Supporting Informal Interaction in Online Courses

Covid-19 presented many challenges to universities as brick-and-mortar courses were moved to an online format. This work is an unofficial study of learner-instructor interaction and student engagement in two 7- week online graduate-level courses conducted in Spring 2020, Fall 2020, and early Spring 2021. Research shows that instructor presence in online courses leads to increased student engagement, as well as motivation, well-being, and academic achievement. Student engagement is shown to have a direct impact on a student’s emotional, behavioral, and cognitive successes. This work proposes that increased learner￾instructor interaction in online courses using strategies lead to greater student engagement with the course, and greater student success in overcoming barriers and challenges to online learning.

Higher education institutions have recently transitioned from face-to-face to online teaching and learning environments. However, academic staff lack sufficient training in applying emotional intelligence (EI) skills and strategies in online learning environments. Although literature addressing academics’ EI is sparse, some studies have suggested that lecturers’ EI greatly influences teaching and learning. This study used the concept of EI to understand students’ perceptions of how lecturers’ EI impacted their learning and engagement in an online learning environment. We conducted four online focus group interviews of 14 students pursuing a bachelor’s degree at two campuses of an Australian university, one in Melbourne and the other in Malaysia. Four main themes were identified using thematic analysis. Students discussed their perceptions and experiences on (a) vulnerabilities, coping and empathy; (b) relationships with lecturers, trust and safety; (c) communication, tone and voice; and (d) managing emotions of lecturers. Our findings suggest that lecturers’ EI impacted students’ learning and engagement in online learning spaces. However, the impact differs between Australia and Malaysia due to cultural differences. Drawing on the findings, we present online education good practices grounded in the theory of EI. Lecturers delivering online courses should consider employing these practices for effective teaching. Implications for practice or policy: Higher educational institutions need to support lecturers in developing the necessary EI skills to engage students in online learning. Lecturers need to make meaningful attempts to develop positive relationships with students in online forums to support students’ engagement. Lecturers working in online learning environments need to support students to develop friendships and connections with their peers. Lecturers need to include regular discussion breaks during online lectures to allow students to share their opinions and experiences.

Due to the realistic, complex natures of authentic cases involved in case-based learning, the use of group work has been encouraged and expected to enhance the quality of interaction among participants and to improve students’ learning experiences. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the case-based online group work increased students’ satisfaction with interaction among students in an online course. Findings of this study revealed that the group assignment did not have an effect on students’ satisfaction with online interactions. Instead, students’ perceptions of the importance of group work were associated with their satisfaction with interaction in the online course.

By investigating the current state of online learning environments in medical education and students' academic emotions, this study aims to further understand the association between online learning environments and academic emotions, thereby providing insights for optimizing the online learning environment in medical education. A cross-sectional study. The study employed a convenience sampling method to select participants from a sample of 317 medical school students at a university in China. The study was conducted from September to November 2023. Data was collected using General Information Questionnaire, Online Learning Environment Assessment Scale, and College Students' General Academic Emotions Questionnaire. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to examine the association between the online learning environment and academic emotions. And the ENTER method was chosen for multiple linear regression analysis. The results showed that content design had a significant positive association on positive activating emotions. Learning assessment had significant negative association on negative activating emotions and negative deactivating emotions. Website design had a significant positive association on negative deactivating emotions. In order to increase positive academic emotions and decrease negative emotions among medical students in online learning, improvements can be made in the areas of content design, learning assessment, and website design, which in turn will improve the effectiveness of online learning.

This study investigated demographic, personality, and attitude differences between students enrolled in online courses and students enrolled in traditional, lecture courses. Subjects were 120 education majors enrolled in required Master's of Education core courses. Students enrolled in either online (n = 51) or traditional course format (n = 69) during summer and fall semesters 2001. The two groups of students were compared on an author-designed questionnaire assessing students' demographic characteristics and attitudes toward both online and traditional instruction and the Cattell Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire. Analysis indicated high demographic and interpersonal similarity between students enrolled in online course formats and students enrolled in traditional, face-to-face course formats. Significant differences in attitude were found between the two groups; online courses were rated higher by online students but viewed with considerable ambivalence by students enrolled in traditional section courses.

