Teaching Instrumental Analytical Chemistry during COVID-19 Times in a Developing Country: Asynchronous versus Synchronous Communication

Abstract

On Mar. 19, 2020, Argentina’s government decided to close academic institutions for an indefinite time in an attempt to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the University established that, when the quarantine ends, 5 weeks will be reserved for face-to-face activities that could not be carried out virtually (laboratory lessons and final exams), the main focus on the online activities was in the theoretical lessons. For the Instrumental Analytical Chemistry course both synchronous strategy such as questions and answer sessions and asynchronous communication such as Microsoft PowerPoint presentations with explicative audios, simulated assays, and assignments were adopted. A survey conducted with our students indicated that although synchronous lessons provided face-to-face interaction, the lack of good Internet connectivity was the main weakness of this strategy. On the other hand, asynchronous lessons did not require very high bandwidth networks and had the possibility of stopping the lesson and continuing it later. However, students’ lack of interaction with their teachers was the main drawback of this type of communication. Most of the students pointed out that a blend of synchronous and asynchronous communication is more desirable for Instrumental Analytical Chemistry lessons than asynchronous or synchronous communication separately.