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Student and Teacher Perceptions of Interaction in Online Computer‐Mediated Communication
Abstract
English: This presentation looks at recent research on student interactions and student course evaluations in 6 web‐based courses taught at Arizona State University between 1996 and 1998 La présentation concerne une recherche récente sur les interactions et les évaluations des étudiants dans 6 cours fondés sur le WEB à l'Université d'Arizona entre 1996 et 1998. Dieser Beitrag berichtet über neue Forschungsergebnisse zur Interaktionen und Lehrgangsauswertung von Studenten bei 6 web‐basierten Kursen, die zwischen 1996 undl998 an der Arizona State University gehalten wurden.
... Reinhardt's argument seems relevant to Indonesia's huge social media users (see Kemp, 2020) and a situation where there is little time for preparing the students' and teachers' technological and digital literacies. McIsaac et al. (1999), in their investigation on the students' views on computer-mediated communication at the University of Arizona, expressed their concern that "students could miss out on course information due to their lack of technology skills unless they had prior training" (p. 122). ...
... The students' comfort and pleasant feeling with the use of Facebook supported Reinhardt's (2020) idea for considering using familiar, everyday tools to respond to the distant learning mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the educators' concerns in administering distance learning is the possibility of students being left behind because they were not previously trained for the technology needed in joining an online class (McIsaac et al., 1999). When this class was conducted online, there was not much opportunity to provide the necessary technological training to the students whose digital literacy might not be adequate. ...
... The instant messaging on the Facebook group helped them feel secure because they would feel they were not alone. In the study of McIsaac et al. (1999), they found that not enough instant feedback could make students feel isolated. Especially the teacher's comments and answers were important. ...
This study was conducted out of the researcher’s teaching reflection while teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) online class during the pandemic of COVID-19, a time when face-to-face courses had to be converted to online classes. Her choice of educational tool for her EFL e-learning environment utilized a Facebook closed group. Her experiences in utilizing a Facebook closed group for her EFL e-learning environment and the students’ views were the main topics of this study. Eighteen EFL freshmen participants were selected in this study. The researcher used data from a questionnaire with some closed and open-ended questions. The findings indicated that the students found the Facebook closed group a comfortable, practical, and useful e-learning environment. The students’ familiarity with the interface helped them to immediately focus on the class activities instead of learning how to use the tool. Most students viewed the Facebook closed group as positive for class interactions, creative work, opinions, and express feelings. A few dislike voices were related to the display quality of Facebook, the asynchronous and silent communication on Facebook. Accordingly, utilizing a Facebook closed group might be worth considering for learners who have not been adequately prepared with the technology for joining an online class.
... Research Supported Strategies Bannan-Ritland, Bragg, and Collins [51] Encouraging reflection Making a community of practitioners Applying project-based learning Levin and Waugh [57] Question answering and question asking Collaborating Student publishing Web weaving Project generating and coordinating Lourdusamy, Khine, and Sipusic [58] Using authentic cases McIsaac, Blocher, Mahes, and Vrasidas [59] Providing immediate feedback Encouraging the discussion Assigning pairs for moderating online discussion Using collaborative learning strategies (group project, group debate) Northrup [22,60] Using innovative strategies including case studies, debates, role plays, and gaming. Requiring timely responses from peers and from instructor Providing an opportunity to self-monitor learners' own progress Rossman [61] Posting a weekly summary of the online discussion Monitoring the quality and regularity of learner postings Vrasidas and McIsaac [27] Training students to use emoticons, to use the conferencing system, and to employ appropriate etiquette Assigning student pairs with a mixed range of skills Through an in-depth literature review study, Bannan-Ritland et al., [51] provided a framework that integrates educational constructs (e.g., reflective components, social components and content components) with learning principles and instructional activities to identify effective instructional strategies for Web-based courses. ...
... McIsaac, Blocher, Mahes, and Vrasidas [59] explored the perceived advantages and disadvantages of various types of interaction in an online classroom by analyzing several kinds of statistical data, message archives, and participant interviews. The feeling of isolation and the lack of immediate feedback were identified as main disadvantages. ...
... Building collaborative components into an asynchronous online learning environment can foster interaction [49,59]. Through a literature review, Tu and Corry [50] concluded "studies have shown that small-group instruction positively impacts student achievement, persistence, attitude, modeling, cognitive disequilibrium, cognitive development and social skills" (p.53). ...
Because of the perceived advantages and the promotion of Web-based learning environments (WBLEs) by commercial interests as well as educational technologists, knowing how to develop and implement WBLEs will probably not be a choice, but a necessity for most educators and trainers in the future. However, many instructors still don’t understand the most effective strategies for designing and implementing effective WBLEs even though numerous studies have demonstrated that the success or failure of online learning depends largely on the quality of interaction within those learning environments. Indeed, it has been said learning is impossible without meaningful cognitive interaction. However, this kind of interaction does not occur by itself. The primary goal of this paper is to explore the importance and characteristics of meaningful interaction in online learning, especially in asynchronous contexts. A secondary goal of this paper is to present several pragmatic strategies for improving meaningful interactions in WBLEs on the basis of a review of relevant research literature.
... Not all online instructors, however, are aware of how to promote online interactions among students or between themselves and their students (Abdous & Yen, 2010;An, Shin, & Lim, 2009;Dennen, Darabi, & Smith, 2007;Lewis & Abdul-Hamid, 2006;Wilson & Stacey, 2004;Young, 2006;Zydney, deNoyelles, & Seo, 2012). Accordingly, numerous online researchers and practitioners have proposed the use of scaffolding strategies to promote interactions based on survey results, interviews, and literature reviews (Young, 2006;McIsaac et al., 1999;Rovai, 2007). For example, in their survey with 199 online undergraduate and graduate students, Young (2006) found that students viewed their online instructors as effective when they communicated consistently with the students, were involved in the class activities, and provided timely feedback. ...
... From interviews with doctoral students, McIsaac et al. (1999) found that effective scaffolding strategies to promote interactions included providing immediate feedback, participating in the discussions, and being visibly present in the online learning environments. In addition, based on a literature review, Rovai (2007) suggested specific scaffolding strategies to promote interactions in online discussions that were presented under five main themes: social presence, emphasis on learner-learner interaction, cultural communication patterns, gender-based communication patterns, and student status. ...
