Archive for the ‘Interaction’ Category

What if online students take on the responsibility: Students’ cognitive presence and peer facilitation techniques

The purpose of this study was to investigate: (a) the characteristics of online students’ cognitive presence in a peer-facilitated discussion environment, and (b) the peer facilitation techniques that enhance cognitive presence development. In this study, we examined 738 discussion messages. Analytic methods included both qualitative and quantitative content analysis. The findings revealed that although cognitive […]

Student Questions: A Path to Engagement and Social Presence in the Online Classroom

Within the vast search for ways to enhance the online classroom learning environment and to engage students fully, researchers often turn to discussions concerning instructor-student interactions that take place daily in the online classroom. Although students interact with other students and with the content, it is the student-instructor interaction and connection that appears to support […]

Engaging Learners in Online Environments Utilizing Universal Design for Learning Principles

Student learning outcomes depend on the depth and quality of their engagement in learning. Since the early 2000s, the concept of engagement has gained a lot of attention from researchers. Scholars often define engagement as a complex construct that consists of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional components, and argue instructors should attend to each one of […]

Building Relationships and Increasing Engagement in the Virtual Classroom

Online education is rapidly increasing in popularity across the globe. Instructors and professors struggle to engage with and build meaningful relationships with online students in the same manner as on-ground students, and without this critical component in place, online students report a lack of interest, and thus, they produce a lower quality of work and […]

The Design and Impact of the Pedagogical Agent: A Systematic Literature Review

A pedagogical agent is an anthropomorphic virtual character used in an online learning environment to serve instructional purposes. The design of pedagogical agents changes over time depending on the desired objectives for them. This article is a systematic review of the research from 2007 to 2017 related to the design factors of pedagogical agents and […]

A Blueprint for Executing Instructor-Student Interactions in the Online Classroom Using Marketing Touchpoints

Communicating with students is one of the most important responsibilities for faculty in an online course. It can also be a puzzling process. Having a “communication plan” and understanding effective email strategies, along with proper timing and frequency of communicating with students, are all important pieces of this puzzle. We propose using “touchpoints” in designing […]