“Synchronous” activities are those that take place at a scheduled time and place, such as in a classroom or, with an online course, in a live web conference or chat room. “Asynchronous” activities are those for which the student determines the time and place to complete work, which is an advantage for people like parents and working students who need a flexible schedule in order to pursue their education. Traditional classrooms also incorporate asynchronous activities — ever heard of homework? — but online classrooms tend to rely more heavily on the asynchronous completion of assignments.
Online learning is best suited to the highly motivated student who is willing to take the full responsibility for his or her own learning. Given how easy it is to ignore coursework in favor of social events, trashy TV marathons, and all the other distractions that life has to offer, online learners must be particularly diligent with time management. You must gauge how much time it takes to complete assignments and organize your personal schedule accordingly — which is easier said than done. The advantage is that you have the flexibility to work at your own pace and schedule.
This is a simple but overlooked truth: In an online course, up to 100% of your classroom materials will consist of assigned reading (with the occasional multimedia presentation). This is not the case in traditional classroom settings, which rely more heavily on lectures and face-‐to-‐ face interaction. If you struggle to get through reading-‐based learning, you may struggle in an online classroom.
As noted above, online education heavily relies on written material; if you get stuck on something, your professor and peers won’t necessarily be readily available to provide feedback on the spot, though effective professors will make themselves available through a variety of methods, including online office hours. On the flipside, if you prefer to take your time to develop responses to course material and peers’ comments, you may prefer this lag time in the learning process.
In a traditional classroom setting, writing skills represent just one of the tools you use to communicate; while important, writing usually complements other forms of communication and assessment, notably in-‐person dialogue and presentations. If you’re not a solid writer, you can usually compensate with these other forms of communication in a traditional classroom. With online learning, the bulk of assignments and class communication is written and via email or instant messaging, so solid writing skills are essential for success. This is true not only for written assignments, but also for interacting with fellow students and your professors; if you are unable to concisely articulate what you need or don’t understand, you will waste time over miscommunications and ambiguities
The old “dog ate my homework” excuse has been replaced with “the Internet went out” or “the program froze before I could save my 200-‐page report.” But these excuses are just that — excuses — and your professors don’t want to hear it. Online learning requires a higher level of digital literacy, or the ability to navigate, evaluate, and create information using a range of digital technologies, including an online course management system (i.e. the website where your lessons, assignments, and other materials are stored and made accessible to the students in the class). It doesn’t mean you need to learn programming languages, but it does mean you can’t balk at the emerging technologies that are being employed by online programs. In fact, the most successful online students embrace these technologies and increase their own digital IQ independent of the online classroom.
In a traditional classroom setting, the loudest or most forceful student often gains the advantage in discussion. But in a chat room or instant messaging forum, each student stands on equal footing, including with the professor. This can result in a more even, open discussion, but it also gives the quick, skilled writer an advantage, particularly in content areas and classes that involve debate.
In a traditional classroom setting, the professor is the indisputable leader of the learning process; they stand in the front of the room, call on people, and maintain authority over the chalkboard. In an online classroom, the professor is still the authority figure, but their role is reduced to facilitating the students’ digestion of and response to the information. Less instructor supervision means more student autonomy
While traditional classroom settings offer opportunities to network with peers on your campus, online classrooms may contain students from all over the world. If you find it easier to network face-‐to-‐face, you will obviously prefer the traditional setting, but the advantages of the larger networking pool of locations and personalities will give a different atmosphere to the classroom dynamic.
The learning process in a traditional classroom is inevitably a group activity, but the bulk of online learning takes place individually or, depending on the online class structure and content area, in small groups. However, camaraderie can be developed in both traditional and online settings; in fact, many online learners report that they interact with their peers more through synchronous and asynchronous online class discussions than in a traditional setting. But at the end of the day, it’s up to you, sitting alone in front of your computer, likely with a large mug of coffee at your side — because you can take the student out of the classroom, but you certainly can’t decaffeinate them.
Retreived from: http://top5onlinecolleges.org/differences-between-online-and-traditional-college-settings/
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