... Ten critical strategies that online instructors use to promote interactions among students or between students and instructors were identified through a literature review (e.g., Arbaugh, Cleveland-Innes, Diaz, Garrison, Ice, Richardson, & Swan, 2008;Bolliger & Martindale, 2004;McIsaac et al., 1999;Rovai, 2007;Shea & Bidjerano, 2008;Wilson & Stacey, 2004;Young, 2006). Then, a focus group meeting and subject matter expert review were conducted to check the content and face validity of the items. ...
p class="3">A great deal of research has documented that interactions among students or between students and instructors are key to student success in an online learning setting. However, very little research has been statistically and systematically conducted to examine online instructors’ conscious and effortful use of scaffolding strategies to promote interactions in online courses. The purpose of this research was to develop a scale assessing online instructors’ use of scaffolding strategies to promote interactions. We employed a scale development method for the study. Exploratory factor analysis revealed one factor structure associated with instructors’ use of scaffolding strategies to promote interactions in online settings. Confirmatory factor analysis conducted with a different group of online students indicated that the one-factor model fits the data well. In addition, significant correlations with social presence and classroom learning community scales further demonstrated convergent validity. The new scale of online instructors’ use of scaffolding strategies to promote interactions demonstrated psychometrically sound validity and reliability.</p
... «Η τέχνη της αποτελεσματικής ανταλλαγής πληροφοριών, η οποία ολοκληρώνεται με την καθιέρωση κατανόησης μεταξύ δύο ή περισσότερων ανθρώπων, μεταξύ ενός ατόμου και μιας ομάδας ή μεταξύ δύο ή περισσότερων ανθρώπων», είναι ο τρόπος με τον οποίο ορίζεται η επικοινωνία (McIsaac et al., 1999). ...
... Για να διεισδύσουμε στον υποκειμενικό κόσμο του/της εκπαιδευόμενού/ης μας, ως εκπαιδευτές/τριες πρέπει να επιδείξουμε τρεις στάσεις συμπεριφοράς, σύμφωνα με τον Carl Rogers, τον δημιουργό της προσωποκεντρικής προσέγγισης: αυθεντικότητα, άνευ όρων αποδοχή και ενσυναίσθηση. Ο Rogers ορίζει την ενσυναίσθηση ως την ικανότητα να «κατανοούμε με ακρίβεια το εσωτερικό πλαίσιο αναφοράς ενός άλλου ατόμου, με τις συναισθηματικές πτυχές και τα νοήματα που είναι εγγενή σε αυτό, σαν να ήταν δικό μας» (McIsaac et al., 1999). ...
Στην εκπαίδευση, η καλή συνεργασία ανάμεσα στα μέλη της εκπαιδευόμενης ομάδας είναι ζωτικής σημασίας. Αυτή η έρευνα έχει σαν στόχο να διερευνήσει την επικοινωνία μεταξύ των εκπαιδευόμενων στο πλαίσιο της Εκπαίδευσης Ενηλίκων ως προς τη συμβολή της στην απόδοση των εκπαιδευόμενων. Θα χρησιμοποιηθούν «παιχνίδια» και ασκήσεις από το χώρο της προπονητικής και συγκεκριμένα της προπονητικής ομάδων (team coaching) προκειμένου να διερευνηθεί κατά πόσον αυτά βοηθούν την ανάπτυξη μιας αποδοτικότερης ομάδας και έχουν σαν αποτέλεσμα την επίτευξη του στόχου των εκπαιδευόμενων.
... 2) Participating in and guiding discussions. The importance of the instructor's role as discussion facilitator or guide is well documented in the literature (McElrath & McDowell, 2008;McIsaac, Blocher, Mahes, & Vrasidas, 1999;Rovai, 2002aRovai, , 2004. Students in a mixed-methods study by McIsaac et al. felt that instructor participation in their online academic discussions gave credibility to their discussions. ...
... Lear's (2007) mixed-methods study found a significant correlation between online student SoC and the interactivity element "evidence of instructor engagement" -this element comprises timeliness and quality (level of analysis, suggestions for improvement) of instructor feedback. Similarly, McIsaac et al. (1999) heard from students that promptness and content of feedback was very important in maintaining community. Participants indicated that they required immediate and frequent feedback on their work, feedback on their overall progress, and personalized and group feedback. ...
Instructors striving to facilitate the building of community in online courses must make evidence-based decisions in choosing the most effective interaction types during the course-design process. The study reported in this paper sought to identify which types of interaction contribute most to students' sense of community (SoC) in online graduate courses at a regional comprehensive university. Rovai's Classroom Community Scale was used to measure SoC, and Likert-scale questions were employed to measure frequency and perceived importance of seven kinds of learner-instructor interaction. The results indicate that the interactions that are most predictive of SoC include instructor modeling, support and encouragement, facilitating discussions, multiple communication modes, and required participation. Instructor modeling was found to offer the greatest yield to instructors as a balance between effort and benefit. Implications for online course design are discussed.
... Similar to the findings of my research, these studies highlight that the students' active participation is influenced by the reciprocal interactions of the staff (Dennen 2005). The findings of the qualitative study carried out by McIsaac et al. (2006) on students' and teachers' perception of interactions in online courses replicate some of the perceptions of our research participants. McIsaac et al. (2006) found that students' interactions and positive learning experiences could be promoted by the teacher's effort in providing immediate feedback, participating in discussions, encouraging social interactions and using collaborative learning strategies. ...
... The findings of the qualitative study carried out by McIsaac et al. (2006) on students' and teachers' perception of interactions in online courses replicate some of the perceptions of our research participants. McIsaac et al. (2006) found that students' interactions and positive learning experiences could be promoted by the teacher's effort in providing immediate feedback, participating in discussions, encouraging social interactions and using collaborative learning strategies. These efforts by the instructors do seem to motivate students' participation in learning activities in online learning environments (McIntyre 2011). ...
The emergence of educational technologies offers flexible learning opportunities to the twenty-first-century learners. Research affirms that online courses provide learners with some flexibility in terms of time, place and pace. However, the anonymous nature of the online learning environment can lead to demotivation and disengagement and subsequent minimal participation or even withdrawal. Although in face-to-face classrooms, students’ levels of motivation could be observed to a certain extent, with little or no physical cues, online courses present challenges and concerns in relation to students’ motivation and active participation. The challenge of engaging online learners seems common across subject matter, levels and institutions. Therefore, in order for the learners to have a positive learning experience, it is vital to identify the factors that affect students’ motivation and engagement in online courses.
This chapter is based on a case study carried out in a university in New Zealand. With activity theory as its research framework, the research methods of this study include individual interviews, observation of online learning activities and analysis of other relevant documents. The learning technologies that facilitated synchronous and asynchronous learning activities of this course comprised Adobe Connect virtual classroom and the university learning management system, Moodle. The aim of this study is to examine the factors that affect students’ motivation and engagement in an online learning environment.
