ASYNCHRONOUS AND SYCNRHONOUS SESSIONS IN ONLINE COURSES: GRADUATE STUDENTS PERCEPTIONS

摘要

Asynchronous and synchronous courses are offered in higher education for students enrolled in online learning.Asynchronous courses are usually available anytime for students; synchronous sessions vary, such as the time theyare offered, length, frequency, and content covered in the session. Preferences of graduate students regarding theironline courses are explored. The courses analyzed in this study are project-based, fully available asynchronously,and voluntary synchronous sessions are offered by the instructor on a weekly basis. Since all the content of the courseis available on the course site, it was found that graduate students prefer short voluntary live sessions, offered lessfrequently, where key points are addressed by the instructor. Recordings of the synchronous sessions were alsopreferred by students, since, due to time constraints, they are not able to attend to the synchronous meetings. Thisstudy analyzed perceptions of graduate students regarding their preferences of synchronous and asynchronousmodalities in the courses they are enrolled. Some recommendations for designers and faculty teaching online coursesare discussed at the end of the article.