Niagara College Canada

There are advantages and drawbacks to the application of both approaches that need to be carefully considered by instructors before selecting when to choose the flexibility of asynchronous learning or the immediacy of real-time synchronous learning. In this topic, we provide guiding principles to apply when considering the role of synchronous instruction in your online course.

What do I need to consider when deciding how to apply asynchronous and/or synchronous instruction in my online course?

Asynchronous online learning allows learners to engage with materials at their own pace whenever it is convenient for them.

Asynchronous approaches allow students to access materials (i.e. posted videos, readings, lecture recordings, discussion posts, etc.) during the time of the week that works most effectively for them. Asynchronous approaches are generally respectful of students’ time and supportive of students in their efforts to balance their studies with work and personal responsibilities.

Asynchronous online learning approaches can be effectively utilized to engage your students in a variety of ways.

Instructors can make great use of multiple forms of media and deploy a range of interactive learning of interactive learning tools available within the learning management system to engage students in individual and group work. Instructors can also utilize asynchronous online learning approaches to immerse students in course content, provide mechanisms for student demonstrations of learning, and support interactions with instructors, exports and peers.

Asynchronous online learning is able to accommodate diverse student learning needs and allows instructors to meet accessibility requirements proactively.

Such approaches are sensitive to differences in access to web-enabled technologies and internet connectivity and enable students to learn at their own pace by working through readings, examples, practice materials, and revisiting content when needed. Asynchronous delivery is conducive to letting students take the time that is needed to process ideas offered by others and compose their own thoughts before contributing to class discussions.

Synchronous online delivery provides an immediacy in teaching and learning that asynchronous delivery does not.

Synchronous online learning happens in real-time (i.e. live webinars or lectures, virtual office hours, live student presentations). Synchronous approaches are effective when the instructor has determined that direct sharing of content or information, with opportunities for students to ask questions or respond dynamically and quickly to prompts, is best. For this reason, instructors may choose to hold synchronous office hours or use synchronous instruction to complement asynchronous learning opportunities.

Synchronous learning opportunities can be helpful in developing social connections among students and instructors.

There is some evidence that connections built using synchronous learning opportunities can contribute to the creation of peer learning networks. Synchronous engagements can also help students to feel like participants rather than recipients of learning, but only when students are able to attend during the scheduled time and are equipped and properly accommodated in their learning.

When not all students can participate or learn with appropriate supports, the decision to rely on synchronous online instruction presents barriers to access and inclusion. It is important to consider and plan for these challenges.

For students who do not have reliable access to suitable web-enabled technologies and internet connectivity, are situated in different time zones, have unpredictable work or family commitments, or are experiencing illness, participation in scheduled synchronous sessions may be impossible. Similarly, for students who require specific learning accommodations, the synchronous learning environment may pose challenges.  For a great list of pedagogical, logistical and ethical questions you might ask yourself before deciding to use synchronous instruction in your course, scroll to the bottom of this article, An Affinity for Asynchronous Instruction.

The perceived benefits of synchronous instruction should be weighed against the potential inequities in student access to instruction that synchronous online teaching can create.

When applied, synchronous instruction should be used judiciously and in concert with asynchronous teaching strategies to support all students in their efforts to participate in and contribute meaningfully to their learning.

What are some principles I might follow when using synchronous instructional approaches in my online course?

For quick reference, download this one-page summary of the Guiding Principles for Synchronous Online Delivery.

Synchronous learning opportunities are best carried out by using institutionally supported technology.

Niagara College faculty, students, and staff have access to robust, enterprise-level software that allows for interactive web-conferencing, screen sharing, file sharing, and recording. The web-conferencing platform Collaborate Ultra is integrated into each Blackboard course site. Collaborate Ultra sessions can quickly be created allowing students seamless access to both virtual rooms and session recordings which are automatically rendered to the course site once complete. Technical and pedagogical supports are available for our institutional web-conferencing tools and these tools have been thoroughly vetted and meet high standards for data privacy and security.

We recommend that you avoid using other web-conferencing platforms, such as Zoom, Google Hangouts, and GoToMeeting, for academic purposes because these platforms have not been institutionally vetted and may have inherent privacy and accessibility limitations that place both faculty and students at risk. In addition, there is no technical or teaching support available through the college for faculty who choose to make use of these tools. 

Synchronous learning opportunities scheduled at regular times and consistent intervals are more predictable and will be more accessible to all students enrolled in the course.

Informing students of the date and time of any synchronous learning opportunities well in advance using multiple formal communication methods will assist them in coordinating their personal schedules and will increase the likelihood that they will be able to participate in your sessions. If you plan to host regular synchronous learning opportunities such as virtual office hours, meetings with students, help sessions or some lesson provision, we recommend that these sessions be scheduled at regular and consistent intervals and times. Some synchronous sessions, such as exam or test review sessions, may occur with less regularity. However, students should also be made aware of any such opportunities well in advance.

It is more equitable not to require students to attend synchronous sessions and to provide timely access to any course content delivered synchronously after delivery.

Students may not be available to attend synchronous online sessions for a variety of reasons, including illness, inconsistent access to the internet or web-enabled devices, and unpredictable work or family commitments. These issues are currently exacerbated because of physical distancing restrictions and the impact of COVID-19. To promote equitable and compassionate learning environments, students who are not able to attend synchronous online sessions should not be penalized or disadvantaged and the course content should be made available to them through the posting of session recordings and associated documents.

Remember to articulate clear learning outcomes for any synchronous lesson and communicate these well in advance along with any instructions for preparation students should complete prior to the lesson.

