What Is A Course Anyway?
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Let’s start with what an online course is not. An online course should not be:
| uploading Powerpoints to Blackboard for learners to work through | |
| sharing your lecture notes in PDF or .docx version |
The problem here is that these approaches put the onus on the learner to teach themselves the content. You are not explaining how ideas connect, or shepherding them through the materials.
In an online course, even though you may not be directly delivering the information to each learner, you are still responsible for teaching them.
So, what should an online course look like instead? An online course will be delivered in one of three ways:
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Synchronous
All teaching occurs during live sessions that are usually delivered over video. Learners are required to log in a specific day and time each week. During live sessions, you will present information, facilitate learning activities, and evaluate learners’ understanding.
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Asynchronous
All teaching materials are provided for learners to work through at their own pace independently. Learners can complete this work on days and times that are convenient for them. When information is delivered asynchronously, teaching must happen by adding written explanations and learning activities into the content so that learners are guided through their lessons.
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Hybrid
A combination of the two approaches you have just explored, this delivery option will provide some synchronous materials for learners to work through, but then they will attend a regularly scheduled live virtual or face-to-face class as well. A hybrid course allows for many possible combinations of synchronous and asynchronous learning activities.
Synchronous and asynchronous online learning each have their uses, depending on what you are trying to achieve, and the guidance you have received from your department. If you have the ability to choose your own delivery style, or you’d like to know more about the strengths and weaknesses of the delivery mode you have been assigned, consider the following charts from the University of Waterloo, which present the pros and cons of each approach. Remember, hybrid courses blend synchronous and asynchronous learning.
Synchronous Advantages
- Learners can ask questions and get answers in real-time, as the session is proceeding.
- The instructor can gauge the learners' understanding in real-time, and adjust the session accordingly.
- Learners feel an increased sense of the instructor actually “being there”.
- Instructors can facilitate workshop-style classes and run breakout group activities.
- Live chats or office hours allow for real-time interaction, like a conversation.
- Synchronous sessions provide a schedule to help learners who struggle with task initiation to stay on track.
Synchronous Disadvantages
- Some learners might not be able to participate at the required time due to technical or scheduling problems. They may be in different time zones.
- Some learners may lack a private space for study at the time of day when your lessons are scheduled.
- AODA (accessibility) requirements may be more difficult to meet—for example, providing accurate captioning for a live presentation.
Adapted from the Keep Learning Website, University of Waterloo. Licenced under CC BY-NC 4.0.
Asynchronous Advantages
- Recorded sessions allow learners time to digest the session content and/or conduct further research before posing questions in a discussion group. This is better for more deliberate thinkers and also, in some cases, for learners whose first language is not English.
- Learners can access the course content, and initiate or respond to interactions with the instructor and their peers, when it best suits their schedule.
- Learners can re-watch recorded sessions to deepen their learning, or to review content prior to a final exam. Learners can likewise review threads in discussion groups long after those discussions have taken place.
- More democratic: during a live session, only a small number of learners will be able to ask questions; in an online discussion group all learners can pose questions or make comments.
- Allows learners to work around unanticipated challenges such as falling sick for a week, or dealing with a family emergency.
Asynchronous Disadvantages
- Learners might feel less connected to an instructor when they are watching a recorded session.
- Learners might feel less connected to the course overall when they do not see their classmates.
- Learners might put off engaging with a recorded session because they can always “do it later.”
- Asynchronous learning requires significant task initiation skills since none of the class time is scheduled, only the assessment deadlines.
- Asynchronous learning requires a higher level of commitment and independent learning skills.
Adapted from the Keep Learning Website, University of Waterloo. Licenced under CC BY-NC 4.0.
Which kind of course are you developing? The following pages present tips for each of the delivery options listed here. Feel free to skip any pages which do not apply to you.