RESEARCH PAPER

North American University

Education Department
M.Ed. in EDLE & CUIN
EDUC 5324: INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY INTO EDUCATION
Name: Deniz Ozkaya

Date:

11/1/2015

Topic Selected:
Traditionally, distance education courses lack face-to-face interaction. What are the
consequences of lack of interaction in distance education? What can be done to
increase interaction in distance education (online courses) so that same type of learning
can occur with face-to-face learning?

1. LITERATURE REVIEW:
What does the literature/research say about this issue/topic? By using NAU
Library or Online Search engines, conduct a literature review.

You need to include 5 different sources (book, journal article, web article
etc.) in your review. Try to use current sources as much as possible.

You need to summarize and synthesize your sources by discussing a

common theme or issue.

You don't need to critique your sources

You don't need to evaluate your sources (if the sources are trustworthy,
weather the author has a bias or not)

You need to provide background information such as history and

definitions

Brief Literature Review:

Introduction
This study focuses on one of the most significant challenges in distance learning, the
student-to-student interaction issue, by studying the interaction experiences of a group
of students who have had a distance education experience. It addresses questions such
as the current status of student interactions, the students' perceptions of such
interactions, and the pattern emerged from such interaction behaviors. The student
interaction phenomenon in distance education was intertwined with many factors and
themes. In order to foster an interactive learning community and encourage student
interactions, all of the administrators, faculty, and staff in a distance education program
need to collaborate with each other at an institutional level.
Background
Unlike conventional classroom learning, distance education is not bounded by
space and time. In fact, teachers and students are commonly separated by space and
time, although they may choose to interact synchronously or meet periodically over the
length of the course. Distance learning also needs to use technology. In the early days of
distance education, radio and television were the media used to conduct educational
activities. Currently, the methods have extended to the internet, email, software, video,
tapes, cameras, etc. In comparison, instructors and students may choose to use
technology in a conventional classroom teaching but is optional.
Because of the alternative approaches of distance education, it has grown rapidly in the
past five years. According to the Sloan Survey of Online Learning, in the year of 2002,
81% of all institutions of higher education offered at least one fully online or blended
course. Among public institutions, the number is even as high as 97% with 49% of them
offering an online degree program. At the same time, over 1.6 million students took at
least one online course during fall 2002 and among all U.S. higher education students,
11% took at least one online course (Allen & Seaman, 2003). In 2003, 2004, and 2005,
the enrollment has jumped to 1.98 million, 2.35 million, and 3.2 million respectively. The
three-year continuous 20% to 30% growth rate in online enrollments far exceeds the
overall rate of growth for the entire higher education student population. Simultaneously,
around 50% of all schools kept an optimistic attitude toward distance learning and
identified online education as a critical long-term strategy in the three years (Allen &
Seaman, 2004; Allen & Seaman, 2006).
However, because of the limited opportunities for face-to-face interactions

between an instructor and their students, distance education has brought many new
challenges to the teaching and learning process. Wang and Newlin (2000) point out that
little is known about the characteristics of students in distance education courses. As a
result, effective curriculum design is hindered by the lack of understanding of the
characteristics, attitudes, and needs of the students in these courses (Smith, 1997). At
the same time, the faculty needs to develop skills in helping students adjust to the
unique features of distance education. However, the lack of adequate training may
prevent them from fully participating in the distance education practices (Galusha, 1998),
especially considering that they have to spend twice as much time in preparing and
delivering an online course as compared to a traditional course (Willis, 1994). With all of
the challenges facing distance education, studies show that distance learning students
desire content and motivational support beyond course materials and are limited in their
success without it (Williams, 2006).
Researchers have long pointed out the importance of student interactions in the
teaching and learning process. Vygotsky (1978) states collaborative learning is
necessary in building ones own cognitive process. Among group members, if they
cannot share their knowledge effectively, it can lead to poor learning outcomes (Soller,
2004). To test the difference of collaborative learning and individual learning, Ellis et al.
(1994) compares the problem-solving results between fifth graders who worked with a
partner and those who worked alone. The result shows that 75% of the paired students
solved the problem with new mathematical rules while only 32% of the students working
individually came up with a solution.
What are the consequences of lock of interaction in distance education?
Good communication is essential for successful learning. As there is no face-to-face
interaction in distance learning courses, communication is given a stronger emphasis by
schools providing these courses. Many of them have established more effective modes
of communication in their distance learning programs to compensate the lack of face-toface interaction.
In distance learning, the course content can be communicated through audio tapes,
videos, the web, or printed form. The student will be informed about the course content
and course directives. Most importantly, the information should be clearly communicated
to the students as they need to know exactly what is expected from them. Many distance
learning course developers make use of the internet to provide up-to-date information to
enhance learning. Besides course materials, course developers usually include other
websites and online journals to create more depth in learning. With the internet, the

