Compare to student-centered learning, I personally like the teacher to be the center of the class, because all students have their own thoughts and it is hard to trust a student over a profound teacher. It is good to have one’s own thoughts. Either teacher-centered or student-centered, they all have pros and cons. It more depends on which one is suitable for the students. The best way is to combine them, the teacher is the light guiding students, but the students are not necessarily listening to the teacher, and they can have their own ideas and share with others. For example, with a small size of the class, when the teacher is talking, everyone else is listening carefully. After talking, the teacher will give students time to brainstorm and share ideas with the rest of the class which is also giving the stage to the students and letting them “perform”. This is a good way to train students’ critical thinking and other abilities. Both teacher-centered and student-centered are taking turns in one class which is a good method for learning. Both teachers and students can learn new things from each other. There are always many solutions to one question. The most important thing is to learn how to be self-determined in the study. People with a self-determination will benefit from both student-centered and teacher-centered learning.
There is no better or worse between synchronous and asynchronous. It more relies on which learning is better for the learner. For example, people with strong self-control, both synchronous and asynchronous learning are suitable for students. If a student lacks self-control or self-consciousness, it is better for the student to have synchronous learning. Asynchronous learning is more time-flexible which is also good for those who do not have much time or time is flexible. Many online courses are very human that they can have different sections either time-fixed courses or time-flexible courses. Even for schools, they have both normal(in-class) courses and online courses which are very convenient and human for students.
My understanding of the word “Connectivism” is to get more connections online through social media, like Facebook, Instagram and many other social apps, which can help people when they need help in learning. For example, if a person is learning physics and stuck in the middle of the study, he/she knows a friend who is a physics doctor can help with his/her questions. That is also the advantage of knowing some knowledgeable people because with the internet, it can be faster to solve problems online through social apps compares to look for help when teachers or friends are not there. With more connections on the internet, people can always get helped when they are needed during studying.
The best way for a learner to study is also the most comfortable way of learning. It is significant to find a good objective while study, otherwise it is very easy to get lost and do not know what to learn and what to do.