Education focuses on learning that translates into persistent changes in behavior. Like many other areas of life, the advancements in technology have affected education in multiple ways, and distance education has a prominent place in technology-mediated education. By its very nature, distance education does not require learner and instructor to be in the same physical place. This situation may cause concern about the level and quality of interactions because the interactions in the digital medium may not be directly observable. Considering various types of interaction, interactions within the distance education context should not be limited to learner and instructor interaction. Rather, multiple types of interactions including learner-content, learner-learner, and learner-instructor should be utilized. In this respect, the purpose of this chapter is to exemplify how various elements of interactivity could be used effectively in online courses. Numerous learning management systems are available to offer online courses to distance learners.
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There exist numerous definitions of education in the literature. Ertürk (1988) pointed out six different connotations of education including (1) a disciplinary area, (2) social service, (3) achievement, (4) learning, (5) social institute, and (6) an intentional tool and form of the acculturation process. Considering these connotations, most definitions of education are based upon the sixth meaning. The first five connotations could also be considered as pointers to the concept of intentional acculturation. Learning has a central place in education, and Schunk (2007) defined learning as persistent changes in behavior. Education, in general, takes various forms.
Looking at the different forms of education, one can see formal and informal education. Formal education then has sub-dimensions of institutional and lifelong learning. Like many other things in life, technological developments affected educational practice, and distance education was born as a result. Elitaş (2017) maintained that distance education emerged in response to the conditions including:
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The constantly increasing number of learners,
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Shortage of qualified teachers despite the increasing number of learners,
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Uneven distribution of educational institutions,
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Adults’ demand for education,
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Technology’s integration to education,
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And education’s transformation as an easy and rapid means of acquiring knowledge.
While technology transforms education, it brings about some challenges, and interactivity is the most prominent challenge for distance education. Literature provides definitions for different forms of interaction. Moore (1989) emphasized learner-content, learner-learner, and learner-instructor interactions, whereas Hillman, Willis, and Gunawardena (1994) maintained that in addition to these interactions, learner-interface interaction is also important. Burnham and Walden (1997) suggested that learner and environment interaction should be considered. In a learning environment where learners and instructors are not together physically, it would be hard to employ the aforementioned elements of interactions. According to Moore’s (1993) Transactional Distance Theory, the thing perceived as distance in distance education environments is not the geographical distance, rather it is a psychological and communicational gap. In this respect, designing online courses with rich interactive elements is of importance. Distance education is stemmed from technological developments. Despite its challenges, technology also provides facilities. Some features embedded in the learning management systems used in distance education could facilitate different types of interactions. In this chapter, the process of encriching an online course with various means of interaction is exemplified via Google Classroom.