course developer is able to provide online a great supply of current data to support the
course materials.
In classroom teaching, the course instructor is able to show enthusiasm for a topic
by the use of his or her tone of voice. However, with distance learning, the displaying of
enthusiasm through the use of voice by the instructor is not possible most of the time. In
this aspect, many schools which produce course content through the web, make use of
graphics, videos and photographs to depict various types of emotions. By using these
illustrations, the course instructor can communicate his or her emotions towards various
topics to the students. This helps to build enthusiasm for the course content. On the
other hand, students can express their emotions on the course through communication
channels such as web forums and chat rooms. Thus, they can also have the ease of
expressing their passion for certain topics. In this way, it would increase their
involvement in the course, build enthusiasm for their course of study and enhance their
learning process.
As physical separation can create a sense of isolation, many schools build
communication channels to decrease this feeling the learners may experience. In
distance learning, the modes of communication include electronic mail, website forums,
chat rooms and internet conferencing. Their availability helps to increase interaction
between instructor and student, as well as interaction among students. Interaction is
important in a learning environment. It can enhance learning and promote individual
growth. The communication channels also allow the students to ask questions anytime
about the course and assignments. During the course, students may not fully understand
some topics and need to seek clarifications with the course instructor. Sometimes, even
though the course instructor has explained the assignments in the course content,
students may still have questions about them. Hence, the various communication
channels are useful for these clarifications.
Distance online learning has expanded communication options used by traditional
classroom learning. For example, some methods used by students in classroom learning
such as asking the instructor questions after class lessons, telephone communication,
one-to-one or group discussions are still used in online learning. In addition to these,
online learning has electronic mail, mailing lists, chat rooms, message boards and web
forums. Thus, online learning has more communication options available for the students
and instructors to interact. As there is a variety of modes of communication available,
students can have the freedom to select the type of mode they like to use.
From the above, we can see that although distance learning may lack face-to-face
interaction, many schools have established various other modes of communication to
increase interaction. With the use of current technology, distance learning has a greater

variety of modes of communication than the traditional classroom learning. Hence,

distance learning is not lacking in communication. In fact, students in distance learning
programs have more communication options to select from.
What can be done to increase interaction in distance education so that same type
of learning can occur with face-to-face learning?

Interaction among students, for example, is supported by instructor facilitation and

support, and because it centers on, and is intertwined with the content of the course, can
be considered a series of content interactions. This is especially true in the e-learning
environment, where the different types of interaction take place on the same medium, as
is the case in electronic chats and discussion groups involving the teacher and his or her
students. In light of the close relationship among them, the various categories of
interaction should be considered together.
The following model illustrates the connection between the four dimensions of
interaction that take place in distance-learning courses:

They may be seen as interconnected roads on the e-learning map. The model
depicted in Figure 1 emphasizes the connection between the four dimensions of
interaction which take place in distance-learning courses. In this model, the lecturer is at
the top of the learning pyramid, but in parallel to his or her communication with the
students, communication among the students themselves is carried out. The lecturer
also participates in the interaction between the students. Both of these types of
interactionteacherstudent and studentstudenttake place in, and are affected by,
the environment of the course, which is determined by its content and system.
While creating opportunities for interaction may occur without much planning in a
face-to-face environment, designing and implementing interactive learning experiences
online requires strategic planning. After conducting a thorough review of current

literature on the qualities of effective online teaching, Ive identified strategies that can
increase interaction in online learning environments. These strategies are organized by
the three types of interaction defined by Moore (1989):

