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The Online Synchronous Teaching Guide

Goals For Online Synchronous

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Plan Your Sessions

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Teach Your Sessions

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Design Your Moodle Course

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Prepare Students to Learn

Example Classroom Ideas

TRU Technologies Available

What is Online Synchronous?

According to the draft definitions from the TRUly Flexible initiative, Online Synchronous is a mode of teaching where courses are delivered entirely online in a live, synchronous format with the same academic schedule and contact hours as in-person courses. Students and their instructor are co-present in a synchronous online environment and participate in ways similar to an in person course.

Advantages

  • Provides opportunity for asking and answering of questions in real time, as they come up 
  • Provides opportunity for spontaneous interaction and exchange between students and with the instructor 
  • Provides opportunity for instructors to check in with students and get feedback on their learning 
  • Adds the “human” element 
  • Builds classroom community through real-time interaction
  • Increases the number of “social” interactions (interactions not related to course content)

Disadvantages

Synchronous learning can widen the divide for learners with:

  • Certain disabilities 
  • Unstable Internet access 
  • Inequitable access to device and other equipment
  • Caregiving responsibilities 
  • No access to a suitable space to participate 
  • Time zone differences

References

Delivery and Engagement Modes for Each Course Element by University of Guelph, Office of Teaching & Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning II by Centre for Teaching and Learning, Concordia University is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0