"There were lots of reasons for professors to avoid synchronous instruction at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Students are scattered across different times zones, their access to computers and reliable internet varies, and everyday schedules have changed. It’s also hard to teach a 10 a.m. class live when you keep getting booted off your own videoconference, for example, or when students don’t show up because they’re caring for their families or have other responsibilities at that time."—Source: Inside Higher Ed
WHY THIS MATTERS:
Nearly two months into the remote learning shift, it is clear that synchronous classes via Zoom are keeping university moving along, but is this model fully sustainable for instructors? This author makes a case for a mix of synchronous and asynchronous methods and pedagogical modalities if campuses must remain closed until the fall semester.