Through this case study, the chapter aims to connect the readers with pedagogical and practical ideas and strategies practitioners may like to consider when designing online courses that may enhance students’ motivation and engagement in online learning environments.
... The emphasis of new learning theories on collaboration and the development of interactive capabilities and reflective activities in the online environment has drawn the attention of online curriculum designers towards interactive learning (Beldarrain, 2006;Goldie, 2016;Huang, 2002). Since students do not have face-to-face communication in online curricula (Fishman et al., 2013), interactions occur through the exchange of simultaneous or asynchronous messages via an internet-based communication system and computer (McIsaac et al., 1999). The concept of mobile learning, an educational approach accessible anytime and anywhere, has been widely mentioned in literature for over a decade. ...
The significance of collaborative learning (CL) for enhancing the quality of the learning environment and academic achievement among students needs to be investigated. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine the effect of CL on the learning environment and academic achievement of graduate students in the field of educational leadership within the online reflective platforms (ORPs). Thus, we explored students' reflections on how they experienced the process. Conducting a quantitative study with a one-shot case study design of pre-experimental designs, 17 students completed a questionnaire, and their academic achievement was measured through the summative evaluation. For the qualitative phase, 15 students participated in semi-structured interviews. The results of the quantitative study indicated that CL had a positive effect on the learning environment and students' academic achievements. In-depth interviews supported the findings and showed that CL could help in creating an interactive and secure learning environment, enhance students' reflective and interactive learning process, and strengthen their motivation to learn interactively and reflectively through ORPs. The implications of this study could enhance instructors' motivation to implement CL in online hybrid environments, facilitate the academic achievement of students , and encourage decision-makers to provide a suitable platform for its implementation. ARTICLE HISTORY
... Increasing SoC among students engaged in online education requires addressing both the larger domain of the community (i.e., the school) and the localized site of interaction-the online course. Mclsaac et al. (1999) argue "that interaction may well be the single-most-important activity in a welldesigned distance education experience" (p. 2). ...
This chapter examines strategies implemented to increase a sense of community for faculty and students in an online graduate engineering program. Facilitating community sites of interaction and shared knowledge creation—elements of the community of practice (CoP) framework—comprised the most valued additions for members of the learning community. With these improved sites of interaction, faculty and students benefited from participation in the learning community with their online peers and contributed to a community of practice in their degree program. Early data and outcomes suggest that higher education administrators can implement specific strategies to increase learners' and teachers' sense of community, facilitating engagement with the school, academic programs, and peers despite being geographically dispersed.
... Besides that, in synchronous online learning interaction, they got direct feedback from the teacher (Bagheri & Zenouzagh, 2021). It is revealed by McIsaac et al., (1999) that direct feedback is important in online learning settings, where students feel companionable and pleased while getting direct feedback. ...
The purpose of this research is to investigate the students’ perceptions of synchronous online learning using Google Meet. Synchronous online learning is applied to facilitate the students to acquire knowledge during this pandemic. However, the students’ perception of the synchronous online using Google Meet in a specific skill in ELT is still understudied. A qualitative case study was used to investigate this phenomenon. The participants of this study were 18 students in the first semester who were Electrical Engineering major. The participants were chosen purposively due to class participation and willingness. The data was gathered from the questionnaire and interviews. It was analyzed using the Interactive Model of Data Analysis. This study exposed that the students positively perceived implementing synchronous online learning using Google Meet in reading class. They pointed out that it could help the students read more and feel motivated to be active. It also aided to increase their reading by online discussion. However, they found some challenges which they perceived during synchronous online learning. The challenges came from environmental, technical, and personal problems. The implication of this study relates to continuing the teaching-learning process of synchronous online learning using Google Meet. It provides some benefits that support the teaching learning process. Then, the institution and the government should support and promote the effectiveness of synchronous online learning by improving their learning and providing the necessary learning infrastructure for all students.
... Research clearly documents the importance of the instructor's role as a discussion facilitator, guide, and subject matter expert McElrath & McDowell, 2008;Rovai, 2004). Students indicate that instructor participation in online academic discussions gives credibility to the topic and the discussion (McIsaac, Blocher, Mahes, & Vrasidas, 1999). The instructor, as content expert, helps guide the topic discussion and offers a valuable presence in the conversation (McElrath & McDowell, 2008). ...
This research deals with Teaching Presence (TP), which is one of the three presences, but the most impactful one, in the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model. The research has two unique features:
1. Most research on Teaching Presence deals with the students' perspective of this phenomenon, although it is the teacher who is responsible for creating Teaching Presence thus it is important that their perspective, challenges, and thought process be understood.
2. Almost all research has been Quantitative which can prove hypothesis, correlations, causal relationships. However, it does not go into the minds of the people to understand what and how people think. My research is Qualitative which provides rich, thick description of the perceptions and allows detailed analysis of the challenges from the human angle.
3. This research provides explanations of the common interchangeability error committed by many; using Teacher Presence and Teaching Presence as synonymous. It also provides tools for new teachers to design courses based on TP which is not something that one can insert laterally BUT it is a mindset that starts even before a course is planned.
... Research clearly documents the importance of the instructor's role as a discussion facilitator, guide, and subject matter expert McElrath & McDowell, 2008;Rovai, 2004). Students indicate that instructor participation in online academic discussions gives credibility to the topic and the discussion (McIsaac, Blocher, Mahes, & Vrasidas, 1999). The instructor, as content expert, helps guide the topic discussion and offers a valuable presence in the conversation (McElrath & McDowell, 2008). ...
This dissertation is unique in two ways:
1. Almost all the research on Teaching Presence was done from the learners perspective, my research looks' at it from the Teachers' perspective; the challenges they see and how they try to overcome them. .Their understanding of this concept and how it helps them to design courses and improve learning outcomes.
2. Most research in this field was quantitative which cannot deal with perceptions and thought processes. My research is qualitative, thus it gives a rich, thick, in-depth description of the teachers' thinking, their perceptions, their feelings and how they struggle to beat the odds.
... Research clearly documents the importance of the instructor's role as a discussion facilitator, guide, and subject matter expert McElrath & McDowell, 2008;Rovai, 2004). Students indicate that instructor participation in online academic discussions gives credibility to the topic and the discussion (McIsaac, Blocher, Mahes, & Vrasidas, 1999). The instructor, as content expert, helps guide the topic discussion and offers a valuable presence in the conversation (McElrath & McDowell, 2008). ...
