What is the role of ‘time’ in learning? When is the best time to learn? The answer varies from student to student. The traditional education system has learning happening between 9am and 4pm, with anything extra left for homework. But remote learning showed us that learning can and does happen at any time. By breaking down the barriers of traditional timetables and school structures, ‘time’ can offer great freedom to students.

There is a place in education for both synchronous and asynchronous learning. Sometimes, a face-to-face and synchronous option may be the most appropriate vehicle for teaching and learning. At other times, allowing students to digest information and practice skills in their own time can be much more powerful. There are also hundreds of thousands of resources available online through sites like YouTube: facilitating asynchronous learning unlocks the potential of these resources.

Feedback and assessment can also happen both synchronously and asynchronously. Although traditional models of education prioritise high-stakes, timed, synchronous examinations as the most common form of assessment, asynchronous methods allow for much more flexibility in how the students demonstrate their knowledge and capabilities. Allowing both synchronous and asynchronous feedback also creates opportunities for teachers to maximise the efficient use of their time, opening up new possibilities for providing feedback such as leaving comments and inline feedback in Google Docs, or using extensions like Mote to leave recorded verbal feedback that can be listened to whenever the student is ready.

Time can be:

• Asynchronous and synchronous

• An important part of assessment and feedback