Communication in online courses is usually asynchronous—that is, the participants are not online at the same time. For example, you will be looking at material that your instructor posted at the beginning of the course, you may be responding to discussion posts that a classmate wrote earlier, or you may be looking at peer review comments that a classmate made on a draft.
When synchronous (or real-time) activities, such as chat-based meetings, are built into an online course, some form of written communication is usually involved. You might have a class meeting or instructor conference using a chat window, with all participants typing comments to form a discussion. You might have a meeting with your peer review group in a conferencing tool to discuss one another’s drafts. Many students use chat tools among friends and will need to transfer their social chat skills to an academic setting.
Tips for participating in asynchronous discussions
Tips for participating in synchronous discussions
Related topics:
Checking your readiness for online learning
Traditional versus online courses