Interaction in Distance-Learning Courses

Dan Bouhnik and Tali Marcus Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel. E-mail: danb@moreshet.co.il

The article provides an in-depth analysis of previous literature that led to the understanding of the four interactive components of “e” learning and how we can utilize these components to maximize the positive and minimize the negative results of “e” learning. The four interactive dimensions of “e” learning are the following three originally described in Moore’s editorial (1989): (1) interaction with the content, (2) interaction with the instructor, (3) interaction with the students, and an additional new fourth dimension, interaction with the system, which considered all of the new computer technology since his article. In our viewpoint we will highlight the impact that this fourth technological interactive dimension has on the results of “e” learning. The question then is not “to ‘e’ or not to ‘e’,” since “e” learning is already an essential factor of our contemporary learning environment. The question is how to “e”, based on the understanding of the four interactive components of “e” learning, and the understanding that these four types of interactions are different from the ones we are accustomed to in the traditional learning environment.

Introduction Although studies and statistics show that between 20 and 30% of those students who begin a distance-learning1 course do not finish it (Kearsley, & Lynch 1996; Rovai, 2002; San Francisco State University, 20032), in the last few years there has been sharp growth in the size of the distancelearning market (Educational News, 2002; Fry, 2001; Little, 2001; Picciano, 2002; Schoech, 2000). Researchers have considered and analyzed different aspects of the distance-learning format of education, as compared with traditional “face-to-face” delivery, yet many issues relating to distance learning remain unanswered, and others still require significantly more research.

One of the... [continues]

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"Interaction in Distance Learning." StudyMode.com. 10, 2010. Accessed 10, 2010. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Interaction-In-Distance-Learning-426908.html.