The efficacy of interaction among college students in a Web-based environment.

摘要

This research is to investigate the efficacy of interaction among college students in a web-based learning environment. Web-based learners are usually from various age groups and also have different prior online learning experiences. Therefore, using the interactive tools (discussion board, e-mail, and online chat) to test the efficacy of interaction in a web-based learning environment, and the preference of the use of tools was evaluated among a diverse group of participants in terms of age, gender and online learning experience.; This research focuses on college students who are currently or who previously have been enrolled in web-based courses, regardless of major or student levels (undergraduate and graduate). A questionnaire survey instrument was developed to assess and encourage interactive qualities in distance courses.; In this study, a four-factor split-plot ANOVA was applied to analyze collected data. The questions in the instrument were repeated across each of the three tools---discussion board, e-mail, and online chat---in order to determine interaction efficacy levels in a web-based environment.; In this study, the three interactive tools, discussion board, e-mail, and online chat, had statistically significant interaction with one another across four different factors: Web-Based Course Design, Instructor Engagement, Learner Engagement, and Tool Preference. The findings in research question 1 indicated that learners in the 18--29 age group believe e-mail use provided a high amount of learning interaction. In research question 2 indicated that learners in the 18--29 age group again believed they received prompt and high quality response from their instructors through discussion board and e-mail. A statistically significant difference was found across the three tools in research question 3---learner engagement, but surprisingly, not across the other variables---age, gender, and prior online experience which means age, gender, and experience had no impact on tool use.; In the last research question, the findings showed that e-mail was the learner's favorite interactive tool in web-based courses. Thus the findings of question 4 suggest that incorporating e-mail into the course design should certainly be considered. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.