Creating Successful Online Learning Environments

Interactions

VCC workshop

March 2009

Tannis Morgan

Course interactions are…

• Formal (assessed)

• Semi-formal (formative)

• informal

Brainstorm all the types of student-student and student-instructor interactions that might take place in a course

Interaction Spaces

• In online you create spaces for the interactions related to activities (formal), the semi-formal, and to some extent the informal

• The spaces can be asynchronous (discussion forums, voice boards) or synchronous (live classrooms, text chat).

Creating interaction spaces

Interaction spaces are important for:

• Setting the stage—making the instructor seem ‘real’

• Creating community—making students feel less isolated

• Providing feedback• Just-in-time communication

Other thoughts?

Interaction spaces

• discussion forums• email• “live” classrooms• telephone• Chat• Announcements tool• Weblog • Skype

Instructor presence

• Expectations--once a week is probably not enough

• More instructor presence = higher student satisfaction and evaluation of the course

• More instructor presence = increased tolerance of ‘gaps’ or less-than-ideal design

• Presence goes beyond content

Thanks!

• Revisit the presentation and resources at: http://testingcentre.wordpress.com