Imagine an in-person classroom for just a second. What do you see?
You probably see three things; an instructor, students, and visible learning taking place. What makes this learning visible when learning is so often an internal concept?
Interaction is what is making this learning visible and, therefore, effective. In this productive classroom, there are three main components that are all working together; content or learning materials, an instructor, and students.
Each student is actively interacting or engaging in learning new information or a new skill. Often that information is presented in a variety of formats; videos, text, diagrams, maps, etc. Instructors use these learning materials along with his or her knowledge and insights to facilitate the students’ understanding of a concept. Then there are the students! When we think of a classroom, we think of not just one individual student but a group of students working and learning together.
When all three of these interactions take place in a classroom, amazing learning can take place. This is no different when it comes to the online classroom!
For an online classroom, online course, or online training to be genuinely effective, three interaction types must be present:
Learner to Content — Learner to Instructor — Learner to Learner
So how does your online course measure up? Do you have all three interaction types in your course, or are you missing one? Take the quiz below to see what, if any, of the three online interaction types you might be missing in your online course.
Quiz
What Interaction Type is Missing in Your Online Course?
The first interaction type is the interaction between the learner and the content or learning materials of a course. Learning materials are how knowledge is conveyed to your students. Moore (1989) states that content is a defining aspect of education.
Over the years, how learners interact with educational content has drastically transformed. From petroglyphs to scrolls to textbooks, and now every imaginable type of digital content one could ever dream of!
That being said, there are now more ways than ever for online students to interact with content. The beauty of online learning materials is that students can interact with the content how they want and however, they need to learn best. They can reread, revisit, rewind, speed up, pause, save for later, and of course, Google anything in a blink of an eye.
Adding variety to your online content can be one way to boost student interaction. Instead of only relying on a textbook to convey information on a subject, try pairing textbook reading with supplemental videos, relevant websites, diagrams, and online simulations or games.
Not all students learn best in the same way. Meaning some of your students may learn best by reading text about a subject, while others may be visual learners and learn best by watching a video on the subject. Adding a variety of learning materials to your course allows all types of learners to succeed.
Another advantage of online content is its reach and accessibility to all! Online education is continuously expanding and becoming available to more and more learners. Not only is it reaching more learners geographically across the world, but it is also leveling the playing field for other diversities such as socioeconomic status, culture and race, and learning disabilities.
Here are a variety of examples of how you can enhance the learner interaction with your course’s content:
Check out these educational content sites for more resources:
Yes, a student can learn a new concept from a textbook, but they can learn even more from you! You, as the instructor, are a vital component of students’ success in online learning.
When teaching online, don’t just think of yourself as the person who creates the content and assessments and enters students’ grades. Think of yourself as a facilitator of learning.
Facilitator: someone who helps to bring about an outcome (such as learning, productivity, or communication) by providing indirect or unobtrusive assistance, guidance, or supervision
By being an active facilitator in your online course, not only are you providing guidance, but you are also setting an example to your students of the level of engagement you expect of them. Lead by example, and they will follow!
Additionally, if students know that you will be actively reading and possibly responding to posts in discussion board activities, they may be more motivated to participate at a higher level. This does not mean you have to comment on every single student post. But do make your comments and your engagement meaningful.
Get to know your students! When your students feel that you are invested in them and know them even in an online environment, they will also be motivated to be more engaged in your course. This will then result in more successful and productive learning.
Consider this real-life example for a moment; if you are active on social media, you notice who likes, comments, and engages with things that you post. Then, when you see those same people post their own content, are you not more likely to also like, comment, and engage with their content? It is human social behavior to want to engage and be connected to others.
The same is true for online learning. If you actively engage with your students, they will be more likely to engage with you and your course.
Review the list below and then choose a few actionable items that you can begin quickly applying in your course today to boost your Learner to Instructor interaction:
Keep in mind the main action words of the definition of facilitator above – assistance, guidance, and supervision.
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The third interaction type takes place between the learners of your course! This can be between more or more individual students or whole groups of students interacting with other groups.
The importance of this interaction type is the driving force behind some of the significant advances in educational tools such as Zoom, Google Hangouts, and Microsoft Teams. These tools are closing the distance gap between learners in the online learning environment.
Thinking about how to incorporate more learner to learner interaction into your course, think collaboration! When students can collaborate and grow together in their learning, great things happen. Present opportunities for students to discuss relevant topics, find and share resources, complete a task that utilizes different student strengths, or provide each other with valuable feedback.
Anytime people are working together, it is crucial to foster respect for each other. In online learning, these guidelines for communicating online are frequently referred to as netiquette. As an online instructor, it is essential that you foster a safe learning community among your students.
Set your students up for success when it comes to working with each other. Here are a few ways you can do this:
As mentioned above, learner to learner interaction is a driving force behind some of the amazing growth and advancements in educational technology tools available today. Here are a few of our favorites that you can use in your course to enhance learner to learner interactions:
We hope this quiz along with the information about each of the interaction types has been helpful for you. It is important to remember that your online course is not a one-dimensional entity. For your online teaching and learning to reach its full potential, keep the three interaction types in mind.
Learner to content — Learner to Instructor — Learner to Learner
Please also share with your fellow colleagues who also teach online!
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