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There
are two distance education
delivery systems: Synchronous and, Asynchronous.
Synchronous instruction
requires
the simultaneous
participation of all students and instructors.
Synchronous instruction means the
student and the
teacher are interacting at the same time.
The advantage of
synchronous instruction is that interaction is done in
"real time" and has an immediacy.
Examples include
interactive telecourses, teleconferencing and web
conferencing, and Internet chats.
Students do not need to
be gathered together in the same location, but they need
to be at the same time.
Students may
choose their own instructional time frame and
interact with the learning materials and instructor
according to their
schedules.
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Asynchronous instruction
does not require
the simultaneous
participation of all students and instructors.
Asynchronous instruction
is just the opposite;
the teacher and the
student interact, but not at the same time. There
usually is a time delay in communication between the teacher
and student in asynchronous instruction.
Asynchronous instruction
is more flexible than synchronous instruction but
experience shows that time limits are necessary to main
focus and participation.
The self-paced format
accommodates multiple learning levels and schedules.
Examples of asynchronous
delivery include e-mail, listservs, audiocassette
courses, videotaped courses, correspondence courses, and
WWW-based courses.
The advantages of
asynchronous delivery include student choice of location
and time, and interaction opportunities among the
students as well as the instructor.
One disadvantage is that
self paced instruction places a substantial burden on
the student to maintain interest, focus, and pace. This
motivation can be difficult to sustain.
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