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Top1. Introduction
As the pandemic has shut down the physical world, there is a general assumption that the digital world will step in to fill the gap. It is unavoidable that the higher education sector must respond to the pandemic by introducing more online components or transiting to the complete online mode. Asian countries and regions have rapidly moved completely online since the epidemic started worldwide. Courses with online teaching and learning have been offered in Hong Kong universities since late January 2020, at the beginning of the outbreak. This study was carried out in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, which forced universities to change from face-to-face (FTF) learning to synchronous learning.
Online learning is an alternative to classroom teaching by engaging technology and facilitating learning environments online (Rovai and Jordan, 2004). With the mostly autonomous structure, the online curriculum offers students more flexibility in deciding how and time for participation (Milligan and Littlejohn, 2014). There are various approaches to adopting the latest computer technologies to support students' online learning, including MOOC, problem-based learning (Mo & Tang, 2107), blended learning, flipped classroom, and mobile learning (Tang & Yu, 2018). However, many students are overwhelmed by these new learning technologies and the one thing in common that they support mainly asynchronous learning. Despite synchronous and asynchronous learning being used by educators for many years (Francescucci & Rohani, 2019), the adoption of synchronous learning increased dramatically during the pandemic, as it was the only way to continue delivering classes during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Synchronous learning refers to online or distance education in real-time and students participate in scheduled classes as they did in normal FTF learning. Unlike normal learning, synchronous learning requires students to log in and participate online (Mehri & Uplane, 2015; Hrastinski, 2008). In contrast, asynchronous learning adopts computers or mobile devices to facilitate the sharing of online learning resources and information and promote peer-to-peer communications and interactions. Asynchronous online learning eliminates spatial constraints to enable students to learn anytime and anywhere. For instance, Holenko et al. (2020) adopted synchronous mobile computer-supported technology for supporting collaborative student learning. Martin & Parker (2014) used virtual classrooms to allow communication between students and educators synchronously, with the classroom providing several key functions, including audio, video, chatbox, whiteboard, information sharing, etc.
Despite both synchronous and asynchronous learning approaches being implemented for students' online learning, synchronous learning has been more widely adopted in Asian countries and regions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The approaches require student self-participation and study to facilitate learning, unlike regular education. Although there are various computer technologies to support synchronous learning, the effects of computer-assisted technology on students' perception of participating in online synchronous learning, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, still need to be investigated.
This paper explores the correlations between learning attributes in student motivation, self-directed learning, and readiness in using technologies to assist in online learning and their combined effects on the perceived synchronous learning environment. Furthermore, considering the pandemic situation due to the coronavirus outbreak since early 2020, this study aims to give empirical evidence and insights for educators for future trends in learning and instructional strategies in online teaching. This study has two major impacts: (1) the study is significant to the education sector in the design and development of new teaching pedagogies for students to participate in online learning; (2) the study is significant to the supporting industries in the design and development of teaching and learning materials such as STEM tools, books, etc., as well as the equipment and software for supporting online learning. Lastly, some of the latest technologies that can be used to support further teaching and training activities are investigated in the discussion section.