There are several types of courses offered at GPH, including in-person, blended, synchronous, and asynchronous. Below are descriptions of each. Please note that for Fall 2020, all in-person and blended courses will be recorded for students who choose to take them remotely.
In person: A traditional classroom environment where the students and the instructor meet synchronously in the same room; also referred to as “on-campus” or “face-to-face”.
Blended: A significant amount of the course content has been moved online, making it possible to reduce the amount of time spent in the classroom. Traditional face-to-face instruction is reduced but not eliminated, so some class sessions will meet in-person and the rest will meet online. Blended courses are also referred to as “hybrid”.
Synchronous Online (Live): Synchronous online courses resemble traditional on-campus classes in that students must be (virtually) present at the same time. Though they are conducted over the internet, synchronous courses are held in real time. The instructor and students commit to scheduled class times and the class is conducted via Zoom. Synchronous online (live) courses can take the following forms:
- Zoom lectures that will be recorded for later access
- Zoom discussions/Q&A that will be recorded for later access
Synchronous courses may also utilize different types of asynchronous activities such as:
- Forums/discussions that allow students to take more time thinking through concepts and carefully reading or listening and responding to their peers’ ideas
- Annotation activities on videos and texts that allow students to situate discussions within course materials and model disciplinary analysis
- Other activities such as papers, short essays and analysis papers
Asynchronous Online (Not-Live): Asynchronous online classes don’t require you to log into your virtual classroom at a specified day or time, therefore, you will not see a day or time listed in Albert. Students do not need to commit to scheduled class times, and are required to complete their coursework by the assigned deadlines. Asynchronous learning activities do not require the instructor and students to be together when they are being completed. Asynchronous online courses can take the following forms:
- Recorded Powerpoints or videos uploaded into NYU Brightspace
- Texts or other supplemental material in the form of articles, readings, YouTube videos, TED talks etc.
- Forums/discussions that allow students to take more time thinking through concepts and carefully reading or listening and responding to their peers’ ideas
- Annotation activities on videos and texts that allow students to situate discussions within course materials and model disciplinary analysis
- Reading a passage and answering questions addressing concepts
- Other activities such as papers, short essays and analysis papers
FAQs:
- How do I access the online courses?
After registering, you can access the online courses by going into NYU Home→ Academics tab → NYU Brightspace. Please note that the course will not appear in NYU Brightspace until the instructor has activated the site.
- I registered late and I don’t see my course in NYU Brightspace. Why is this?
After registering for an online course on Albert, it may take up to 24 hours for it to appear in NYU Brightspace. If the class has already begun and you need to be added immediately, you can reach out to the instructor who can manually add you to the NYU Brightspace site. Please note this is NOT the same as formally enrolling in the course. You should not be added unless you actually registered.
- I registered for an asynchronous class that’s supposed to begin in a couple of days, but I don’t see my course in NYU Brightspace. Why is this?
It is likely that the instructor has not yet activated the site. Some instructors of asynchronous courses do not activate their site until a couple of days into the week it is set to begin. You may reach out to the instructor for more information.
- For online courses, do I have to “show up” on specific days and times?
Yes and No. There are two types of online courses - synchronous and asynchronous. These are explained above.
- I see there’s an in-person and an online version of X course. Are they the same? How do they differ?
The content of both versions of the course is the same. The only difference is the manner in which they will be taught. An in person course may have live lecturing or live discussions while an online one may have a recorded Powerpoint or forum discussion, however the overall course learning objectives and related competencies and components will be the same.
- I’ve never taken an online course before. Will I be able to have one-on-one meetings with my professor if I need to?
Yes! All faculty will have access to video conferencing software such as Zoom or Google Hangouts to conduct live “remote” “office hours.
Additional questions? Contact the Technology Enhanced Education department at tee-gph@nyu.edu.