How the Education Industries React to Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning in COVID-19: Multigroup Analysis Insights for Future Online Education

The phenomenon of the COVID-19 pandemic requires prevention actions, such as social and physical distancing. In education, there is no choice but to adapt to online learning from traditional face-to-face learning. Online learning is divided into two approaches, namely synchronous and asynchronous learning. In practice, both synchronous and asynchronous learning have their respective advantages and disadvantages that can affect the efficiency and the effectiveness of online learning that are felt by students. The present study has analyzed students’ acceptance of synchronous learning and asynchronous learning by comparing the results of the two approaches that were used in educational institutions. Data from 162 respondents in the synchronous and 147 asynchronous online learning surveys were obtained through distributing online questionnaires. The present research utilized multigroup partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for data analysis. The results indicate that students’ acceptance of synchronous online learning is influenced by the characteristics of the teachers, technological innovations, and the quality of the learning system. At the same time, the teacher characteristics, the organizational and technical support, technological innovations, and the trust affect the acceptance of asynchronous online learning. The R2 that was generated from the two groups was 58 percent and 62 percent for synchronous and asynchronous learning, respectively. The managerial implications that can be implemented are also described here in order to assist institutions in increasing the acceptance of synchronous and asynchronous online learning for future online education.