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Interaction from instructor to student and student to student is not only a good practice, “regular and substantive interaction” is a federal requirement for online learning. This guide includes examples for providing interaction in your online learning. |
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Overview
This content was adapted from information shared in COVID-19 faculty support sessions by Boise State University’s Center for Teaching and Learning.
How to Include Interactivity in Online Learning
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Video and audio allow students to demonstrate their understanding of a concept, display the results of their work, and even explain the processes they used for problem-solving. Consider the value to students as they:
Role-play with their peers in preparation for client interactions
Explain a thought process for solving an equation
Provide brief updates with visual examples of their experiences for service learning projects, community outreach, and field studies
Meet via video introductions to gain a better understanding of the diversity of their peers
Some tools to consider include Flipfor short-length exchanges and Panopto or other video production tools for longer-length presentations and screencasts. With tools like Flip, students can have conversations via short video posts. It has the potential to change the learning experience by preserving the oral component while allowing students more time to craft what they will say. It also reminds students that they are communicating with real human beings.
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Ask students to explain a theory or present a case study, then invite classmates to reply with questions or peer feedback.
Ask students to build a model and provide a tour of its parts.
Ask students to role-play conversations between caregiver and patient or professional and client.
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For interaction with the written word, look to both the familiar and new tools. Consider a tool like Padlet to create an online bulletin board that you can use to display information for on any topic. Participants can add images, links, and videos. Columns can be used for sorting or refining. Also, consider familiar tools like those found in Google Suite. Students might use LucidCharts to write a story outline as a flowchart, Google Slides is useful for creating posters, and Google Sites can be used to create websites for visual explanations and portfolios.
Many activities can be done individually or in groups. Try these activities:
Brainstorm and then prioritize a research question for research methods instruction in Google Docs, Padlet, or Sheets
Create a “wiki” page for an a historical figure
Map a story arc in a flowchart
Use Padlet to collect exemplary public health communications from a past natural disaster
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Group activities can incorporate some of the activities identified above. The tools available through Groups can be very effective in online learning. Group discussion boards can be used for role-playing, sharing student work for peer feedback, and exploring opinions, and analyzing positions. Groups provide a space and tools just for group members to meet as equals in carrying out their work on projects. There are, however, additional tools outside of the learning management system to explore for group interactions.
Google Suite can provide space using Google Documents to collaborate via a wiki or to co-design a Google website to display the results of group work. Google Forms provide easy access to share and receive student-generated surveys.
Related Information
Strategies for Supporting Student-to-Student Interactions in Online Courses from Boise State’s Community of Practice
Regular and Substantive Interaction: Background, Concerns, and Guiding Principles by UPCEA
3 Types of Interactions You Should Be Sustaining in eLearning by Karla Gutierrez at the Shifted Learning Blog