Recent Online Learning Terms

I am writing a series of blog posts about the effects of Covid-19 on higher education. In this post, I would like to clarify a few terms related to online learning that have become very common in the year of Covid-19 online and remote learning.

Distance Education. “Distance Education” is a formal, and somewhat outdated, term that is used to a describe a classroom where the instructor and student are in different places physically. Originally, in the 1990s and before, students in one campus went to a TV room, while the instructor delivered a live lecture from another campus via a “closed-circuit” TV platform – the video camera was directly wired into the Distance Education TV room. Essentially, instructor “live streamed” a classroom lecture via video camera and TV, and the instructor and student interacted through live video. Today, this live video platform has been replaced with online classes and live video conferences via the internet or a mobile app. The term is still used in formal settings, such as government reports and academic journals.

Online Learning or Online Education. “Online Learning” is a broad term for education that is delivered through an online platform via the internet. Today’s online learning includes a Learning Management System, such as Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, or Google Classroom, and students login to view course content. Online learning can be used as a broad term for education in an online platform, but it often refers specifically to asynchronous online education in a learning management system.

Online Instruction. A broad term that refers to the act of teaching in an online environment. The term is often used to describe the teaching portion of online learning, such as delivering a “live” lecture, and it is used to differentiate other online learning work such as developing course content (writing webpages or creating online exams).

Instructional Design or Course Development. Online courses often have “static” content on the Learning Management System, such as webpages and embedded videos. The act of creating this content is called “instructional design” or online course development. This “static” material is similar to a teacher’s prep work before a class session, which includes creating a PowerPoint presentation or writing notes for a lecture. Instructional design involves making decisions about how course content is going to be grouped into units or weeks, and it includes the actual act of writing webpages and other static content. In contrast, “online instruction” is refers to more active or live content, such as a live video conference or an online discussion. Instructional design also refers to design principles on how to organize content in an online class, such as grouping material into weekly modules and creating learning outcomes for each module.

Learning Management System (LMS). The LMS is a website (often called a platform) that holds online classes. Students and instructors have a Username and Password they use to login to the LMS. The LMS is divided into online classes (which are basically “landing pages” or “home pages” on the course website), and each online class has sections for course content (such as webpages and videos), assignments, discussions, exams, grades, and other tools. Popular LMS include Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, D2L BrightSpace, Google Classroom, and more.

Correspondence Course. Before the era of the online LMS, students and instructors mailed or emailed instructional content and assignments to each other. (“Correspondence” means to communicate with someone by exchanging letters.) The term is often used today to criticize an online class in an online LMS when the course does not have instructional content and when the instructor largely asks students to email assignments, instead of uploading them to the online LMS. This term is used to criticize the online class by suggesting that it doesn’t use the modern tools of online learning, such as file uploads for online assignments, online exams, and online discussions.

eLearning (Electronic Learning). This is a broad term that refers to education and training (including job training) that happens through “electronic” platforms, such as the internet and mobile apps. You can think of distance education, online learning, and remote learning as forms of eLearning. Other eLearning forms may include webinars, educational videos, educational TV programs, and learning apps on mobile devices.

Online Pedagogy. “Pedagogy” is the study of teaching, and “online pedagogy” is the study of teaching in an online environment. Instructors who teach online are often required to complete training in online pedagogy, which includes information about how to interact with students in an online environment, how to provide feedback on assignments, how to group instructional content. Instructional designers (who develop online courses) are experts in online pedagogy, and they often work in university-college offices-departments that provide training and scholarship about online instruction.

Synchronous. “Synchronous” means “at the same time.” This term is used to describe online classes where the instructor and students are present at the same time. The instructor often delivers a lecture “live” through video conferencing software, and students also ask questions and engage in class discussion.

