Developing Learning Communities: Improving Interactivity of an Online Class

Background

As access to the Internet and World Wide Web has continued to grow, Web-based learning has continued to expand. With approximately half of the households in the United States (or 150 million people connected to the Internet), an estimated 2 million students are taking post-secondary courses that are fully delivered online (Galt Global Review, 2001). Millions of other students at all educational levels (primary, secondary, post-secondary, continuing education) participate online in hybrid, mixed mode, and Web-enhanced face-to-face courses (Picciano, 2002).

Interaction has been recognized as one of the most important components of learning experiences both in conventional education and distance education (Vygotsky, 1978; Holmberg, 1983; Moore, 1993). Gunawardena and Zittle (1997) revealed that social presence contributed more that 60% of learner satisfaction with computer conferencing courses. A common element for learning in a typical classroom environment is the social and communicative interactions between student and teacher, and student and student (Stubbs, 1976). The ability to ask a question, to share an opinion with a fellow student, or to disagree with the point of view in a reading assignment are all fundamental learning activities (Picciano, 2002). In online education, it is particularly important to provide an environment in which meaningful interaction can occur (Collins & Berge, 1996).