Online learning in higher education has rapidly grown in recent years and has become the norm. However, pedagogical aspects on online learning environments are still developing. This chapter focuses on one foundational aspect of online and blended learning known as presence. First, the concept of presence in online learning is described i.e. teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence. Secondly, strategies for ensuring presence are discussed from different angles: course design, course instructors and course facilitators, and course participants. Thirdly, the implications for future research are outlined. This chapter enhances the research on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework a useful guide to the design of learning experiences that support learners' critical reflection and engagement within collaborative online learning environments.

Epistemic cooperation scripts in online learning environments: fostering learning by reducing uncertainty in discourse?

Distant education and online courses have recently become a part of a new reality, especially in the last four months as many institutes and universities all over the world had to shift most of their educational content online because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It appeared that some higher educational institutions and a certain part of their students were almost ready to go online as these institutions had been developing their online platforms thus integrating traditional face-to-face classes with computer-assisted learning as well as integrating massive open or shared online courses into their curricular. At the same time, many other universities and institutes proved to be absolutely unprepared to shift online as they and their students had neither their own educational environment and online resources developed by their teaching staff nor any experience of working in an external online environment and choosing courses appropriate for their educational purposes. It turned out that most existing online courses could not be successfully used for implementing into most universities curricula and for teaching a majority of technical students as they simply reproduced the traditional classroom learning process and missed all advantages and opportunities afforded by online learning environments. The authors objective for this research in progress is to identify the key features and describe structure, content and assessment specifics of an academical online course for technical students. This paper provides tips on how to organize the course content into a proper structure stressing what types of teaching materials could be uploaded to the educational platform and goes into its assessment specifics. In a long-term perspective the authors aim to design, develop and introduce a modern and progressive constructivist learning environment for teaching business English in technical universities.KeywordsEngineering educationOnline courseOnline course designTeaching materialsOnline tests and quizzesFormative assessmentSummative assessmentPeer reviewing

This paper builds on the model we have developed for creating quality online learning environments for higher education. In that model we argue that college-level online learning needs to reflect what we know about learning in general, what we understand about learning in higher-education contexts, and our emerging knowledge of learning in largely asynchronous online environments. Components of the model include a focus on learner roles, knowledge building, assessment, community, and various forms of “presence.” In this paper we focus on two components—teaching presence and community—and review the rationale and benefits for an emphasis on community in online learning environments. We argue that learning is social in nature and that online learning environments can be designed to reflect and leverage the social nature of learning. We suggest that previous research points to the critical role that community can play in building and sustaining productive learning and that teaching presence, defined as the core roles of the online instructor, is among the most promising mechanism for developing online learning community. We present a multi-institutional study of 2,036 students across thirty-two different colleges that supports this claim and provides insight into the relationship between online learning community and teaching presence. Factor and regression analysis indicate a significant link between students’ sense oflearning community and their recognition of effective instructional design and directed facilitation on the part of their course instructors—and that student gender plays a small role in sense of learning community. We conclude with recommendations for online course design, pedagogy, and future research.

This study examines the relationship between instructional interaction and student persistence among adult students in online courses. A survey research methodology was used to examine the frequency and the method of instructional interaction in online courses, student attitudes regarding instructional interaction, and the reasons online students provide for persisting in, or withdrawing from, online courses. The results indicate that student perceptions regarding the contribution of asynchronous, discussion forum use combined with frequent use of asynchronous discussion account for 26% of the variance in course persistence rates. Consistent with the literature on adult student dropout, the findings identify additional situational and institutional barriers to persistence among students in online courses. The findings suggest that strategies to facilitate student persistence in online courses should address online instructional techniques, faculty development, technology development, and program development.

