interrupting class
+ Can pass interesting questions to the speaking instructor in real time

15. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available
+ Easy tool to learn and use

16. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available
+ Easy tool to learn and use
+ Students can speak in real time

17. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available
+ Easy tool to learn and use
+ Students can speak in real time
- Can have distracting background noise if students don’t mute

18. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available
+ Easy tool to learn and use
+ Students can speak in real time
- Can have distracting background noise if students don’t mute
- Hard to tell who is on the call

19. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available
+ Easy tool to learn and use
+ Students can speak in real time
- Can have distracting background noise if students don’t mute
- Hard to tell who is on the call
- Students can’t “raise hands” to talk

20. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available
+ Easy tool to learn and use
+ Students can speak in real time
- Can have distracting background noise if students don’t mute
- Hard to tell who is on the call
- Students can’t “raise hands” to talk
- Can have confusing tech issues
Video stream on slight delay
Students need to mute video sound when on phone
Phone-in students may not hear classroom well if you’re not in an advanced classroom.

21. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available [
+ Many students already know how to use

22. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available [
+ Many students already know how to use
+ Good for guest lectures

23. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available [
+ Many students already know how to use
+ Good for guest lectures
-/+ Not fully integrated into most rooms, but some are

24. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available [
+ Many students already know how to use
+ Good for guest lectures
-/+ Not fully integrated into most rooms, but some are
-/+ Limited tech support from Extension AV Services

25. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available [
+ Many students already know how to use
+ Good for guest lectures
-/+ Not fully integrated into most rooms, but some are
-/+ Limited tech support from Extension AV Services
- As with phone conference...
Video stream on slight delay
Students need to mute video sound when on the call
May not hear classroom well over Skype if you’re not in an advanced classroom.

26. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available [
+ Allows full ability for online students to present material in classroom

27. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available [
+ Allows full ability for online students to present material in classroom
- Learning curve if not already familiar with tools

28. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available [
+ Allows full ability for online students to present material in classroom
- Learning curve if not already familiar with tools
- Not well integrated into classroom systems: setup is complicated and requires a long time and much testing

29. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available [
+ Allows full ability for online students to present material in classroom
- Learning curve if not already familiar with tools
- Not well integrated into classroom systems: setup is complicated and requires a long time and much testing
- Integration not available at all in most classrooms

30. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available [
+ Allows full ability for online students to present material in classroom
- Learning curve if not already familiar with tools
- Not well integrated into classroom systems: setup is complicated and requires a long time and much testing
- Integration not available at all in most classrooms
+/- When it works, very effective. When it doesn’t, very distracting.

31. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available
+ Familiar media, easy to use

32. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available
+ Familiar media, easy to use
+/- Interrupts speaker when messages come in

33. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available
+ Familiar media, easy to use
+/- Interrupts speaker when messages come in
+/- Higher “threshold” for students to speak up

34. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available
+ Familiar media, easy to use
+/- Interrupts speaker when messages come in
+/- Higher “threshold” for students to speak up
- May have to use personal devices, accounts, or third party apps

35. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
*where available

36. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
More information at
*where available
- Extremely high learning curve

37. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
More information at
*where available
- Extremely high learning curve
+ Potential for online students to create, present, interact fully with each other

38. Synchronous Interaction
Hold class on campus, with a live video feed*:
Online students can communicate with campus by
Text chat room
Telephone conference call
Skype*
Web conference*
IM, SMS,
Virtual reality environment (Second Life)*
More information at
*where available
- Extremely high learning curve
+ Potential for online students to create, present, interact fully with each other
- Complicated to integrate with classroom AV, often can’t be fully integrated

39. Asynchronous interaction:
Eliminate time zone and
personal scheduling issues!

40. What’s
g.harvard ???

41. What’s g.harvard?
Allows FAS (and Extension) community to use many Google resources without requiring a personal Google/gmail account.
Log into g.harvard using your FAS account credentials.
Use Google apps like Drive, Calendar, Gmail, Sites, Groups, and Chat - without using your personal Google login.

