Using Synchronous Technology to Enrich Student Learning

To explore the potential applications of synchronous technology to enrich student learning, faculty members from an American regional state university and a Chinese regional university collaborated to find appropriate ways to integrate synchronous technology (e.g., Adobe Connect) into an educational technology program in the American university and in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) program in China. The paper reports the collaborative efforts in a project (from Fall 2010 to Spring 2012) using Adobe Connect to enrich student learning at both sites. The report includes the project overview, project implementation and its evaluation framework. Finally, the paper offers practical suggestions for using synchronous technologies such as Adobe Connect for instruction when implementing such an international project in two different countries.