... So, the presence of educators to unite all students to be part of forum or discussion as well as to direct them, guide them and provoke them to think further will lead to boost their motivation (Gedera et al., 2015). Supported by McIsaac et al (2006) on their findings of qualitative study, found that student's interaction and positive learning experiences could be promoted by the educators through providing immediate feedback, participating in discussion and encouraging social interactions. As further mentioned by Chang and Han (2020), the efforts of educators to get to know individual students, the non-judgmental attitude towards the lack of awareness of the students, and the vulnerability to share their own learning needs can help build and promote an online learning environment. ...
... The transfer of courses into the digital space by means of asynchronous or synchronous lectures and seminars leads to a strong restriction regarding immediate feedback and communication between students and teachers [1,2]. In addition to this limitation, another form of teaching becomes difficult to implement in the digital space, and that is practical/lab courses with educational experiments [3]. ...
A digital lecture with motivating experiments—how can this be done in practice? This question shall be answered in the context of a case report from the field of material science. A digital experimental lecture as a substitute for a lecture with student experiments was evaluated by students to provide information on whether an adequate substitute for experiments in the digital teaching context is possible. This paper addresses the question of how to transfer a demonstrative experimental lecture to the digital space on two levels: (a) the procedure of an experimental lecture in the digital space with a focus on implementation, student activation, and audience response. A self-reflective assessment by the lecturer/author and an evaluation by the participating students was performed to judge the suitability of the digital experimental lecture in terms of students’ motivation. (b) Subject-specific experiments from the field of dental materials and their transfer from “students do it themselves” to a series of demonstration experiments. The detailed explanations of the procedure and the observed results shall serve as a basis for adaptation for other experiments or lectures. In conclusion, methods and tools (audience response systems such as joined blackboards, chat, and voting) suitable to activate students in partaking in the lecture by suggesting experimental parameters or speculating on the outcome of experiments are presented. The evaluation showed that with the help of these systems a demonstrative experimental lecture in the digital space can still be perceived as adequate experimentation if a certain student influence and animating approach to the audience is integrated, which might result in the students’ conclusion of, “It felt like you were “live” on site.”.
... En uno de los ángulos de análisis (ver Cuadrante I), se sitúan los enfoques de naturaleza socioconstructivista sobre cómo construimos el conocimiento, es decir, cómo aprendemos, y que resaltan, entre otras, la idea de que: Cualquier actividad cognitiva de nivel superior es mediada culturalmente y tiene, por ello, una existencia social antes de integrar definitivamente la estructura mental de cada individuo (Vygostsky, 1978); la evaluación del comportamiento se hace socialmente, en base a criterios mal definidos, por lo que no puede ser realizada sin la información de retorno, suministrada directa o indirectamente por los otros, sobre el modo en que actuamos (Bandura, 1995(Bandura, , 1997Bandura & Walters, 1963); para cada individuo es determinante la presencia del otro, siendo esa presencia (social) definida, precisamente, como el grado en que las personas se sienten ligadas unas a otras; la interacción entre los individuos es el medio por excelencia de la cohesión social y, consecuentemente, factor importante para la co-construcción del conocimiento (Muirhead, 2001). De la investigación en este área se destacan, por ejemplo, los estudios que apuntan la interacción on-line como factor de motivación y de actitud favorable para el aprendizaje (Hillman et al., 1994;McIsaac, M. S. et al., 1999;McIsaac, M.S & Gunawardena, 1996;Vrasidas, C. & Glass, 2005;Vrasidas, C. & McIsaac, 2001;Vrasidas, C., McIsaac, M.S., 1999), o los estudios sobre Presencia Social (Tu, C.-H., 2002;Tu, C, 2001;Tu, C. & McIsaac, 2002;Tu, C. H., 2000) en que se destaca la importancia y el valor predictivo de tres dimensiones nucleares: interactividad, comunicación y contexto. ...
Aunque en cursos que transcurren en ambientes on-line sean frecuentemen-te relatadas las ventajas concretas derivadas de la utilización de las tecnologías di-gitales emergentes 1 , son muchas veces referidos también los problemas y las difi-cultades, principalmente cuando se toma como término de comparación, natural, la situación en que tradicionalmente esa formación siempre ocurrió y continúa ocu-rriendo; esto es, la formación presencial en el aula. Tratándose de un área de investigación muy reciente y, en buena medida, su-perada ya por la praxis, tal y como es común en el campo de la utilización educa-tiva de las tecnologías (Costa, 2007), es también un campo que importa profundi-zar, para que se perciban mejor cuáles son los factores en juego en esos contextos emergentes y, en base al conocimiento adquirido, se puedan mejorar también las experiencias de enseñanza y aprendizaje que transcurren on-line. Experiencias que, como fácilmente se constata, constituyen una oferta en evidente crecimiento, ya sea a nivel de la formación profesional de adultos, o bien en contextos más directamen-CAPÍTULO 2 COMUNIDADES VIRTUALES DE APRENDIZAJE. EL PUNTO DE VISTA DE LOS PARTICIPANTES 1. Nos referimos a las tecnologías digitales que tienen en Internet su sustento y acción. Nos refe-rimos, en especial, a las herramientas que, a través de esa plataforma universal, permiten la interac-ción, la conversación, la discusión y el trabajo cooperativo, en tiempo real o en diferido, como es el caso del correo electrónico, de las aplicaciones de conversación escrita u oral en tiempo real, como los chats, los programas de mensajería instantánea o las aplicaciones de conferencia en vídeo, y de las lis-tas o foros de discusión. Y, más recientemente, los Weblogs, Wikis y otros ejemplos de aplicaciones que empiezan a ser designados como "software social" y que tienen la particularidad de potenciar, en términos de relaciones entre humanos y en términos de construcción del conocimiento, una segunda generación de horizontes de la propia Internet (la Web 2.0).
... Woods y Baker (2004) informaron que los resultados de falta de conexión incluyen la reducción de los niveles de satisfacción de los estudiantes, bajo rendimiento, y aumento de la tasa de deserción. Por lo tanto, para crear las conexiones necesarias, la comunicación adquiere una importancia adicional en las aulas virtuales (McIsaac, et al. 1999). ...
