Synchronous Online Learning... and Teaching

Until recently, when LinkedIn asked me to contribute to an article about it, I hadn't heard of the term synchronous online learning. But it's much more descriptive than just saying online learning, which holds many different types of learning (some considerably more challenging than this type) for the student. I'm finishing the yearly course, "Landscape and Environmental Science in English," for my alma mater in Japan. I teach this course to the entire junior class at my university department. They are lovely students, and I look forward to teaching this class every year. The first year I taught, it was primarily in person. I've seen the difference between teaching the course in person and remotely in both asynchronous and synchronous online learning platforms. Here, I will give my perspectives on why synchronous online learning can improve your academic experience as a student. Although optimally, I would like to teach face-to-face, it's not feasible in my current situation. That being said, teaching synchronous online learning has a balance of advantages and disadvantages. Although I want to see them in person, feel the room out, walk around, and have the natural situation of being in the classroom with my students, that's the only negative that I can see for synchronous online learning. I don't feel as though I'm unable to engage my students. Because I was trained at Sonoma State University's Linguistics Department in Teaching English as a Second Language and subsequently taught for 10 years as a native language teacher in Japan, I learned many tactics for engaging students that perhaps other university lecturers might not know about. Questioning the students, providing them with a range of mental and physical actions that they can take inside and outside the lecture time, the use of realia, and finally providing boundaries by letting them know the importance of classroom participation through substantial grading and verbal warnings tend to be pretty motivating for many students. Also, the scheduled time allows them to be prepared with their preparatory materials for the lesson, and they know they must be there or their grade will go down, further motivating them. I use my phone to provide extra points to students who participate, and breakout rooms allow the students to engage with each other in real time. We also have classroom discussions on different topics; the 1.5 hours don't feel long enough. I know that for some lecturers, keeping the camera on is not required; it is in each of my 35-student classes. This allows engagement with others and shows them that other students are in the class, giving it a more natural classroom feel. My classes are interdisciplinary, and I teach the students as much about real life as possible, providing real-life reasons why they need to have critical thinking skills or know English, so much so that they have repeatedly told me they would not have been exposed to these otherwise. I'm also very encouraging to them, and I let them know that whoever they are, they are valued, and their perspectives and their thoughts are essential for the future. This kind of respect and love towards one's students, no matter their age or the subject, allows them to feel like they can move forward and empowers them as students and as people who will soon be acting as adults. It also improves rapport in the classroom and with the teacher. None of these things require the teacher to be in the same room with the students. However, it does require the teacher to be able to interact with the students in real-time. Another advantage of synchronous online learning is that the students and teacher can be almost anywhere that is relatively quiet with an internet connection and still attend the class. Many of my students join me from their homes or cafes. They can stay after class or message me if they need to talk to me. Overall, I have seen that these classes are convenient for the students. They can answer quizzes, have conversations, and do the work from almost anywhere. They have a set schedule, so they don't have to worry about making their own schedule, and all they need is their computer or phone. They know the requirements, which makes them feel like they can succeed as long as they try. They can converse with classmates and interact with the class without being there. As time passes, I continually refine my methods for the synchronous online classes. It's got its challenges because technology is constantly changing. Still, because of the convenience and connection it provides to people in diverse geographical locations, it has been a boon in my life, and as far as I can tell from my students, it has been the same for them.