42. Which Google apps can I use?
Note: does not include Google Hangouts

43. How do I get a g.harvard account?
Have an active FAS account
Extension faculty, staff, and students are entitled to FAS accounts
To set up, contact HUIT (
Go to to activate your g.harvard account
Remember: Tech support is by Google, not the Extension School lab!

44. Asynchronous Interaction
Discussion boards
Course blog
Social media
Twitter, FaceBook, G+, LinkedIn, etc.
Course wiki
Google Drive
+ Included in course website platforms
+ Easy to learn and use
+/- Discussion usually limited to enrolled students (internal only)
- Participation low if not required
- Specific instructions and curation can be needed for quality discussion
- Lack of spontaneity in conversation
+ Encourages deeper analysis in each message

45. Asynchronous Interaction
Discussion boards
Course blog [
Social media
Twitter, FaceBook, G+, LinkedIn, etc.
Course wiki
Google Drive
- Often uses third party sites/tools
+ Google Sites available in g.harvard
- No in-house tech support (must use the platform’s help resources)
+ Easy to use once set up
+/- Posts and discussion usually visible to public and search engines (FERPA concerns)
- Participation low if not required
- Specific assignments usually needed for quality posts
- Less conversational
+ Encourages deep analysis of material
For more information on FERPA, see Breakout Session III: “Plagiarism and FERPA”, room 119

46. Asynchronous Interaction
Discussion boards
Course blog
Social media
Twitter, FaceBook, G+, LinkedIn, etc.
Course wiki
Google Drive
+ Most students already familiar with tools
- No in-house tech support (must use the platform’s help resources)
- All but Google Plus require students to register on third party sites. (G+ can be accessed via g.harvard)
+/- Posts and discussion usually visible to public and search engines (FERPA concerns.)
- Participation low if not required
- Specific assignments usually needed for quality posts

47. Asynchronous Interaction
Discussion boards
Course blog
Social media
Twitter, FaceBook, G+, LinkedIn, etc.
Course wiki
Google Drive
+ Some learning curve for many
+/- Highly flexible, no inherently fixed format for contributing
- No in-house tech support (must use the platform’s help resources)
- Requires students to register on third party sites.
+/- Posts and discussion usually visible to public and search engines (FERPA concerns.)
- Participation low if not required
- Specific assignments usually needed for quality posts
What’s a wiki?

48. Asynchronous Interaction
Discussion boards
Course blog
Social media
Twitter, FaceBook, G+, LinkedIn, etc.
Course wiki
Google Drive
+ Easy to use
- No in-house tech support (must use Google support)
+ Students can access in g.harvard
+ Great for group collaboration and projects
+ Highly flexible: can be used for online notes and slides, sharing data sets, and more

49. Scenario: Interactive section
Section Style
Recommended Medium *
Synchronous option
Asynchronous option
Supplemental lecture
On-campus section with a live webcast. Optional interaction via chat room.
Video recording
Sample problems
Q&A or
office hours
Web conference
Discussion board
Round-table discussion
Lab or in-class activities
Varies, depending on type of activity
Discussion board or homework assignment

50. Scenario: Group Project Collaboration
Google Drive
Web conferencing
Telephone conferencing
, chat, other

51. Scenario: Final project presentations
Present live remotely:
Web conference, Skype, phone
Submit a video:
Screencast recordings: Camtasia, Screenflow
Submit via YouTube, Vimeo (or other upload site), Dropbox (course website or third party), or directly
screenflow/

52. Scenario: Participation grades for a discussion board
Foster good discussion:
Allow students to think through and answer each other’s questions, but...
Keep comments on track by correcting information when needed, and gently guiding off- track threads back to the core topics
Point out excellent examples of posts and comments
Provide separate forums for general questions, and casual or social interaction.
Rubric: Set clear requirements for frequency, length, and quality
Example: Post on each week’s topic by Friday. Reply thoughtfully to at least two colleagues by Sunday. Typical posts should be about 500 words and reflect understanding of the readings.
Provide regular feedback to students, so they can adjust and improve participation
More tips:

53. What other scenarios do you have?
What tools could you use?

54. Download these slides:
Choose “File” -> “Download as…”