Los autores de los diferentes capítulos que vertebran este libro, nos comparten no sólo su saber disciplinar, sino el resultado de la concreción del bucle recursivo teoría práctica en la puesta en juego de la enseñanza estratégica en las diferentes áreas de conocimiento en las cuales se puede aplicar, los niveles y ámbitos educativos en los que se puede instrumentar de manera contextualizada y socialmente pertinente, así como los modelos y dispositivos pedagógicos que facilitan la implementación de recursos digitales para potenciar el aprendizaje, y que van desde la exploración del aprendizaje móvil electrónico (Morales), el uso del webquest y el debate (Montes), el aprendizaje colaborativo (Guerra y Antúnez), como enfoques, metodologías y dispositivos pedagógicos implicativos y deliberativos que dinamizan la apropiación y significación de los contenidos de aprendizaje, desde una perspectiva de cognición experiencial y situada, hasta la significación del portafolio digital (Pereida), y la evaluación entre pares (Alatorre) en los procesos de evaluación formativa, auténtica y procesual, que encuentran su cauce último en los procesos de egreso y titulación (Ortiz, Flores y Sánchez), y que -miradas en conjunto- constituyen no sólo un medio poderoso para el desarrollo de competencias tecnológicas, académicas, investigativas e interpersonales por parte del profesorado, sino que se constituyen en patrones y modelos a seguir por parte de los aprendices que se encuentran bajo la tutela de asesores que investigan qué es lo que sucede cuando se ponen en juego estrategias de enseñanza y de aprendizaje- diversificadas y bien sustentadas- y qué es lo que producen en el interés y disposición por parte del aprendiz para motivarse e involucrarse en la dinámica siempre viva y consciente del aprendizaje.
... This explained students' preferred learning models. Interactions of doctoral students with an online environment were also studied and it was concluded that student interactions were goal-focused (McIsaac, Blolcher, Mahes, and Vrasidas, 1999). Students were passively accessing resources according to immediate need (Hellwege, Gleadow, and McNaught, 1996). ...
... 1863)." McIssac, Blocher, Mahes and Vrasidas (1999) found that prompt instructor feedback, participation in interactions, encouragement of social interaction and employment of collaborative learning strategies were important to students' positive experiences in DE courses. Greene and Land (2000) found that guiding questions help students focus their projects, real-time dialogue and feedback with instructors was instrumental in the developing them and student-student interaction, particularly the sharing of personal experience, helped foster conceptual change. ...
This study sought to determine whether an evaluator conducting electronic course evaluations in person in a classroom increased response rates. At a large public university in the United States, course evaluations were being conducted electronically, attaining a response rate of <50% over several semesters. At the end of the Spring 2015 at this university, an evaluator entered several classrooms having a total enrollment of 273 students and guided students through the process of completing course evaluations using their mobile devices. A response rate of 78.4% was achieved. The process described in this study provides evidence that response rates can be increased in similar circumstances. In addition, several ways the technology described could be used in the future for course evaluation are discussed.
... A lack of discipline alone can negatively impact an online student's success. In fact, it is not uncommon for online students to feel isolated due to the structure of online learning, which offers little or no face-to-face interaction with the instructor or other students (Gallagher & McCormick 1999;McIsaac, Blocher, Mahes, & Vrasidas, 1999). Conversely, education institutions offering online courses exercise a balance between multiple forms of student interaction to avert feelings of isolation. ...
The purpose of this interpretative, qualitative study was to discover reasons students participating in asynchronous online undergraduate courses perceive faculty as disinterested, the significance of this perception, and how students respond to disinterested faculty. Online education continues to evolve and change how students learn and how online undergraduate students perceive and respond to faculty members. With these changes, understanding which elements influence and impact the success of online undergraduate students becomes more
complex. The distinctive social context of virtual learning environments often contributes to online students characterizing faculty as disengaged. Online students often have limited opportunities to interact directly with faculty, introducing occasion for students to misconstrue faculty intent, which can lead to deteriorated student perception of faculty, institution, online learning, and higher education. Student satisfaction and perceived success are reduced.
This study documented the perceived experiences of eight students 18 years of age or older who attended and completed at least three asynchronous online undergraduate courses at a U.S. higher education institution during the years 2016 or 2017, and who experienced instructor behavior that they characterized as disengaged. Semi-structured, one-on-one interviews between the researcher and student participants facilitated data collection for this study. The major themes that emerged during analysis of the interview transcripts and field notes were lack of faculty concern, diminished or loss of respect for faculty/institution, lack of faculty competence, overburdened faculty, feelings of isolation, and diminished or loss of interest in higher education or online study. The student participants discussed examples of how faculty actions, or inactions, cultivated negative feelings. This study revealed some promising insight to faculty-student interaction from the student perspective. As a result, improved dialogue between instructors and students can establish a basis to motivate students and improve their perceptions of online interaction with instructors. Improvements can arise from scholarly discourse surrounding the exploration of what specific factors induce the subjectivity of undergraduate students’ perceptions of faculty-student interaction. This study’s data and findings can support the efforts of administrators, course developers, and instructors to improve awareness, behavior, and training programs for faculty members who teach in online learning environments.
... For instance, BThey can see others' expression during discussion (T18)^and BI can see others expression and discuss homework (D24)^. The text chat and forum, which are textbased communication, do not provide visual and audible cues that present in video conferencing (Mcisaac et al. 1999). This finding is in line with the findings by Sallnäs (2002) that highlights video conferencing make it easy to express feelings and provides a better environment for socialization compared to text chat. ...
Currently available web page accessibility guidelines focus more on reading and writing, with inadequate attention to other aspects of online learning such as computer-mediated communication. This study aims to explore the engagement of Malaysia secondary school students with dyslexia and students without dyslexia on various synchronous and asynchronous communication interaction technologies in an online collaborative learning environment. Multiple case within subject qualitative study was employed to investigate the engagement of students using a semi structured interview guideline. The findings revealed that (1) text chat is unsuitable for learning discussion for all learners, (2) forum affords self-paced and organized formal discussion for most learners and (3) video conferencing is suitable for interactive face-to-face, verbal discussion for most learners.
... Another factor not directly measured in this study that may contribute to the different levels of learning achieved in the two WL 220 sections vs. the two WL 230 sections is self-motivation (McIsaac et al., 1999). Two pieces of evidence may demonstrate lower self-motivation in the WL 220 online section vs. the WL 220 F2F section or either sections of the WL 230 course. ...
... Keep in mind, this was just one study. Still, McIsaac et al. (1999) conclude that online instructors tend to be more concerned with encouraging student participation and the quality of interaction than might be expected in traditional settings. As a result of this change in role, Web courses require significant amounts of time for instructors to create and coordinate (Gaud, 1999). ...
