The 4 types of interactions in the online classroom

A fantastic way to think about what happens in online learning is as a series of interactions:

1. between the student and other students

2. between the student and instructor

3. between the student and the content

4. between the student and the technology

When thought of this way, it’s easy to see if a course is out of balance. Student to student interaction can be really important for preventing burnout and making the learning meaningful. Without student to instructor interaction, the students can become frustrated or lost. Student to content interaction is often what we think of first, but we must be mindful not to overload this type of interaction at the expense of the others. Student to technology is important to really think about so that the effective delivery of the course doesn’t become sidelined by IT support needs.