Synchronous learning refers to a learning method in which instruction and interaction between learners and the instructor take place in real time.
This means that all learners are engaged in the learning process at the same time — though not necessarily in the same physical location.
Examples include traditional in-person teaching as well as live-streamed lectures, video conferencing, and real-time chat discussions.
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The concept was formally defined and adopted with the rise of the internet and digital learning technologies in the 1980s and 1990s.