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“Synchronous communication provides a sense of immediateness and cultivates the feeling of responsiveness among participants. It also results in quick problem-solving. Real-time chat is probably the most exhausting and intensive activity you will ever encounter in online teaching.
Your attention must be attuned to rapid-fire comments and questions from several learners.
It is best to plan a live collaboration chat with your learners early on.
That can be achieved with a live class or webinar.”
Putting it into practice:
These days it easy to hear word synchronous and automatically think about Zoom Meetings. However, there are a variety of tools that are available to students for synchronous class experiences without relying solely on Zoom. Below you will find some resources and ideas with how they can be used in the classroom.
- Synchronous versus Asynchronous – Short video on what type of activities lend themselves to synchronous or asynchronous activities.
- Google apps: MSU provides access to free google apps suite with unlimited storage. You may be familiar with Google Drive, but if you use the following URL and login with your MSU credentials you can create files and storage that is automatically available to the MSU Community. Most of the Google apps suite allows for real-time collaboration and commenting. Another benefit is that all Google files have their own web address which makes it extremely easy to share in D2L or a website.
- Note: Google applications are not always available in other countries. Due to the unpredictable nature of national firewalls, there aren’t guarantees regarding what applications will work or which ones won’t. Therefore it is good to provide alternative options.
- Microsoft Teams – Provides a balance of asynchronous and synchronous activity. You can use the following link to provision a Microsoft Team to supplement your D2L course. Your students will automatically be added to your course.