Learner-instructor interaction:
Interaction between the instructor and learners has been found to be the most
important type of interaction in online environments. Frequent interaction with the
instructor helps learners feel a greater sense of community and leads to higher
levels of student engagement (Brinthaupt, Fisher, Gardner, Raffo, & Woodard,
2011; Mayes et al., 2011).

Learner-content interaction:
In online learning environments, instructors must balance the desire to provide
students with a wealth of content with the need to avoid overloading students
with excess content (Garrison & Anderson, 2003). Effective online instructors
carefully consider each piece of content that is provided for students and design
opportunities for students to engage with content. Collaborative project-based
learning (PBL) can be an effective way to get students interacting with
meaningful content.

Learner-learner interaction:
One way to facilitate learner-learner interaction is allowing students to facilitate
class discussions, either synchronously or asynchronously. Prior to having
students facilitate discussions, the instructor should teach and model how to lead
an online discussion, gradually releasing responsibility for facilitating discussions
to students. Researchers recommend using a variety of groupings for interaction,
such as whole class and small group discussions, partner assignments, and
individual responses (Mayes et al., 2011).

Strategies for Incorporating Interaction

Present content in more than one format. Have students participate in online
simulations.
Learner-to-Content Interaction
Strategy

Details

Content that is presented primarily in one format, such as

video, audio, or text, tends to require many students to
learn in a format that does not meet their learning style.

Provide a mixture of delivery formats to meet multiple

learning styles, such as combining text lectures with video
clips.

A survey of distance learning students in April 2007

indicated that they prefer text-based content with video
and/or audio clips mixed in, followed by PowerPoint and
Camtasia video files that combine graphics, text, and voice
narration. Each of these formats addresses more than one
learning style.

Delivering content in multiple formats provides variety and

eliminates monotony.

Simulations allow students to actively engage with the

content.

Locate existing simulations online or obtain them from

publishers. A good online resource isMERLOT.

Create your own simulations. Contact the ATC to discuss

options for creating simulations.

Links to web-based materials allow students to browse

and delve into content that interests them the most. They
may use your links to branch off to other information
sources.

Use these clips to provide an expert perspective on the

topic, other than your own.

Web conferencing gives students live, real-time access to

the instructor, guests, or student presenters, allowing them
to get immediate clarification on concepts.

Use live, synchronous

web conferencing
(Interwise) for class
events, such as guest
speakers and student
presentations.

Make the sessions optional since not all students can

adjust their schedules to attend a live session. Record the
sessions so that students who cannot attend can view
them later.

Use these sessions to supplement your required content

so students can learn more about a topic if it interests
them.

Minimize the amount of

instructor-generated
content and guide
students into generating
their own content.

Adult students in the distance learning programs have a

wealth of knowledge and experience to bring to the class.
Use their knowledge and experience to drive the content
through the discussion forums, other communication tools
you may use, and assignments they share with the class.

Limit the content you provide to an overview of the topic

Present content in more

than one format.

Have students participate

in online simulations.

Provide links to online

resources which allow
students to explore the
topic in more depth.
Use audio and video clips
for access to guest
lecturers and field
experts.

which introduces the topic and puts it into context.

Supplement it with Internet resources, simulations, and
activities that engage the students.

Require participation in
discussion forums that
require students to reflect
and build on the content.
Assign activities that
require students to
interact with the content
and explore the topic in
greater detail.

Use self-tests to allow

students to check their
understanding of content.

Ask students to use the wiki tool in myWPI to create

content pages on a particular topic. This allows them to
learn a topic in depth and share it with the other students.

Students become actively engaged in the content through

discussions about the materials you have provided.

Write questions that require students to share their own

perspectives and experiences in order to expand on the
content you have provided.

