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Important Terms to Know

Online courses can be structured in a variety of ways: synchronous, asynchronous, self-paced, gradual release, etc. Before we launch into course design and development, there are few decisions you will need to make regarding the structure of your course. You can always change your mind, but your course structure will inform your instructional strategies. 

Online vs Hybrid 

An “online” course is any course including 80% or more of instructional contact time offered through distance education modes. A hybrid course provides at least 50% of instruction online with the remaining instruction provided in a more traditional or face-to-face setting. 

Asynchronous vs Synchronous

Asynchronous online courses include few, if any, face to face or virtual meetings.  Synchronous courses have regularly scheduled face-to-face or virtual meetings. An online course can be asynchronous or synchronous based on the instructor's preference. 

However, keep in mind that many students take online courses for flexibility and scheduling convenience. If your course will have synchronous sessions, consider recording the sessions and making live attendance optional. This makes content available for students to watch at their convenience.  You may also want to consider adding information about synchronous sessions to your course description so that students can make the best decisions during registration.  

Instructor-Paced vs Self-Paced

Asynchronous courses may be self-paced but are not synonymous with self-paced courses. All content in a self-paced course is available at the beginning or early in the course for students to progress through at their own pace. The other option is an instructor-paced course which encourages cohorts to move through the course using the same timetable. In an instructor-paced course, new content becomes available at specific intervals and students are required to participate in course activities during the same period of time. This course is self-paced which means that learners will participate in and complete it at different times.

Modular vs Non-Modular

A modular course structure divides content chronologically into multiple units with each module containing all of the course materials, learning activities, assignments, and assessments for that unit. This course is modular.

A non-modular course might provide a general calendar of activities and deadlines with resources spread throughout sections of the course. A non-modular structure may provide a folder with all of the course readings, a page with all the assignments, etc. 

Starting this summer, a modular course structure is required for all online courses at Birmingham-Southern with some exceptions made for internships and other unique course structures.

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