4.3 PRESENTATION OF DATA FINDINGS
4.3.4 Degree of interaction and engagement
Interaction emerged as an important aspect of online learning. Interactivity was described as the opportunity to access other opinions and information not residing within the limited resources that one might have accessed. Participants revealed how the degree and/or level of interaction with other students and with the facilitator affected their online learning experience. It was indicated that online interaction was an important aspect of the learning process and student success. They also indicated that it was increasingly possible for students to interact with one another, even when geographically separated.
Most of the participants cited the importance of interactivity as the most beneficial aspect of online learning generally. The sub-categories that emerged under this theme were: (a) student-to-student interaction; (b) student-to-facilitator interaction; and (c) student-to-content interaction.
(a) Student-to-student interaction: It was revealed that the students used each other as resources and for support by commenting on the information they collect from various resources, observations and experiences of each other. According to data sources, the participants felt that the peer student interactions were open and active, with a high degree of intellectual engagement. Online discussions were viewed by participants as useful, well thought out, of a deep-learning nature and requiring them to be active learners. Some of the views of the participants on interactive engagement were:
I believe my role was to participate and communicate with other students and discuss the things which were part of the curriculum module that we were doing....
59 The interaction with the peers was... I can say it was good because of the
responses we received though at first it was not that much up until the facilitator highlighted the importance of interaction...
Interactivity was really important for all students. The way the discussion forums were structured really helped us to be grounded in what we were learning...
The level of engagement was amazing... It was professional and everybody was active, you could not have dodged, you had to write own view then other people would critically analyse and debate around one’s thought until the views were clear and acceptable to all
It was indicated that responses from peer group mates were received timeously and that they facilitated knowledge construction. Participants reported that they shared information, supported each other, worked with groups, and made a continuous effort to improve writing skills because colleagues read all their work. This is expressed in the following extracts:
... A great deal of engagement took place because everybody responded and sent their postings immediately especially when there were debates about a certain subject. The group members posted their thoughts and deliberated on the discussion topic and everyone posted their viewpoints supported by literature as we were expected....
When it was group assignment you had to be there electronically and on time ... with the group and shared your views so that everybody engage and interact as required...
The level of interaction was high... It was exciting to be able to interact with peers online ... and actually learning from those interactions...
Notwithstanding the fact that many participants were satisfied with the level of online interactions and engagements, data sources revealed that some of them felt that student-to- student interactions and level of engagement were insufficient and not up to the level they
60 had expected it to be. It was reported that only a few students initiated the discussions and debated the issues, and that it was always the same few. They indicated that some students took long to respond to postings and had to be probed by the facilitators in order to interact.
This is illustrated in the following extracts:
We were struggling to all engage as a group... other students would post one comment as though it was a task to be fulfilled yet in my views and understanding, the module was meant to allow on-going conversation...
the interaction was poor in my view.
There were few students who would initiate the discussions but it took too long for others to respond thus rendering the whole discussion slow and dragging for long.
I found myself interacting with one and the same colleagues two or three people instead of all members of the group...
At first there was not much interaction, as individual just posted their work and nobody would comment... the facilitator had to stimulate the discussion and even invite us by names to get us started.
(b) Student-to-facilitator interaction and engagement: This sub-category included the level of interactions between the facilitator and the students. The participants viewed the facilitator as supportive, and very helpful, saying that she gave instructions relating to the module, various other communication or feedback and also guided the online discussions.
Some participants stated that:
The facilitator engaged us in critical debates and provided topics that would stimulate active debates and deliberations.
We would sometimes find comments from our facilitator, showing us where we were in terms of the course content... she would also highlight where we needed to go for more information.
61 The facilitator monitored our discussions and encouraged those who were
less involved to put effort up to the extent of assigning specific work for them.
She was good... diligent to check if we had done the work like the posting of task, she would always remind us about the deadlines so that we can put effort.
(c) Student-to-content interaction and engagement: It emerged that the online learning experience allowed for interaction with and about the content. Participants indicated that they were afforded an opportunity to interact with the module content before interacting with the other students and/or facilitator. The following are the abstracts from the participants’
descriptions of the student-to-content interactions:
In the past, interactions only occurred in the classroom and almost solely between teachers and students... now we are introduced to the modern e- learning interaction tool which makes the learning experience more worthwhile and valuable.
In online learning doesn't necessarily require real-time communication...
Interactions among students and the facilitator and the content can be independent of time and place.
Online learning afforded us more time to read our books, understand the content well before clicking into Moodle. You must have understood the section before being challenged by others... be able to defend your views...