In response to the changes taking place in collaborative online learning environments, this chapter discusses how the simultaneous emergence of collaborative technologies and the learner-centered movement impacts the role of the online instructor. As part of this review, research related to online moderation and facilitation of learning is summarized. It is suggested that online instructors need to facilitate student generation and sharing of information, while assuming the role of learning coach or mentor to provide needed leadership and guidance. Finally, ten key benefits and implications of e-learning, as well as ten potential problems and solutions, are summarized to assist e-learning decision makers and instructors. Among the benefits include the permanence of the online text, the availability of online mentors, and the fostering of student idea generation. Some consistent online learning problems include learner confusion, lack of justification of student reasoning, and difficulties in grading online content. Instructors are provided with guidelines on how to take advantage of the benefits while limiting or overcoming the problems.
... This has already become an inseparable part of the daily life in many branches of society. Regarding Education, in high schools even the student-teacher communication itself now follows the computer-mediated modality in a steadily increasing way [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]. Until the 19th century the opportunity to attend university courses was a privilege of a few undergraduates, so that the student-teacher relationship was highly personalized. ...
In the 21st century student-teacher communication in high schools has been increasingly computer-mediated. This brings a strong demand for experienced professionals worldwide, preferably graduated in Information Technology. Until the 19th century the opportunity to attend university courses was a privilege of a few undergraduates, so that the student-teacher relationship was highly personalized. In the 20th century the access to universities increased intensively in many countries, which is a very positive fact. However, it seriously compromised the personal student-teacher communication. This article presents an innovative solution to simplify generation and correction of multiple choice questions (MCQ) in which reliance on the results is wanted. With our program we obtain different issues of the same test with non-coinciding answer keys. Therefore, we offer an original, trustworthy and practical way to evaluate learning in courses attended by a large number of students. Our program generates a LATEX file and its compiled PDF file containing the individual exam of each student. The exam consists of a front page followed by a list of MCQ and optionally dissertation questions. The front page can be used as an answer sheet of the MCQ, and it has a layout that includes a header. One can opt for individual exams of which the answer keys to the MCQ is unique to each student. All these options are set in a separate configuration file. Our program uses a folder structure to organize classes of students in CSV files and databank of questions in TXT files. The students have to fill out their answer sheets of the front page, which will already contain both the student's name and her/his id number in case of individual tests. After the exam the test front pages of a class can all be scanned into a single PDF file that our software will read to perform the automatic correction. The final scores are stored in a file that contains each student's ID followed by the paired letters given.answer/answer.key of each single question. This file is in CSV format, which is both universally readable and writable by most spreadsheet programs. Our source codes are written in Python programming language. Our program is freely available on the Internet, where users can download the code in Python together with the folder structure and sample files to generate the exams. It has been intensively used at the Federal University of ABC in Brazil, both in classrooms and for distance learning courses, and also in simulations with 6772 tests with excellent results comparable with commercial products. This paper presents a software generator of MCQ which not only issues different versions of the same test, but also performs a fast correction of them all, and exports the results to a CSV file. Thanks to the facilities offered by automatic correction of MCQ the student-teacher communication can concentrate on the essential demands and become feasible again.
... Previous research [18,19] described interaction as a component of the educational process where a trans-formation of the inert knowledge or information occurs, in terms of the transactional view where human factors and the environment are both taken into consideration. Learner-instructor (also: student-teacher or adultyoung user) interaction refers to a two-way communication between the instructor of the course and learners [20]. This type of interaction is regarded as valuable by students and by many instructors. ...
... Students favor timely feedback from instructors. In contrast, a lack of immediate feedback brings about feelings of isolation and dissatisfaction [40,41]. Northrup et al. [42] confirmed the importance of instructor task feedback to students and found it effective when provided as little as two times per week. ...
... This can help educators understand student's preferred learning patterns. A study carried out by (McIsaac., et al., 1999). explored interactions of doctoral students with an online environment and they concluded that student interactions were goal focussed. ...
... Students in Section 2 who were specifically required to reply/ answer to at least one other student showed significantly higher levels of interaction than students in Section 1, who did not have this requirement. interaction with peers is important, particularly in distance learning courses, to stimulate exchange of ideas, and to motivate students who might feel isolated from the class (mcissac, Blocher, mahes, & Vrasidas, 1999). thus, we feel that this requirement creates an incentive to read other students' postings. ...
We analyzed students' patterns of participation, interaction and knowledge construction in asynchronous online case-based discussions in two Educational Psychology classes with different participation and interaction guidelines. We conducted quantitative analyses of the outlines of postings and transcripts of online messages from these group discussions to examine rates and patterns of participation and interaction. Qualitative analyses illuminated patterns of knowledge construction and helped us further analyze patterns of interactions. Based on our analyses, we found differences in rates of participation and patterns of interaction in the two sections, with higher, negatively skewed levels of participation and interaction in the more structured and guided discussions groups. In terms of content, we found that statements of clarification, elaboration, and grounded interpretation were related to the knowledge construction process most directly. Students' construction of knowledge appeared mainly self-reflective, even when it began by acknowledging the contributions of others, or clarifying information for others. The gradual posting of questions to help guide the discussions may be a more effective way than posting all the questions at once to help students construct the conceptual space, create relationships between conceptual knowledge and facts, and evaluate solutions. We discuss implications for teaching and further research.
... Various researchers have carried out usage pattern study in e-learning [15]; [11]; [6]; [8]; [7]; [17]; [18]; etc. The main objective becomes analyzing the patterns of system usage by teachers and learners and discovering the learners' learning behavior patterns [21]; [3]. ...
... There has been a plethora of studies in the literature in relation to teachers' utilization of social media for instructional purposes (McIsaac, Blocher, Mahes, & Vrasidas 1999;Park & Burford, 2013). However, there is not enough research based on the evaluation of writings about teachers on social media. ...
As a social sharing network whose number of users worldwide continues to rapidly increase, Twitter has become an active network for individuals to share their thoughts and feelings at any given time. The purpose of this work, then, is to evaluate Twitter users of Turkey in terms of how they write about their teachers on Twitter. In order to collect research data, the document analysis, a qualitative research method, was used to collect data during the first quarter of 2012. Specifically, Turkish Twitter users' writings containing the 'teacher' were analyzed using the content analysis method. When tweets (articles) containing the word 'teacher' were examined, prominent emerging themes were discovered, including issues relating to teacher appointments, their low salary, criticisms of Turkey's ministry of national education and its training systems, the value given to teachers as a community, teachers' inadequacies, teachers' unfair practices, and cliched statements and words stereotypically used by teachers in the classroom.