Asynchronous. Unlike synchronous courses, where instructors and students meet at the same time, instructors and students in “asynchronous” courses do not meet at the same time. Instead, instructors post content such as webpages, videos, assignments, and exams, and students submit their material at different times. Even in discussions, one student may start the discussion on Tuesday, while others respond to that original post on Wednesday, Thursday, and later. Asynchronous courses are often simply called “online courses.” When people speak about “online education,” they often refer to asynchronous online courses on a learning management system.

Self-Paced Learning. Students in “self-paced” courses complete assignments on their own schedule. Often these courses don’t have an instructor who participates in the course, or the course does not have any due dates. Students proceed through the material on their own, and they complete assignments whenever they can. Self-paced courses are most commonly used for self-training online programs. Asynchronous online courses also have an element of “self-paced learning,” because students can select when they submit assignments, but the course is usually not truly self-paced because assignments and exams have time period (often one week), and students must submit their materials during that time period.

Remote Learning. “Remote learning” is another broad term similar to “distance education” and “online learning.” Unlike “online learning,” which happens in a well-developed online learning management system, “remote learning” can happen in a variety of online or electronic platforms that are not necessarily connect to a LMS. During the era of Covid-19, “remote learning” was used to refer to traditional, face-to-face classes that were moved to an online environment. These “online” courses are different from traditional asynchronous courses because these courses do not have approval for an online delivery method (they have only a temporary allowance to move online), and the course is not formally developed and evaluated according to standards of instructional design and online pedagogy. Often, these courses run as asynchronous online courses and can look like correspondence courses because of the heavy reliance on email and direct communication with the instructor.

Face-to-Face. Traditional, in-person courses held in a classroom.

Video (or Web) Conferencing. Video conferencing allows students and instructors to interact live via the internet. Video conferencing platforms use video webcams (which shows the instructor or student) and audio for voice communication; they also often have screen-sharing (which allows instructors and students to show their computer screen) and a live chat box (where students and instructors can communicate through text message). Internet or mobile app-based video conferences have now replaced closed-circuit TV-video distance education platforms, and they are used for asynchronous and hybrid online learning. Common video conferencing software include WebEx, Zoom, Google Meet, and many others.

Hybrid or Blended. A course that has both an in-person component and an online component. Today, all traditional in-person courses have an online component on the online learning management system, where instructors post readings, PowerPoint presentations, assignments, and grades, and where students submit assignments and view their grades. Hybrid-Blended courses can be thought of as in-person courses where one or more session is conducted online. For example, a Tues-Thurs course could meet in-person on Tuesday but online on Thursday. They can also be thought of as online courses with an occasional in-person meeting. For example, an online course could meet in-person once a month for an in-person exam, student presentation, or lab. The amount of content in-person versus online varies from one hybrid course to another. As my example shows, some courses could meet once a week, while others meet once a month. A general rule of thumb for hybrid-blended courses is the 25%-75% rule: more than 25% online or in-person but less than 75% online or in-person.

Hybrid-Flexible or Hybrid-Flex or Hy-Flex. During the era of Covid-19, students wanted the freedom to choose between an in-person class, hybrid class, or online class. As a result, colleges-universities started offering a single class in three different formats simultaneously:

• As an in-person course in a traditional classroom – where the instructor meets with students in a classroom.
• As a fully online course – where the instructor records class lectures (or separate ones) and posts them online, and students submit all assignments online.
• As an asynchronous “live” online course – where the instructor does a “live stream” of the in-person class (using online video conferencing) and students participate “live” from another location; students also submit assignments online.

“Hybrid-Flexible” courses allows students to participate in a different format on a different day. For example, the student may attend the class in person on Monday, via live stream on Wednesday, but completely online (not-live) on Friday, and the student may do something different the following week. “Hybrid-Fexible” courses require three simultaneous versions of a single class, and it allows students two switch their participation format from day to day.

Lirim Neziroski, Ph.D., MBA is a higher education administrator and previous faculty member with expertise in instructional technology, curriculum development, academic assessment, program leadership, and strategic planning. Contact Lirim for speaking, consulting, and writing opportunities.