University of Illinois CITL: Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning
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Student Connections
Synchronous Sessions

Synchronous teaching allows online students to interact with instructor and peers in real time. Several research studies have indicated synchronous sessions in an online course improve students’ sense of community and social presence (McBrien, Cheng & Jones, 2009; Oztok, Zingaro, Brett, & Hewitt, 2013).

Best Practices

Below are links to best practices we suggest reviewing before hosting your synchronous sessions.
 

REFERENCES

McBrien, J. L., Cheng, R., & Jones, P. (2009). Virtual spaces: Employing a synchronous onlineclassroom to facilitate student engagement in online learning. The International Review ofResearch in Open and Distributed Learning, 10(3).

Oztok, M., Zingaro, D., Brett, C., & Hewitt, J. (2013). Exploring asynchronous and synchronoustool use in online courses. Computers & Education, 60(1), 87-94.