Objective: The study evaluated the effectiveness of an online first aid course by comparing it with the traditional instructor-led course. An effective online course increases course accessibility and mitigates the major deterrent to widespread layperson training. Design: A comparison group design evaluated performances among 25 laypersons self-selecting the traditional course and 46 self-selecting the online course. Setting: Online participants completed the course in a location and at a time convenient to them. Traditional participants completed the course at testing sites. All attended a testing site for skills testing. Method: Eight instructors participated in traditional course delivery, skills review and practice, and skills testing. They assessed participants’ performance using standard checklists. Resuscitation mannequins captured objective performance data. Results: Instructors assessed all participants as passing all skills tests. None passed using the objective data but online course participants outperformed traditional course participants. Conclusions: The online course is effective. Its accessibility permits broader dissemination and use.

The rapid growth of diverse learners in online learning has made it imperative for online instructors to incorporate multicultural resource curricula and instructional activities. This research aimed to explore online instructors' perceptions of culturally responsive pedagogy in online education; examine how instructors integrate culturally responsive pedagogy strategies in the online learning environment; and explore the challenges in facilitating cross‐cultural collaborative learning for students from different cultural backgrounds. Data were collected following a qualitative multi‐site case study method with five academic disciplines (Education, Social Sciences, Engineering, Physical Sciences and Health Sciences) in 12 colleges and universities in the United States of America. In all, 60 in‐depth and semi‐structured interviews with instructors (26 females and 34 males) were obtained and analysed following a constant comparative analysis approach. Results reflected that the instructors used cross‐cultural interactions to facilitate students' engagement and incorporated culturally responsive teaching. Besides, the findings revealed that most of the instructors integrated diverse and internationalized learning content to support diverse students and addressed the impact of multicultural education in online learning. It was, however, noted, that instructors in the physical science disciplines struggled to incorporate culturally diverse contents in their online classes. The findings of this study foster discourse on how best instructors could be aided to engage diverse students online more meaningfully. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Since studies of this nature are mostly undertaken in teaching and learning environments that are diverse in terms of student populations, both students and instructors are exposed to cultural differences in teaching and learning in multicultural/diverse online learning environments. Studies on multicultural/diverse online learning environments abound and have been undertaken for several years but the emphasis has mainly been to explore issues from the perspectives of students. Most online instructors assume that online learning provides equal opportunities to all students regardless of their cultural backgrounds and cultural differences; hence, instructors have mostly not been able to recognize cultural implications for students' learning to design inclusive instructional strategies to meet the learning needs of diverse students in online education. What this paper adds This study, unlike earlier ones with a similar focus, explored online instructors' perceptions of culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP), specifically with regards to the design, preparation and integration of multicultural learning contents and resources in online education. This study employed Scott et al.'s (2015) culturally responsive computing theory as a lens to connect students' prior learning experiences, knowledge, interests, strengths and weaknesses as a way to draw instructors' attention to how best diverse students can be aided to be innovative and succeed in the face of cross‐cultural challenges they face studying online. The study also contributes to the instructors' understanding of culturally responsive pedagogical principles in online spaces that recognize global identities and cultural experiences to meet the needs of diverse students in an online learning environment. Implications for practice and/or policy Instructors must develop online courses with the focus to bridge students' geographical and cultural backgrounds so that students will have the opportunity to share and connect with peers in online classrooms for effective collaboration and communication. Institutions that offer online education must make concerted efforts to provide continuous professional development opportunities for instructors of online courses on impacts of culture/diversity in the online classroom, and strategies for creating conducive online learning environments that value cultural differences, and social/educational experiences in ways that support students' learning. Institutions and stakeholders, through policy initiatives, should make frantic efforts to afford instructors with comprehensive knowledge and understanding of CRP in online learning to avoid the assumption that students in online courses share similar learning characteristics and bring to the online learning the same experiences and cultural backgrounds.

The workshop is designed as an interactive and participative session where the presenters will pose key challenges in the creation of emergent, engaging, interactive and motivational online learning environments. Using multi-disciplinary perspectives, participants will engage in discussions and activities designed to contextualise these challenges and develop environmentally-specific design and development solutions for their individual online learning programs. On completing the workshop, participants will also have a set of tools to support the construction of their own “online architectures”. The expertise of Dr Kays and Dr Sims in the international higher education sectors, in instructional design, learning design and contemporary online learning environments will ensure that participants will develop their knowledge and skills to maximise the success of their own online teaching and learning practice. At the end of this one-day workshop, participants will have: reviewed and critically reflected on the key components for effective online learning; analysed the major issues that confront and prevent designers from achieving the full potential of online learning; synthesised the key elements required to construct Architectures for Online Learning, including emergent design, proactive evaluation and interaction metrics; participated in a case study of their own workplace environment to implement contextual and functional Online Learning Architecture; access to a full set of resources and tools to develop and implement more complex online learning architectures within their workplace.

