10 Swan, “Building learning communities in online courses: The importance of int
10 Swan, “Building learning communities in online courses: The importance of interaction”
Reference
Background
This literature supports the idea for the need of interaction in online learning communities. It takes into account the three main types of interaction a student receives in the classroom; interaction with content, interaction with students, and interaction with instructors. By analyzing the results of two studies, the information shows the importance of interaction in an online community to support student success.
Key points
- Three types of interaction are investigated in both studies in the article.
- Interaction with course content—Ten concepts to support effective web design
- Instructors acting as facilitators, variety of presentation styles, multiple exercises, hands-on problems, learner control of pacing, frequent testing, clear feedback, consistent layout, clear navigation, and available help screens.
- Interaction with instructors—establishing social presence and student perceived interaction is critical. Instructors must establish the managerial cognitive and affective role in the classroom.
- Interaction among students—asynchronous interaction among students and development of discussion and social presence.
- Interaction with course content—Ten concepts to support effective web design
- Study one: focus on course design, student perceptions and interactivity in online courses.
- 22 subset variables of course design also considered and correlations were run to look for relationships between course design variables and student perceptions.
- Student satisfaction and perceived learning were highly correlated.
- Interactions with instructors and satisfaction with courses were significant.
- Students that rated their activity level high also reported high satisfaction with learning and higher levels of perceived learning.
- Consistency with content presentation, structure of content, perceived learning, perceived interactions with instructors promoted a significant correlation.
- The fewer number of learning modules and straightforward course design promoted students perceived learning.
- Students who reported high levels of interaction with instructors related strongly to student satisfaction and perceived learning.
- Students who related a level of high interaction with other students also reported high levels of course satisfaction and higher levels of learning.
- 22 subset variables of course design also considered and correlations were run to look for relationships between course design variables and student perceptions.
- Study two: focus on immediacy, social presence, and interactivity in asynchronous discussion.
- Social presence based on “community of inquiry” model with three components. Cognitive presence, teaching presence, and social presence.
- Three types of social presence responses; affective, interactive, and cohesive responses.
- Affective indicators—personal expressions of emotion, feelings, or beliefs.
- Fin