Conducting an Online Synchronous Class

Lesson Delivery, Digital Learning

In an online classroom environment, learning activities that are conducted ‘live’ and offer meaningful interactive face-to-face interaction are commonly referred to as synchronous learning activities (Harris et al., 2009; Simonson et al., 2012). Such lessons require instructors and students to be on an online platform at the same time where students participate in learning activities while instructors are present to respond to their learning needs. Studies have shown that participants in such learning interventions experience high levels of social presence and active learning due largely to the immediacy of real-time and dynamic interaction (Bower et al., 2015).

Planning

Planning to teach in a synchronous online environment for the first time may seem daunting. Questions such as how students will react to your instructional strategies and how to engage them to ensure lesson objectives are met will no doubt come to mind.

Design your lesson

The Community of Inquiry (COI) Framework suggests that a positive online learning experience involves three presences – social, cognitive, and teaching.

You could plan your lesson to ensure the following:

• SOCIAL: Students have opportunities to participate and play a more active role in the lesson e.g. using chat and poll functions.
• COGNITIVE: There are varied learning tasks that allow students to interact and share their views through different channels e.g. use of quizzes, allocating time for discussions via chat function and presentations, etc.
• TEACHING: Time is allocated during the online session to respond to student queries as well as to check for their level of understanding e.g. Q&A segments. 

Get support from your Teaching Assistant (TA)

Arrange to do a test session with your TA and brief them on how they can support you during the actual session. If your TA is not familiar with the use of the platform you are using, you can refer them to the eLearn team or CTE. Having a TA’s support is helpful as this allows you to focus on conducting the session while your TA monitors students’ progress and any students' requests for assistance. If your TA is in the same room, it is advisable that they use headphones with a microphone to follow the lesson. They should also mute their microphones so as to avoid sound interferences.

TAs could support you in the following areas:

• Take attendance by tallying names of online participants against the class list
• Resolve simple technical issues e.g. audio. Instruct students to communicate with your TA directly (by selecting the TA’s name instead of chatting with ‘Everybody’) via the chat function for one-to-one troubleshooting matters
• Manage students’ queries on the chat function
• Keep track of students’ participation
• Alert you in case of technical issues e.g. audio, slides not presented.
• Help to test if other students’ can display their screen and if their audio is working during the intermission or discussion breakout time

Check your equipment and test in advance

Do conduct your lesson in a quiet area and advise students to do likewise as a noisy environment is likely to interfere with learning. Students have also been similarly advised in the Student Quick Guide.

Check that your computer or laptop is connected to the internet, either via Wi-Fi or ethernet cable (preferred), and that your headset (microphone and headphones) and webcam is working. While the laptop microphone and in-built speakers typically work well, a dedicated headset with microphone (see sample picture) will reduce any external noise, avoid feedback, and enhance clarity.

Preparation

Unlike face-to-face sessions, non-verbal cues and other class routines which are often taken for granted in class may not always be available as part of your teaching repertoire. Hence, providing students with a clear set of instructions and routines is critical in ensuring a smooth and uninterrupted online learning experience.

Provide clear instructions to your students

Prior to class, do provide clear instructions such as the date and time of your online session as well as login instructions. This can be done during the previous lesson, email, or through the eLearn platform. 

Arrive early, check audio and slides

To ensure your lesson begins on time, do advise students to access Webex early, preferably 5-10 minutes before the start time. Make use of this time to test your microphone and to check if students can see the slides.

Here are 3 quick steps you could follow:

1. Say “Hello class! Can everyone hear me? If you can hear me, please click on the raise hand function.”
2. For those who did not respond, ask your TA to drop them a private message via the chat function to get them to check if their laptop speakers or headset audio settings could have been accidentally muted.
3. Once the audio issues (if any) are resolved, proceed to check if students can see the slides.

Create a welcoming atmosphere

When students join an online session and do not hear or see anything on the screen, they may get panicky and wonder if they are in the right session. To set up a warm welcoming mood, it is recommended that there be an introduction slide with a note which says something like "Welcome! You have successfully joined the (course name) session. The session will start shortly at 9:00 am".

Presentation and Facilitation

Here are recommended baseline best practices when facilitating your online session.

Communicate and follow a set of clear expectations

Start by informing your students about the format of the online session, expected duration and topics that you would be covering. Announce how you would like to take their questions. It is recommended that Q&A segments are introduced at appropriate checkpoints in the session and also at the end of the session. The questions can be asked through the chat function, and you can respond verbally through your microphone.

Present effectively

Slides: Consider using a deck of presentation slides as your base presentation materials for students to refer to. The recommended minimum font size is 18. Avoid streaming of videos during the sessions to avoid lag. Instead share the video link for students to view on their own prior to class. 

Annotations: You can inject energy into your presentation by using a variety of annotation tools. Highlight key points and information as you talk about them. Use the annotation tools like pencil, pointer tool, or laser pointer to direct your students’ attention. This is in line with the Signalling principle where the attention of the students is directed to the critical aspects of the learning material. Studies have shown that such a technique helps students learn better by positively influencing information processing, namely visual selection of relevant information from a complex perceptual stimulus and its organization and integration of that information with prior knowledge and the verbal explanation provided by the instructor (Jarodzka et al, 2013).

Engage and interact with your students

Interact with your students and keep them engaged and focused on your presentation. Consider segmenting your lecturing segments with various activities such as the use of polls or chat. Experimental tests have shown that students learn more deeply when they are allowed to process what they have learned before having to move to the next topic, yielding a median effect size of d= 0.79 (Mayer & Chandler, 2001).

Polls: You could introduce polls and ask specific students if they agree with poll results and invite them to defend their stand. As part of the preparation process, you could prepare poll questions in advance and insert them into the presentation.

Chat: You could also leverage the chat function during your presentation as an informal way of getting students to ask questions or to provide feedback. This provides a backend channel for your students to share their ideas and allows you to collect valuable information from them. 

Not every question needs to be answered by you. Just like in a real class, you might have certain highly capable students wanting to jump in and contribute. Simply check if anyone would like to respond via the chat.

Wrap up the session

Do a final check-in on your students and allow them some time to ask questions or seek clarification via the chat function. Use a slide to show students what they are expected to prepare before coming to the next session. Thank the class and hang around for another 2-3 minutes before ending the session in case students would like to ask questions.