Synchrony, Immediacy,
and Bandwidth

SYNCHRONY

One of the most important decisions you will make is about when and how students will interact with you and one another—which parts of your course will be synchronous and which will be asynchronous (all courses will have some of both). Let’s look at some differences. Later we’ll examine how synchrony interacts with bandwidth and immediacy.

Most online courses (not to be confused with in-person courses that shifted to remote instruction in response to emergency) offered by UCSC are primarily asynchronous, but include regular synchronous class meetings, office hours, and sections (when there are Teaching Assistants). This model is closer to what is thought of as a “hybrid” course, which balances the best elements of asynchronous online learning with the hands-on classroom experience.

IMMEDIACY & BANDWIDTH

Now that you are considering asynchronous and synchronous instruction, this matrix (adapted from Daniel Stanford’s original) is extremely helpful. It compares immediacy and internet bandwidth, with the purpose of asking us to consider situational factors as we make course design decisions.

Immediacy is how quickly you can expect your students to respond when interacting with you and their peers. This is typically thought of as a good thing, and it is clearly woven into the fabric of face-to-face instruction. For many instructors this spring, shifting classes to synchronous Zoom-based instruction was a way to preserve immediacy in a somewhat comfortable instructional space. One of the biggest advantages of online learning, however, is that it often provides you and your students with more flexibility, as well as time to engage with instructional videos (watching and rewatching videos).

Bandwidth is just what you expect, and it’s measured by the maximum rate of data transfer of an internet connection. For those of us living at or working on a university campus, we enjoy the benefit of a very high bandwidth internet connection. For students studying from home, the same may not be true. Using high-bandwidth technologies, while gaining immediacy through them, may exclude some students from being able to fully participate. It’s important for you to consider how this may impact the success of these students, as well as their sense of belonging, in your course.

There are tradeoffs in each quadrant, and most courses combine approaches using methods from different categories. We encourage you to be imaginative in considering how each week’s assignments and activities can fit into the green quadrant. This category, which Stanford calls the “under-appreciated workhorses,” provides foundational tools (file sharing for readings and data, email, and discussion boards) that can be used to create fantastic courses. Using them also ensures that you are creating an inclusive and effective environment for learning. Finally, starting from the lower-left quadrant (green), will allow you to be more intentional and informed as you choose from the other quadrants.