To Try: Synchronous conferencing

Getting Ready

Synchronous technologies have enabled people from all over the world to exchange information via conversation, file transfer, imaging, and interactive elements in real time

Important terms

• Asynchronous technologies - when there is a delay in the participation of the participants since “asynchronous” means “something not occurring at the same time or delay between two or more points”.
• Synchronous technologies - when there is no or very little delay (limited only by the speed and availability of the Internet connection) in the participation of the participants.

When ICT is used in an asynchronous learning environment, each student has the flexibility to choose the time when to participate in the engagement and a location that suits them. With the internet, cloud technology and faster networks, it has become possible for students and teachers to all use technology at the same time in different settings. Students could, for example, all turn on their web cameras on their laptop devices, see each other and the presenter and communicate with each other. We call this type of teaching “synchronous conferencing”

A synchronous conference requires preparation. A lecturer cannot simply turn on their phone or computer, launch the tool (be it Skype, WebEx, Adobe Connect, Zoom, Google Hangouts etc) and hope for the best

One of the common issues with synchronous conferencing is that when people hear the term, they assume a TV broadcast mentality, where one or a few people deliver content to a wider audience and then there is the possibility of question and answers at the end.