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Online interaction: trying to get it right

Linda Chow and Rex Sharman
The Open University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong SAR, China

No topic generates more debate among educators than the role of interaction as a crucial component of the education process. A quarter of a century ago, Daniel and Marquis (1979) challenged distance educators to 'get the mixture right' between independent study and interactive learning strategies and activities but, even today, learners and institutions are still looking for the 'right' mix for independent study and interaction.

The Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) has an efficient, easy to use, online course delivery system -- the Online Learning Environment (OLE). The system enables online course material delivery, and has an interactive tool (the discussion board) for students to communicate and interact with their tutor and each other. This infrastructure should provide opportunities for academic staff to include more online interaction in the learning -- but has OUHK's teaching and learning approach changed?

This paper examines the types and depth of online student-content, student-student and student-teacher interaction (Moore, 1989) that exist in OUHK courses. Our findings show that:

OUHK's model has basically not changed. Some attempts have been made to include online interactive exercises, quizzes and collaborative project work, but the online content and methods in most courses are the same as their print counterparts.
The Discussion Board was underused in half the courses. Interaction varied from social to extension of study support to sharing of knowledge and experiences. There was little evidence of higher-level academic interactions leading to active construction of knowledge and collaborative learning.

Can online interaction in OUHK courses be improved? What factors inhibit academic staff and designers from exploring new ways to improve online learning? The paper concludes with some suggestions about how OUHK can move forward and come closer to the right mix.