Simulations, web searches, wiki assignments, research

reviews, case studies, etc. all require students to interact
with the content and learn more about the topic on their
own.

Create self-tests in myWPI for students to test their

knowledge of key content concepts. Students will then
know what they still need to master and they can go back
and review as necessary.

Provide students with a list of questions they should be

thinking about after they review the content. Encourage
them to try answering the questions on their own.

Organize your content in a similar fashion for each lesson

and use similar content formats for each lesson. As the
course proceeds, this makes it easier for students to
organize the content for themselves and it eliminates the
need for them to adjust to a new delivery format for each
lesson.

Keep the format of your

lessons consistent.

Strategy

Learner-to-Learner Interaction
Details

Encourage students to introduce themselves during the

first week of the class. Ask them to provide information on
their educational and work experiences, as well as some
personal information. These introductions will help
students find others with similar backgrounds and interests
and leads to the building of a sense of community in the
course.

Provide a student-only forum in the discussion forums

where students can discuss anything that interests them,
even if it is unrelated to the course.

Write discussion questions that are open-ended and invite

students to relate their prior knowledge and work
experience to the content. Students bring a lot of good
information to your course and through well-designed

Encourage socializing in
the discussion forums.

Encourage content-based
discussion in the
discussion forums.

discussions, students may learn more from each other

than they do from the instructor.

Assign students to take

turns moderating the
discussion forums.

Require students to post

select assignments (i.e.
short papers, journals,
websites, etc.) so they are
available to the entire
class and invite students
to comment on each
other's work.

Make the synchronous

chat in myWPI available.

Encourage students to
use Interwise for group
meetings.

Assign student to moderate for a week, or ask them to sign

up to moderate the discussion for a topic that is of interest
to them.

Double up moderators if you have a large class.

Ask moderators to summarize the discussion at the end of

the week.

When the assignment is likely to produce a variety of

responses from students, having students post their work
introduces students to new perspectives and can generate
lively discussion.

Set the expectation that all public comments on student

work will be respectful. Without this assurance, some
students may not feel comfortable sharing their work with
the entire class.

Students can meet on a scheduled or ad hoc basis to

discuss the content, assignments, etc.

Students working in groups can use the chat to coordinate

their projects.

Consider scheduling chat sessions that you attend to

discuss class topics. Post a topic or agenda before the
session to help students determine whether or not they
want to attend.

Students can meet on a scheduled or ad hoc basis to

discuss group projects, content, assignments, etc..

Consider scheduling Interwise sessions that you attend to

discuss class topics. Post a topic or agenda before the
session to help students determine whether or not they
want to attend.

Contact your ATC coordinator for help with setting up

Interwise.

Assign group work when an objective of your class can

best be achieved by students working in groups. For
example, if students would likely be working on a particular
issue in the workplace as a member of a group, assign a
group project to simulate the workplace experience.

Case studies that may require discussion and different

perspectives lend themselves well to group work.

Provide discussion forums for each group.

Assign group work.

Strategy

Learner-to-Instructor Interaction
Details

Present a welcoming,
friendly atmosphere.

Provide more than one

way for students to
contact you.

Provide clear and

thorough information to
students.

Introduce yourself at the beginning of the course by

posting information about yourself. In addition to your
academic background, post some personal items to give
the students a sense that you are approachable. Post a
picture of yourself to give them a face to identify with.

Don't be afraid to let your personality show when you are

responding in the discussion forums or to e-mails.

Use students' names when you respond to their e-mails

and discussion forum postings.

Write in the first person, using "I" when you respond.

Be careful using humor, as it is not always easy to convey

humor online.

Provide more than one way for students to contact you, so

they can use the option that is most comfortable to them.
For example, provide your e-mail address and your office
phone number with office hours.

Respond to students as soon as possible, ideally within 24

hours.

Make sure your syllabus thoroughly describes how the

course works and your expectations for students.

Provide an FAQ (frequently asked questions) list of

questions you anticipate students having about the course.

Thoroughly describe each assignment and the grading

criteria.

