I agree 100% with your assessment of both types of classroom communication. Of course, both of them have their downfalls also.
For example, I had a problem in my synchronous where a student would log on and then leave his computer. It took me awhile to figure out that this was happening. One evening I was "calling on students" who hadn't raised their hands and he did not respond. On a break I had to call him on the phone and invite him back to class :)
Since you are currently an online instructor, do you have any war stories to share?
Jane
