Interactions in an Online Course

These may be synchronous in the form of a phone call, an online chat, a video conference, or some other real-time form of communication. S-I interactions may also be asynchronous via email, text messages, podcasts, or other means where the message is sent at one time and received later.

Much like the I-S interactions, these can take place synchronously or asynchronously. Common forms of S-S interaction in online courses would be discussion forums and group projects.

This is the interaction the student has with the course material. These interactions may be low-key and basic such as reading the textbook. However, students may also engage in simulations, games, virtual labs, and other high-tech tools depending on the subject taught. Incorporating learning objects of this type helps by giving your student opportunities for prolonged engagement with the learning material, and this is essential to the learning process. It’s not a good idea to depend too heavily on student-content interactions if that interaction is limited to reading the textbook. In cases like this, your instructor-student interactions become even more critical!