When delivering e-learning, you will need to decide if your training is going to be delivered in a synchronous or asynchronous manner. This article sheds light on the differences between these two methods and the benefits of the asynchronous approach.
Synchronous means that things are happening at the same time. Asynchronous means that things are happening at different times.
If a teacher in Lagos is teaching an on-site class, or if an online class is being taught in real time, it is happening synchronously, as teacher and learners are communicating within the same time frame.
If a teacher in Lagos is teaching students who come in at different times, either because they are in different geographical areas and/or just come in when its convenient, they are participating asynchronously.
Here are the top 5
reasons why we think asynchronous learning is awesome:
1. Scalability of delivery
A huge advantage of
online learning is that it is inherently easy to scale. Once you have
created asynchronous learning you can push it out to as many people
as you want all around the world. There are no scheduling challenges,
geographic barriers or device restrictions.
2. Learner controls the pace
Asynchronous learning allows the learner to access information at their own pace and at their own convenience. Since there is no finite time frame, the learner follows their own schedule and can move at the pace that is best suited to their learning needs.
3. Combine the knowledge of multiple experts into one learning experience
Combine a number of great subject matter experts, teachers and instructors into one learning experience. The knowledge in an online asynchronous course can be built by groups of people to pool together the best of the best in learning.
4. Learning can be built on and improved
When you create
asynchronous content, you can continuously refine and improve it as
time goes on. In synchronous environments, a learning experience is
finite and only happens at one place in time. Asynchronous learning
has the ability to grow and evolve into better learning over time.
5. Allows individualization of learning
Each person is unique, and elearning allows us to cater to individual learning needs. The interactivity of asynchronous learning allows you to take the best from one-on-one learning in synchronous environment and create a highly personalized experience for the learner. Asynchronous learning provides the ability to optimize each learning experience for each individual, since digital learning supports all learning styles equally.
For real change in education to occur, traditional approaches to learning and development must give way to the advantages of modern digital learning experiences. Asynchronous learning is just one of many advantages of elearning over traditional instructor led training. Technology allows us to cater to all learning styles, adjust the pace, and enable mass customization, through scalable, localizable learning that supports aligning learning outcomes to business drivers to track measurable ROI.