Interaction is an important dimension in which to focus when building "presence" in online courses. Swan (2004) discusses three types of interaction that are very important in online teaching.
Interaction with Content (Cognitive Presence)
Cognitive Presence is the extent to which learners construct meaning through a process of inquiry. Interaction with content should not only be a situation where teachers "cover the content" but also be an environment where students explore the content to construct their own meaning and understanding. There is not a lot of focus on cognitive presence in this module because this type of presence is primarily focused on what you will be building in your course, which will be the focus of Module 2 and your Course Map.
Interaction with Instructors (Teaching Presence)
Teaching presence is what you typically think teachers do – teachers facilitate and direct students in the cognitive process.
Interaction with Peers (Social Presence)
Social presence is the way we project ourselves as a real person in the online environment. Online students feel isolated if interaction with peers or the social presence of the instructor and classmates is absent. In online and hybrid courses, opportunities for social presence have to be intentionally designed and created, while in face-to-face classes these opportunities often arise naturally as the class progresses.
"Students need the instructor's involvement and more importantly, they need the instructor's active presence to bring the course and course materials to life....online classes become "real" to students when they feel a personal connection in some manner. It begins with a sense of belonging and community as they interact with other students and continues as they work one-on-one with their instructors. This is not an automatic process and it doesn't occur quickly. Another manner in which the online class becomes "real" occurs when students participate in class discussions and gain new insights and perspectives about the course topics. When they read the course materials they may or may not connect with that information and it is dependent upon whether or not the are able to comprehend it, relate to it, and connect its meaning to the real world. An instructor helps students develop this connection to the class and the course subject manner....Through these interactions learning is transformative and becomes a process that is nurtured rather than a function to be completed." - Dr. Bruce A. Johnson
Providing opportunities for students to collaborate and communicate with each other (and with you) is key in online learning. Lack of interaction with others is often one of the concerns in online instruction - for both students and faculty. By setting up your course with opportunities for collaboration and communication you will help to:
- combat isolation
- provide further direction and learning opportunities
- increase student engagement
...which are also factors related to increased satisfaction, retention, and completion in online courses.
Although this is an older article, it continues to be heavily referenced in online teaching and learning. The article discusses the importance of interactions within a course including instructor-student, student-student, and student-content. Although online instruction is addressed in this article, the study was not limited to only online.
In addition, Dr. Anna Catterson discusses how you can create interaction in your online courses through the following:
- Recurring Interactions
- Discussion Engagement
- Prompt Feedback
- Real World Connections
- Visual & Audio Communications
Resources:
Anderson, T. (2004). Getting the mix right again: an updated and theoretical rationale for interaction. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 4(2). Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/149/708
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