The Forms of Online Learning Communication Technologies

If you have decided to continue or pursue a higher education course through electronic or online learning, your next step is to choose the appropriate and relevant electronic learning method or form of the communication technologies you would use. The communication technologies used in electronic learning are categorised as asynchronous, synchronous and blended methods.

The synchronous communication of online learning is an activity occurring in real time when the communications between the students and the online instructor or faculty are instantaneous, interactive and happening at the same time. The exchange of ideas, knowledge, skills and other information is happening at the same period of time. The examples of synchronous communication includes an online chat session and virtual classroom.

The asynchronous communication is an activity in which the communications between the instructor and students are not occurring instantaneous and in real time. The interaction of the instructor and students in the exchange of ideas, knowledge, skills and other information can happen without all the participants necessarily present within the actual and same time period. The examples of asynchronous communication includes video/audio conferencing, online blogs, discussion forums or message boards, and wikis.

The blended or hybrid learning is a mixture of using online learning technologies together with traditional campus-based educational learning methods. In the blended learning, the students would take several lecture sessions in a classroom located in the campus of an educational institution and they would also participate in campus-based activities such as laboratory experiments and workshops. The students would also take online learning classes such e-mails, online forums and take their exams online.

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