TPC-Digests-V1-Issues-123

A b s t r a c t Recently, many counselor education programs have considered whether and how to offer courses online. Although online counselor education courses are becoming increasingly common, the use of synchronous (real-time) teaching approaches appears to be limited at best. In this article, we provide a context and rationale for incorporating online synchronous learning experiences, discuss the use of simple technologies to create meaningful educational experiences, and present one model for combining synchronous and asynchronous instructional approaches online. We also share our perspectives on the contributions of synchronous learning components, reflect on student and instructor experiences, and discuss issues to be considered in developing online counselor education courses. March 8th, 2011 James M. Benshoff Melinda M. Gibbons Increasingly, counselor education courses are being taught online. Online instruction can be divided into two types: 1) online asynchronous discussion (OAD) involving learning that can be accessed anytime, typically including discussion boards, email, and web- based content; and, 2) online synchronous discussion (OSD) using audio, text, and/or video connections through the Internet for real-time communication. In the online course presented here, OAD and OSD are combined to create an online learning environment that brings much of the lifeof face-to-face classes to the virtual classroom. B ringing L ife to e -L earning : I ncorporating a S ynchronous A pproach to O nline T eaching in C ounselor E ducation TPC Digest Go To Article