It is important that students understand both the purpose of any synchronous lesson and its intended outcomes. This will help them to focus their attention during the session and, should they be unavailable to attend, will help them to identify the most salient information when they review the session recording and other available resources. These outcomes should be communicated to all students in advance of the synchronous lesson. In addition, any instructions regarding advanced preparation for synchronous lessons should be shared with all students in a timely fashion.

Offering students opportunities to ask questions and build relationships with their instructor and peers during synchronous lessons promotes active student engagement and better learning.

Synchronous sessions can help to build rapport between faculty and students and can offer valuable opportunities for students to gauge their own understanding, ask critical questions, and seek feedback from their instructor and peers. To achieve these benefits, synchronous lessons must involve active learning. The presentation of lecture slides can be accomplished through a lecture recording. Synchronous lessons should include more than presentation of content. You may choose to make frequent use of interactive whiteboard features, chat functionality, polling, and break-out rooms as appropriate to ensure that students’ have the opportunity to check their understanding and resolve misconceptions during synchronous lessons.

Be mindful that sustained student attention and effort is challenging so consider chunking your synchronous lessons into logical, cohesive segments.

To enable students to engage most effectively with synchronous lessons, it is important to limit the length of these sessions.  Student attention and working memory are finite resources, particularly in our current situation where students are likely to be juggling multiple concerns, including worries about their health and the health of family members, limited or unpredictable internet and device access, and potential financial hardships.

An important concept in online learning is the notion of content ‘chunking’. Content chunking is the strategy of breaking up information into shorter, bite-size pieces that are easier to comprehend, learn, and commit to memory. Cognitive psychologists have demonstrated that in the online environment, when students have fewer cues about the relative importance of various pieces of content, chunking becomes even more essential to supporting student learning. The same is true for synchronous sessions. We recommend limiting the length of synchronous sessions and focusing on essential lesson objectives and topics – particularly those that will be most difficult for students to absorb on their own and would benefit from in depth examples and additional conversation and questioning.

Consider establishing and communicating guidelines for appropriate and respectful online communication prior to or during your first synchronous lesson.

To ensure that online communication with and between students supports learning, it will be important to establish shared expectations and guidelines for respectful communication. You might generate your own list of expectations and share them with students or invite students to co-create an online code of conduct.

Niagara College’s Student Rights and Responsibilities Office (SRRO) has generated a list of netiquette tips for online learning. These are available for download from the SRRO homepage at https://www.niagaracollege.ca/srro/. Additional online communication guideline recommendations are available from the University of Waterloo’s Centre for Teaching Excellence at https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/teaching-tips-learning-activities/student-guidelines-communicating-online-professional.

To support class rapport and decorum, apply settings to limit student access to interactive synchronous communication tools as appropriate.

There have been unfortunate instances in which inappropriate, vulgar or hateful speech and imagery have been shared during synchronous sessions. When using a synchronous platform to communicate with students it is important to understand available communication features, including video functionality and private chatting, and it is critical to set appropriate limits on their use. For more information on establishing session settings for Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, visit https://help.blackboard.com/Collaborate/Ultra/Moderator/Schedule_Sessions/Session_Settings.

Given the complexities of synchronous online teaching and learning, it is best not to perceive or use participation in synchronous sessions as a measure of student involvement and engagement in an online course.

Some students’ abilities to engage in synchronous learning will be impacted by circumstances beyond their immediate control, such as illness, limited or no access to web-enabled devices and stable internet connections, or the need to care for family members. For this reason, participation in synchronous learning sessions should not be counted as ‘attendance’ and caution should be applied when considering participation in synchronous sessions as a formal or informal measure of student engagement in any course.

Remember that synchronous lessons, like all of our methods of instruction, must adhere to AODA regulations and required accommodations, such as live captioning, must be made available for students.

NC students must be able to access course materials equitably and meaningfully contribute to their learning. Synchronous online lessons can pose inherent accessibility challenges, particularly for students with visual, hearing, and cognitive impairments. Faculty should be aware of these limitations when designing synchronous learning opportunities and should also become familiar with the accessibility tools and features available within the synchronous learning platform that they are using. If a faculty member receives a Letter of Accommodation and has concerns about whether synchronous instruction will pose a barrier for a specific student, they should connect with the assigned Accessibility Consultant as soon as possible to seek additional information and guidance.

If graded activities are conducted within synchronous sessions, it is recommended that an equitable alternative be made available for students who are unable to attend.

As mentioned previously, students’ abilities to engage in synchronous learning are likely to be impacted by circumstances beyond their immediate control, such as illness, limited or no access to web-enabled devices and stable internet connections, or the need to care for family members. Therefore, it is recommended that you make asynchronous alternatives available for any graded activities that take place within a synchronous session.

Recording, captioning and posting synchronous lessons to Blackboard course sites supports persistent access to course resources for all students.

Providing access to recordings of lessons and review sessions intended for the entire class and delivered synchronously will enable students to return to these resources on an on-going basis to support their learning.   To meet accessibility standards, recordings of synchronous sessions should be accurately closed-captioned.

For more information on recording Collaborate Ultra sessions and uploading them to Microsoft Stream for captioning and transcription, please visit the CAE Video Library.

Posting raw files shared during synchronous instruction to their Blackboard course sites (i.e. PowerPoint slides, documents, images) is conducive to supporting student learning.

In the interest of ensuring equity and inclusion for students, faculty may choose to load any files shared or screencast by the instructor during a synchronous lesson to the Blackboard course site in their original form. This can be especially helpful for students with accommodations so that they can review the documents using assistive technologies when necessary, changing font sizes and colours and other document features to support their understanding. In addition to students with formal accommodations, access to the raw files can be helpful for any students who would like to make additional notes or review information in a more detailed way.