... This value was associated with a combination of academic, affective and administrative supports derived from interaction with others in the online environment. Beuchot & Bullen, 2005;Burgoon, 2000;Ge & Tok, 2003;Gunawardena & Zittle, 1996;Jung, Choi, Lim, & Leem, 2002;McIsaac, Blocher, Mahes, & Vrasidas, 1999;Swan, 2002). Furthermore, it is acknowledged in this study as highly valued by online learners. ...
... In a meta-analysis of the research on online learning, Tallent-Runnels, Thomas, Lan, & Cooper (2006) ascribed shallow or low level thinking found in student contributions to instructors' insufficient guidance in synchronous and asynchronous discussions. Along these same lines, researchers such as McIsaac, Bocher, Mahesh, and Vrasidas (1999) found that instructors' prompt feedback, direct involvement in online activities, facilitation of social interactions, and use of collaborative learning strategies influenced learners' positive learning experiences. A more recent report from Woods (2002) examined how instructor's personal emails sent to students in a graduate course influenced their: (1) perceptions of the relationship between students and the instructor, (2) sense of community, (3) satisfaction, and (4) participation in group discussions. ...
Synchronous communication has a great potential to increase individual participation and group collaboration. Despite increasing use, scant research has been conducted on variables impacting successful synchronous learning. This study focuses on learner experiences in a real-time communication mediated by the Breeze web-based collaboration system. It also combined conference mediums. Eight students, 4 residential and 4 learning at a distance, were interviewed to examine the perceived benefits and challenges of synchronous interaction. Study findings showed that learners valued spontaneous feedback, meaningful interactions, multiple perspectives, and instructors' supports. On the other hand, time constraints, lack of reflection, language barriers, tool-related problems, and peers' network connection problems were viewed as challenges. Due to pervasive time pressures, the synchronous interactions mainly focused on task-related issues. Nevertheless, students felt a need for connecting to others in the course and a sense of social presence. Interestingly, no differences were found between the distance and residential students in terms of learning strategies for synchronous discussions.
... This explained students' preferred learning models. Interactions of doctoral students with an online environment were also studied and it was concluded that student interactions were goal-focused (McIsaac, Blolcher, Mahes, and Vrasidas, 1999). Students were passively using resources according to immediate need (Hellwege, Gleadow, and McNaught, 1996). ...
The 21st century has witnessed vast amounts of research into blended learning since the conception of online learning formed the possibility of blended learning in the early 1990s. The theme of this paper is blended learning in mainstream disciplinary communities. In particular, the paper reports on findings from the last two decades which looked at origination, development and future of blended learning through articles and other research publications. Based on over thirty journal articles indexed in Social Sciences Citation Index and other important databases, coupled with other related publications, this study explored the definition, advantages and problems of blended learning, arriving at the conclusion that more deficits may exist in either sole online or classroom learning compared with blended learning which combines both approaches although there may still be a certain number of disputes over blended learning. Educational and non-educational institutions may be wise to innovate their pedagogy towards a blended mode despite economic costs and other possible losses.
Due to the advent of the pandemic, online learning was fully introduced into the Philippine educational setup. One of the emerging challenges that online teachers face is fostering student engagement in virtual classrooms. Thus, this paper aimed to examine the predictors of student engagement in online learning. The mediating role of self-regulation in the relationship between instructor scaffolding for interaction and student engagement in online learning was explored. The data from a total of 1217 undergraduate students who were enrolled during the research in a public or private university in Pampanga were analyzed. The correlation among variables was also examined. Mediation analysis using Process Macro was performed. The results revealed that instructor scaffolding for interaction and self-regulation predicted student engagement in online learning. Self-regulation served as a partial mediator. With these findings, developmental programs to promote scaffolding for interaction strategies and self-regulatory behaviors in online learning were proposed to foster student engagement.
A quasi-experimental design was employed to examine the effects of flipped classroom approach on students’ academic achievement, self-regulation skills, and interaction level in synchronous distance education. The participants consisted of 50 undergraduate students. In an online synchronous course, the Zoom application and its breakout rooms were used. For ten weeks, students were asked to attend the course two times each week. For data collection, learning achievement test, online self-regulation scale, and online course interaction level determination scale were administered. The results revealed that while flipped classroom approach in an online synchronous course positively influenced students’ self-regulation skills and the interaction level, it did not affect students’ learning achievement.
Language education and the use of information technology to support learning has become very important for the Exercise School Project. The main goal of the project is to prepare legal, organisational and financial assumptions for exercise schools, as well as to propose examples of forms and methods of work enabling the creation and operation of a school as an exercise school. Such a functioning institution may complement the system of teacher training, serve practical activities in raising the competence of teachers and candidates for the teaching profession. The project was defined as supporting schools in the field of shaping key competences of students necessary to navigate the labour market (Information and Communication Technologies – ICT, mathematics and natural sciences, foreign languages) as well as experimental teaching and attitudes of creativity and innovation. This publication reviewed the experience of using CALL in teaching languages. The publication is to demonstrate good practices which means that this provides some insightful and necessary information concerning the usage of CALL to share references, to create
Many faculties in Algerian Universities agree on the fact that the implementation of the new LMD curricula is still in progress and in continuous mutations due to the additional challenges in terms of university infrastructure, pedagogical needs and most relevant resources for students to better achieve the LMD outcomes. In this research we summarized data gathered on implementation of a new teaching model that goes in the direction of the LMD curriculum, regarding the teaching of the Module of Oral Expression through a tested-model that integrates the cultural aspects of the English Language, including Cross-Cultural Communication with a specific ICT (Information and Communication Technology) tool named DVC (Digital Video Conference) to effectively enhance students’ English fluency. This study also reveals the positive impact of the Cross Cultural interaction on students’ fluency at the department of English at Batna University, in Algeria. Globally the findings confirmed the hypothesis that states that effective improvement of oral expression may be better achieved if cross-cultural communication with native speakers of English via Digital Video Conferencing series is adopted as a supporting means.
Purpose
Scholars have identified several predictors of learner satisfaction, but little research addresses the impact of intragroup conflict in a virtual learning context. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potentially deleterious effects of perceived intragroup relationship conflict on virtual learners’ intention to re-enroll.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were systematically collected from virtual learners using an online questionnaire and then analyzed by multiple regression models.
Findings
The results show that emotional expressiveness is an antecedent to perceived intragroup relationship conflict, and the relationship is moderated by individuals’ perceived enjoyment of computer-mediated communication. Virtual learners with a higher emotional expressiveness (i.e. extraverts) experience higher perceived relationship conflict, which in turn, lowers their intention to re-enroll.
