It’s Time to Embrace the Asynchronous Mindset
It’s about more than just going digital. It’s about new ways of thinking about teaching and learning that meet twenty-first century needs.
Teachers face an important choice in hybrid and remote learning environments: should I use synchronous or asynchronous instruction?
By synchronous instruction, we’re talking about teaching and learning activities that are happening in real time. Students see us and hear us as words exit our lips. They can respond immediately. They can ask questions and expect instant answers.
This is the essence of the traditional classroom experience. And to some extent, we can try to replicate this kind of instruction and learning in online environments. Try.
When we talk about asynchronous instruction, we mean instruction that was created previously and stored digitally in the cloud. When students consume asynchronous content, they often cannot interact with the teacher in real time the same way they can in a classroom setting. But they can access these learning resources at any time, from any place, as many times and in whatever manner they wish.
There are pros and cons for each type of instruction, of course. Age and grade level are important variables, too. Younger students are generally more reliant on synchronous instruction or real-time…