The aim of this work was to identify the existing types of massive open online courses integration into the educational process with the help of assessing the practices adopted by foreign and Russian universities. Besides, the authors identified conditions necessary for successful integration of online courses into academic programs of Russian universities and marked basic advantages and limitation of using MOOC in the educational process. Analysis used the data from academic publications, university regulatory documents, university official sites and 5 expert interviews with executives and administrators of online learning centers from leading Russian universities – m embers of «National open learning platform» (NOLP) Association. The analysis of MOOC integration into educational process allowed for identifying three main types of online courses inclusion into academic programs: 1) MOOC integration into blended format of learning; 2) replacement of several full-time courses by online disciplines; 3) creating a program of an online master course with all courses taught in online format. Foreign universities have made this technology an essential part of training, therefore creating new environment for education. At the same time, Russian universities do not use this method on a wide-scale basis. Yet there is a legislative basis for MOOC integration into the educational process. This might be related first of all with low awareness of both universities and students of the opportunity of using online courses within the framework of the educational process. Despite the advantages of using online courses, this practice has its risks: 1) researchers have not identified a single unified standard for organizing blended courses; 2) there is no standard for evaluating MOOC quality; 3) we do not know economic and educational effects of integrating online courses into the educational process as well as business – model of online education; 4) courses on certain topics cannot be transferred into online format; 5) there are lecturers’ opposing MOOCs integration into the educational process, and they demonstrate low level of interest in using such courses in the academic program; 6) there are many questions concerning the choice of MOOCs, forming a curriculum with a convenient period of teaching and correct calculation of the results of passing an online course. In order to ensure successful integration of MOOCs into the educational process within Russian universities, the article presents three groups of conditions necessary for implementing two types of mixed models, model with replacing traditional courses by online ones and online maser course model based solely on MOOCs: 1) staff; 2) integration process administration, and 3) functional characteristics of the online platform. The results obtained can be of interest for university executives, as there are practical recommendations for implementing MOOCs into teaching activities. The conditions suggested allow for successful implementation of this teaching technology at both selective and non-selective universities, opening new opportunities for using innovational teaching methods in practice.

In the past, instructional design of online learning has largely ignored culture in the creation of online learning environments. Because research in the interaction of culture and online learning is very sparse, an exploratory, blended study was conducted to assess whether there is evidence that one measurable aspect of learners’ culture interacts with the online learning environment in ways that can be observed and identified, and whether this interaction impacts learners’ motivation and behavior in those environments. “Culture” is a complex concept consisting of many interrelated behaviors and values. For this reason, the study focused on one single aspect of culture— Hofstede’s individualist/collectivist (IC) orientation—and investigated its relationship to learner behavior and motivation in online learning environments. This study found patterns of significant correlations between motivation and IC variables within the online learning environments, as well as between certain types of online interactions (particularly listserv usage) and IC variables. Patterns of correlations between IC scores and synchronous activities, asynchronous activities, individual components, and group work were clearly observable. Of these, the synchronous component seems to have the weakest associations, possibly due to a relatively small sample size. There is clearly an association between respondents’ emotional reactions to synchronous work and their IC scores; however, these coefficients are uniformly negative. This indicates that, as a learner collectivist score increases, the emotional reaction that the learner experiences as a result of synchronous components decreases. The results of this study indicate that further research in this area is warranted. Instructional designers and implementers should be aware of potential interactions between online learning environments and the cultural characteristics of the learners who utilize them. Understanding how a learner’s culture may interact with specific online learning components makes possible the exploration and creation of alternative means of supporting learners in the construction of knowledge.