Anderson, T. (2003). Getting the mix right again: an updated and theoretical rationale for interaction. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. 4.(2), pp 1 - 25.
Anderson points out the debate on the importance of interaction in educational process to introduce his proposal of equivalency theorem. His objective in writing the article is to provide a theoretical rationale and guide of effective and efficient distance education systems.He begins the discussion by providing the definition of interaction and explaining the function and value of interaction in education. He differentiates between interaction leading to learning in any informal context and types of interaction that take place in formal education context (p. 4).
When it comes to distance education, Anderson refers to his previous work with Garrison to describe common types of interaction between student-student, student-teacher, and student-content. He posits his equivalency theorem stating that "deep meaningful formal learning is supported as long as one of the three types of interaction is at high level" (p.7). This means that one type of interaction can be substituted with one of the other types with equivalent level. Anderson then proceeds to providing the implications of equivalency theorem that involves student, teacher, and content.
In the next part, Anderson gives various examples to describe the operation of the equivalency theorem in most common distance education. Web-based courses are more effective and efficient compared to traditional distance education via mail or electronic correspondence and audio and video conferencing because they are capable of providing high levels of deep and meaningful learning through high level of student-student interaction. At the end, Anderson describe his model of Online learning with learners and teachers as its main actors. The model facilitates the development of social skills, collaborative learning, and personal relationships amongst all participants. In short, Anderson's theorem and model provide examples of various types of effective distance education programming based upon various types and mixes of interaction (p.20).
At first, I thought that the article would be theoretical and difficult to read. I was glad that the discussion actually provides practical examples and explanation about various types of interaction in distance education. Last semester, I took my first online class in IST department and L-544 is my second online class. My experiences in those two classes have made me easier in grasping the meaning of "reducing the amount of teacher-student interaction and substitute it with increased student-student and student-content interaction in e-learning environment".
8 comments:
I like how you related the article to your present experience with distance learning. I agree that with distant learning we spend a lot more time with student to student interaction than with teacher and student interaction. I have found this benficial especially with this class in the way we use our blogs to interact with each other and give feedback. I was also discouraged at the begininng of the article when Anderson wanted to break down interaction as if it were a science experiment. I was proven wrong and found the article to be very clear and straight forward in what it was trying to present and not as boring and dry as I thought it was going to be.
Thanks, William. Yes, I learned a lot from our blogs. For me, I learned not only about the content of the reading assigned, but also about how other classmates express their ideas and understanding.
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who was somewhat intimidated by the article at the start! I know that we can all handle scholarly writing, but it's nice when things are a little more informal.
I agree that the blogs are an interesting medium for connection. But, blogs don't show facial expression or tone of voice or even humor. But, many people cannot have the traditional college experience nd online provides a responsive alternative. As Anderson painstakingly explained, Student-Student interaction can substitute for teacher-student. I Can tell the more online classes you take the more comfortable you become.
If you could change anything about online classes to improve the experience, what would you change? Of course, different classes and different courses have different styles, but how would you make the experience even better?
Retno, you said "reducing the amount of teacher-student interaction and substitute it with increased student-student and student-content interaction in e-learning environment".
When student-student interactions are highlighted in online learning, we, at the same time, need to think seriously about the "ideal" teacher roles in that kind of settings. Many people suggest facilitator roles, but always the question is "how".
Catherine, definitely agree with you :)
Julie, that might be true "the more online classes you take the more comfortable you become". Let's see. This is my second Online class. I plan to have more :)
Denice, for the meantime, the ideal online class is like the one I wrote in your blog, despite the fact that such class is really time consuming both for students and teacher.
Daehyon, I don't think I said that explicitly :) I tried to paraphrase Anderson about the requirement for deep and meaningful formal learning. Did I misinterpreted Anderson?
One aspect of this class that differs form my other online experiences is the lack of roles for each of us regarding our readings. In some classes students are asked to summarize, makes starter questions, be devil's advocate, or be a discussion wrapper. I actually enjoyed this system as everybody is playing and active part each week and the kinds of discussions that spring up are more varied that just having relfection. I have enjoyed this class's setup as well, but I'm interested in hearing the rest of your opinions. Any thoughts?
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