Post to the discussion forums occasionally to let students

know you are reading their contributions.

Make your postings complimentary and constructive.

Recognize good ideas from students and build upon
student postings to steer the discussion in a new direction.

Be careful not to post too much, as frequent instructor

postings tend to limit student contributions to the
discussion.

Maintain a presence in the

discussion forums.

Use synchronous
technologies for question
and answer sessions and
ad hoc discussions.

Provide thorough
feedback.

Synchronous chat (in myWPI) or web conferencing

(Interwise) allows students to ask questions and get
immediate responses. Treat sessions as you would "office
hours."

Consider having one synchronous session each week or

every other week.

Keep synchronous sessions optional, as students are

located in multiple time zones and may not always be able
to adjust their schedules so they can attend.

Record or log the session and make it available to

students who could not attend.

Provide public feedback by complimenting students on

quality contributions to the discussion.

Provide private feedback on assignments via written

comments on the assignment or via e-mail. Make sure
comments are constructive and indicate to the students
what they did correct and what they did wrong. It is best to
always provide written comments in addition to any grade
that may be given for an assignment.

Discussion
It is important for distance learning students to experience the types of
professional culture, knowledge sharing, and resource exchange involved in
collaborative teaching and collaborative learning in both online and face-to-face
environments, so that they can understand the value that communication in each type of
environment can bring. In recent years, students in online teaching/learning
environments have become familiar with many technologies that have not consistently
found their way into face-to-face classrooms. However, when such tools are
incorporated into face-to-face courses through the use of course-level blended
education, student learning is enhanced in terms of both the immediate classroom
experience and the preparation it provides for future professional collaborations.
Online collaboration tools such as blogs can facilitate the integration of individual
contributions to team or project-based work. This is especially important considering the
growing trend of team management in all types of libraries (Bemfeld, 2004). While
younger students are already familiar with many of these online tools, graduate students,
especially those who have been away from academia for some time before returning to
pursue an advanced degree, may not have been exposed to them. Ensuring that

distance learning students are competitive upon graduation is a responsibility of distance

learning educators in both online and face-to-face learning environments, and integrating
carefully blended social technologies into both online and face-to-face courses can help
to meet that goal. In this study, data collected from students' blogs were used to assess
whether Zach and Agosto's (2009) framework for maximizing student collaboration and
knowledge sharing in online courses can be applied successfully to face-to-face
courses. Blogs provide a "middle space" between online and traditional classroom
settings (Oravec, 2003, p. 225), making them useful tools to assess course-level
blended educational delivery. The results of the data analysis suggest that, similar to
previous findings for online teaching/ learning environments, there are several key
criteria for blending social technologies into face-to-face courses. These include strong
support of social presence, low learning curves, and easily facilitated student interaction.
Social technologies that are successful for supporting collaborative behaviors in online
teaching/learning environments are likely to have similar positive effects in face-to-face
and blended teaching/learning environments. Previous research in the face-to-face
environment has found that students perceive that blogs not only facilitate but also
enhance their learning, especially their understanding of course content (Churchill, 2009;
Ducate & Lomicka, 2008; Halic, Lee, Paulus, & Spence, 2010; Sharma & Xie, 2008;
Williams & Jacobs, 2004). Analysis of data collected in this study demonstrated strong
support for the concept of peer-topeer learning as a result of blog usage. Other areas for
which the data provided strong support were instructor participation/engagement,
facilitation of learning, and student control. These areas are all important for fostering
collaborative teaching and collaborative learning, which will prepare students to function
successfully within a collaborative paradigm when they enter the workforce. This study
has shown that social technologies such as blogging are well suited to sharing course
content in face-to-face courses and that course-level blending can bring many of the
educational benefits of online education into the face-to-face teaching/learning arena.
Conclusion
When interaction takes place successfully in an e-learning course, the students
benefit from the learning process, and positive results are achieved. When the
interaction aspect fails, the students are dissatisfied with the distance learning course.
To be successful, e-learning instructors must overcome psychological and
communication gaps that may result from the transactional distance associated with elearning. Unlike face-to-face courses, which are naturally associated with a feeling of
closeness, thereby encouraging interaction, distance-learning courses need to be
carefully structured to achieve a feeling of closeness. Ultimately, closeness is not
determined by geography, but rather by the relationship between the participants, the

