Few considerations before starting

Without any doubt, the ability to collaborate and communicate efficiently is one of the key skills in the 21st century. Well-grounded communication skills are considered to be highly desirable by employers worldwide. However, at the same time, many will agree that accurate, effective and unambiguous communication is actually extremely dfficult. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, suddenly people had to cope with working and learning remotely. Despite the fact that remote work and distance education are not new concepts, the majority of workers and learners have never before embraced the challenges of a fully digital workplace or classroom.

The new reality posed a variety of doubts and queries. Teachers around the world started wondering what the best way was to communicate with their students or colleagues. For many teachers or instructors it is critical to establish the method of ensuring students are not just getting the knowledge and information they need, but also they are actually learning. Educators faced problems of selecting the best way to provide an effective learning environment online. Questions such as whether it is better to choose e-mail or a video call as a means of communication within classroom settings, have been posed.

This issue can be partly solved by learning more about the similarities and differences between synchronous and asynchronous communication. Both, are useful and valid ways to communicate and share knowledge, but each has its advantages and downsides as well. Although sometimes it can be tough for educators to know which to use and when, being equipped with the right knowledge and tools can help teachers to take control of their remote working and learning environment.

Go to the next page to expand your knowledge on synchronous & asynchronous communication.