• Self-Paced Learning
• The obvious advantage of a self-paced learning is convenience. People can get the training they need at any time. This can include just-in-time training where a person gets exactly the training he or she needs to perform a task. Self-paced courses are created with e-learning authoring tools. Self-paced courses can be delivered in many ways including:
• Internet
• Intranet or Local Area Networks
• CD-ROM or DVD
• Chat
• Instant chat
• Self-paced courses usually have these features:
• Multimedia: A mix of text, graphics, animation, audio and video to enhance the learning process
• Interactivity: An instructional strategy that helps a learner practice what they have learned
• Bookmarking: Lets the learner stop the course at any time and restart it from the same point
• Tracking: Report the learner’s performance within a course to a Learning Management System (LMS)
• Discussion Groups
• A discussion group is a collection of conversations that occur over time. Other names for discussion groups are message boards, bulletin boards and discussion forums. A discussion group might start out as a question from an individual. Some time later, another individual responds to that question. Others can respond to the question (creating a thread) or they can start their own conversation (forming another thread). A threaded discussion might also start with a teacher asking an open-ended question that leads to a class discussion. Discussion groups can be used to support a group of people taking the same class or can be used to support people performing similar tasks.
• A discussion group is a very efficient way to provide expert answers to a large group people. A single answer to a common question can benefit many.
• Chat
• Chat allows several people to communicate with each other. Each participant uses a computer to type their comments. The other participants can see the name of the person and their comments.
• Instant Messaging
• Instant messaging is similar to chat. One person communicates to another through typing. Instant messaging also provides some additional features. With instant messaging, you can keep a list of list of people that you might like to chat with. The list will indicate if they are online, offline, available for chat or busy. These features make instant messaging an excellent tool for learning from peers.

The main objectives of this portal are

• i ) To acquaint oneself with the effective use of asynchronous learning environments for enhancing the quality of education;
• ii) To deliberate on the challenges and prospects of employing asynchronous learning environments for enhancing the quality of education;
• iii) To help in developing combat strategies to effectively handle the challenges vis-a-vis asynchronous learning environments for enhancing the quality of education;
• iv) To harness asynchronous learning environments for creating learning opportunities for the differently abled;
• v) To assist in bridging the digital divide between distance and face to face educational mode to bring about qualitative and quantitative enhancement in higher education;
• vi) To exploit the possibilities of using asynchronous learning techniques to foster lifelong learning and professional competencies.