dialog they conduct, and the feelings they have towards each other and the educational
system in which they participate.
In structuring their distance learning courses, instructors need to consider the
three types of interaction identified by Moore: Interaction with content, interaction with
the instructor; and interaction among the classmates. Instructors should also consider
the fourth dimension of interaction identified in this article: interaction with the system. By
taking into account the four types of interaction (as well as the connection between
them) when designing their e-learning courses, instructors can expect to achieve better
results.
Criteria for selecting technologies to afford successful student collaboration
include strong support of social presence, low learning curves, and easily facilitated
student interaction. In addition, their successful integration into the teaching/learning
environment requires a high level of participation from the instructor and significant
personalization of the collaborative experience to increase community building,
engagement, and student learning. In view of the fact that the library and information
service world is increasingly becoming a seamless mix of face-to-face and online
interactions, its need to move away from thinking about educational delivery as a choice
among face-to-face, online, or blended programs, instead working to provide students
with blended educational delivery at all possible levels: activity, course, program, and
administrative. Optimally, those features of the e-learning environment that are
sometimes identified by students as being negative factors can be transformed into the
unique benefits offered by the distance-learning format.

2. REFLECTION:

What is your personal opinion on this issue? Do you agree with the
research? If you agree or disagree, please explain why?
Provide examples/experiences regarding this issue from school
perspective orIf you are not working in a school, from your profession. Be
specific with your examples. You can mention software/hardware names,
specific methods that you plan to use, etc.
How would you implement this research in your career? (At least 1
paragraph)

Reflection:

In my opinion, communication is very important factor in the learning process.

It enables the sharing of information, behavior, thoughts and ideas which contribute to
learning. Many opportunities for learning can be created by communication. In

addition, it also helps for social and psychological growth of students.

Communication barriers, on the other hand, as in any communication

process, also exist in distance education because of such reasons as the

physical distance between members, the difficulties of dealing with new media,
having time constraints and restrictions, background knowledge of distance
education, incompetence in skills of using technology, and the interactivity level
of the process. Put all together, effective distance education process becomes
almost impossible. The levels of these barriers are different in different
institutions or in different programs and in different delivery systems used. Now
that the technology is changing very fast. There are some programs and tools
that help communication for distance learning. In such programs, teachers and
the students do not establish a face to face communication thus creating
difficulties and are separated by physical distance and time. As a result alternate
media sources are used to deal with these difficulties.
Distance education requires tools and devices to be used in
communication such as computers and the related devices, so some students
may face problems in purchasing them due to their low budget. It is still believe
by some that a better communication is achieved when the sender and receiver
interact face to face. Therefore, bearing this in mind they refuse or resist
communicating via technology.
I totally agree with the view of a friendly and social learning environment in
learning is promoted should be created online. This means improving human
relationships, developing group cohesiveness, maintaining the group as a unit. In
other words, it is important to help participants to work together for a mutual
cause.

3. REFERENCES:

Cite at least 5References in APA.

You may use http://www.citationmachine.net/apa/cite-a-journal for citing
your sources in APA style.

References:
Agosto, D. d., Copeland, A. a., & Zach, L. l. (2013). Testing the Benefits of Blended
Education: Using Social Technology to Foster Collaboration and Knowledge
Sharing in Face-To-Face LIS Courses. Journal Of
Education For Library & Information Science, 54(1), 94-107.

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Increasing Interaction in Online Learning Environments. (2013, July 9). Retrieved
November 2, 2015, from
http://www.fractuslearning.com/2013/07/09/online-learning-environments/
Is Distance Learning Lacking In Communication? (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2015,
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(n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2015, from http://www.ojcmt.net/articles/11/111.pdf
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http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring111/Liu111.html