Synchronous vs. Asynchronous

[studyingfortests]

I've never done any academic synchronous online learning but my first reaction is that it wouldn't make too much difference to me other than being tied to a time slot.
Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Learning: What’s the Difference? | EdTech Magazine

I have several friends who are doing synchronous online learning (all the CA community colleges in this area are still on remote learning.)  From talking to them, I'm not really convinced that much is happening that could not be just as effectively achieved through asynchronous links.

The online graduate program I start in January apparently makes extensive use of VoiceThread, which, as near as I understand it, sounds like a message board like this, only with video clips instead of text messages. I think the idea is some sort of middle ground between synchronous, where people can see each other, and asynch, which (at least in my experience) has always been text-based.  Apparently students and professors like it, but it sounds like a pain in the *ss to me.

I was, I guess, not surprised by the claim that the synchronous online classes outrank asynchronous classes in terms of learning retention. Yet I can't help but think this may have to do more with the learner and their method of engaging with the content than with sync vs async. I can read and re-read (or watch/re-watch) any content in an asynch format. Can't always do that if it's synch. And having the resources for review is something that, for me, definitely helps me to better retain the material.

As much as I like and have really benefitted from the "butts in seats" aspect of class... discussion, interchange, and sharing of ideas is definitely more lively than in any asynch class I've been in -- I feel like I have probably learned as much from asynch classes. And being able to do them at my convenience means, to me, I can focus and not be stressed by what I need to do before or after.  So for that reason, my preference would be for asynchronous.