Research limitations/implications
The study confirms the antecedent and consequence of perceived intragroup relationship conflict in a virtual learning context.
Practical implications
Educational institutions and businesses may use three proposed strategies to deal with intragroup relationship conflict.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the limited knowledge on how to effectively manage virtual learning interactions by educational institutions and businesses.
p>This survey study aims to investigate teachers and students’ beliefs of classroom interactions in non-English major large classes. The participants included 100 teachers of English and 100 non-English major students. Survey method, more specially, questionnaire was chosen as a data collection tool. Data were then processed using SPSS. The results show that both surveyed teachers and students believed that classroom interactions involved talks between teachers and students (M=4.8 and 4.83 for teachers and students respectively). Besides, teachers and students similarly considered that classroom interactions in non-English large classes are limited because students do not have a lot of opportunities for speaking (M=4.74 and M=4.70 for both groups). However, the surveyed teachers tended to think that students can learn from other peers through interactions (M=4.39) whereas the mean score for this statement achieved M=4.0 for students’ responses in the survey. Furthermore, teachers reported that interaction among students leads to development in cognition and language learning (M=3.76) but students provided a lower appreciation of this issue (M=3.0). Based on the findings, the study suggests implications for developing classroom interactions as well as future studies.</p
This chapter revolves around the synthesis of three research areas- data mining, personalization, recommendation systems and adaptive e-Learning systems. It also introduces a comprehensive list of parameters, extricated by reviewing the existing research intensity during the period of 2000 to October 2014, for understanding what should be essential parameters for adapting an e-learning. In general, we can consider and answer few questions to answer this body of literature 'what' can be adapted? What can we adapt to? How do we adapt? This review tries to answer on 'what' can be adapted. Thus, it advances earlier personalization studies. The gaps in the previous studies in building adaptive e-learning systems were also reviewed. It can help in designing new models for adaptation and formulating novel recommender system techniques. This will provide a foundation to industry experts and scientists for future research in adaptive e-learning.
Because activity in virtual communities is mediated by information and communications technologies (ICTs), it is important to understand how the operation of virtual communities, including communication, interaction, collaboration, and other social processes, differs from similar processes in non-mediated, face-to-face communities. This chapter examines the interplay among social presence, social identity, and online collaboration in order to analyse how collaborative reflection occurs in online communities. The first part of the chapter provides a background to understanding key social processes at work in online learning communities. The second part explores these social processes by examining a vignette that describes typical online community activity. The chapter concludes by drawing together current conceptions of technology-mediated social processes to identify implications for teachers’ learning in online communities.
The 21st century has witnessed vast amounts of research into blended learning since the conception of online learning formed the possibility of blended learning in the early 1990s. The theme of this paper is blended learning in mainstream disciplinary communities. In particular, the paper reports on findings from the last two decades which looked at origination, development and future of blended learning through articles and other research publications. Based on over thirty journal articles indexed in Social Sciences Citation Index and other important databases, coupled with other related publications, this study explored the definition, advantages and problems of blended learning, arriving at the conclusion that more deficits may exist in either sole online or classroom learning compared with blended learning which combines both approaches although there may still be a certain number of disputes over blended learning. Educational and non-educational institutions may be wise to innovate their pedagogy towards a blended mode despite economic costs and other possible losses.
Who being a Hybrid Learning teacher in the Web 2.0 era has not made him/herself ask this question: "Are students working effectively while they are not in face to face class?" Sometimes the questions are asked but he/she does not have the knowledge to create an Interaction Assessment Strategy that could provide this information. The authors present in this chapter a Model that provides the steps and data that should result in a much better teaching/learning process. Thus, the Model presents the questions that should be made, the data model that should be worked on, the visualizations that should better fit each type of data and the process of analysis teachers could make to improve different features, such as: the way of presenting information to the students through the year, prevent students' dropping outs and failures, and generally improve the pace of teaching.
This chapter describes a study of collaborative learning in undergraduate online courses. Three classes containing a different degree of collaboration (no-collaboration, low-collaboration, and high-collaboration) were comparatively investigated by observing scores in online tests, paper assignments, and online discussion. The study found that classes with collaborative activities achieved higher scores in learning. Based on this result and the perspectives obtained from interviews with the instructor and students on collaborative learning, this chapter suggests that in online learning environments, collaborative learning tasks must be optimized; meanwhile, flexibility in online learning must be fully considered.
This study investigated the influences of learning styles/preferences, prior computer skills and experience with online courses on adult learners' knowledge acquisition in a web-based special education course. Forty-six adult learners who enrolled in a web-based special education course participated in the study. The results of the study showed that (a) learning styles/preferences had significant effects on adult students' knowledge acquisition, and (b) there is a moderate positive correlation between computer skills and students' success. Data analysis also showed that there is no relationship between prior experiences with online courses and success in a web-based course.
The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes and experiences of seven online instructors in Teacher Education (three from the United States, four from Israel) pertaining to the deliberate efforts they make to build interaction into their web-based classes to support learning. In the tradition of cooperative inquiry, the use of purposive sampling and a semi-structured interview protocol provided the best opportunity to describe, rather than explain, the perspectives of these instructors who are currently teaching online and developing within this medium. Participants expressed the need to establish quality interactions throughout their distance courses, yet acknowledged barriers they perceive in attaining desired levels of human relationship. They also discussed the importance of collaboration, caring, and context when creating and teaching courses in an online environment.
Most treatments of the concept of interaction in distance education have been based on Moore's (1989) discussion of three types of interaction: learner‐content, learner‐instructor, and learner‐learner. However, these previous discussions have failed to consider the interaction that occurs between the learner and the technologies used to deliver instruction. This article presents the concept of learner‐interface interaction and recommends instructional design strategies that will facilitate students' acquisition of the skills needed to participate effectively in the electronic classroom.
Distance education is a growing and developing method, worldwide, of learning. The article looks at this development and the technologies and telecommunications that are being used. It also looks at the research and the distances which always exist in educational relationships. The question of interaction is also of importance in distance education, as is that of independence, learner control and the social context in which study takes place. Evaluation, with comments from students is also presented, as are the issues which face us now.
The Social Context of Online Education. paper presented at the Proceedings of the Distance Education Conference
- Cn Gunawardena
Computer Communication Skills and Participation in a Computer‐Mediated Conferencing Course. paper presented at the Annual Conference of the American Educational Research Association
- Ja Ross
paper presented at the Proceedings of the Distance Education Conference
- C N Gunawardena