Distance Learning Interaction Strategies

• Require students to send you an email the first day of class. You can build in an exercise in which they must respond to your school's conduct policy, or to verify that you have their correct email or other contact info
• Provide (and require!) feedback
• Require periodic emails, phone calls, or in-person visits
• Plan for immediate involvement in a simple, small group task
• Set up forums for class discussion groups
• Post a question each day/week to start off the discussion

• See the Internet Icebreakers and ITV Icebreakers below for more tips
• Encourage students to initiate interaction with you and other students on a voluntary basis, not only when such interaction is assigned.

Back to top

Provide a variety of in-class and outside-class activities designed to increase social rapport among students.

Back to top

Internet Icebreakers

The reason for using icebreakers is to make people feel more at ease, so you should make certain no one feels as though they're being forced to reveal what they consider highly personal information.

Autobiography
Require students to introduce themselves to the class by posting a brief autobiography to the discussion group.

Web Pages
Students can create personal web pages with a picture and brief biographical information (discourage them from revealing too much personal information!) Homemaker Online provides a free template for a basic web page that can be uploaded to your server. Even if your institution doesn't provide students with space for web pages, there are plenty of easy-to-use free web hosts. Just enter "free web hosting" in any search engine to find a host, or look here: http://host99.com/freewebspace.htm. 

"Getting to Know You" Interviews
Have pairs of students conduct interviews with each other and post the results of their interviews to the online discussion board.

Spell It Out
The following exercises can be posted to the class discussion group. Ask students to type their names vertically down the side of their email. Have them choose a word that begins with each letter - a word that describes something about them - and type that word horizontally across the page:

You can require that these be adjectives, nouns, verbs, related to college, to the course, etc., to tie the icebreaker exercise more closely to the topic of your class.

Back to top

Click on the compass to download this PDF version of Roblyer and Ekhaml's Interaction Rubric to see how your class stacks up!

You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view files in PDF format. If Acrobat Reader is not installed on your computer, click the Adobe icon to download your free copy.

Internet Interaction Tips

As a stand-alone exercise or embedded in a Virtual Field Trip, WebQuests can enhance student-to-student interaction in your online class. A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which most or all of the information used by students is online. By providing links necessary to complete the quest, the student is able to focus on the material rather than spend time looking for it. The five-part WebQuest (Introduction, Task, Resources, Process, Evaluation and Conclusion)  promotes critical thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation.

Back to top

Interactive Videoconferencing Icebreakers

Getting students accustomed to speaking on camera can be challenging. Icebreakers can be excellent devices to help people feel more comfortable with themselves and with others and feel more connected to the remote and host class. Using icebreakers helps reduce tension and anxiety and immediately involves students in the course. Try some of these icebreakers, or use them as a starting point in creating your own:

Basic Roll Call
Perhaps the simplest way to get students using the microphone in an ITV class is to call roll, and ask each person to respond by pressing the mic and introducing themselves with a brief statement: “I’m Gretchen from Kilgore and I’m an art major.”

The instructor can begin by introducing him/herself and giving a little personal or professional background information: “I’m Dr. Bryan and I’ve been teaching via ITV for two years. My academic background is in English, with an emphasis on British Literature. I spend my summers in London so I can do original research, and I like to wind surf whenever I get the chance.”

Brief Biography
Students introduce themselves and tell why they are there. “I’m Ilse, and I’m taking this class at UTHCT because I don’t have time to drive to SFA for it.”

Variations: Students tell where they first heard about the class, how they became interested in the subject, their occupations, home town, favorite television program, favorite movie, or the best book they’ve read recently. "I'm Jake, and I'm originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota."

Introduce Classmates
Divide the class into pairs. Each student talks about him/herself to the other, sometimes with specific instructions to share a certain piece of information. For example, "The one thing I am particularly proud of is..." or “What I most want people to know about me is…”
After five minutes, the students introduce each other to the rest of the class: “This is Judy from Tyler. She works full-time as a realtor and property manager, has two grown kids and one still at home, and is the great-grandmother of a 1-year-old girl. This is the last class she needs to get her AA degree.”

Favorite Possession
Students introduce themselves and describe their favorite item in their room or home and explain why it’s their favorite. “I’m Lesa, and my favorite item in my room is my computer because it connects me to the world outside my town.”

Personality Characteristic
Have students introduce themselves and share a personality characteristic of theirs that begins with the first letter of their name: “I’m Darlene, and I’m disciplined” or "My name is Alan, and I'm aloof."

Has Anyone Else Done This?
Have each student introduce themselves and relate something they’ve done that they think no one else in the class has done. If someone else has done it, the student must try again else until s/he finds something that no one else has done: “I’m Kevin, and I’ve visited the SPAM (luncheon meat) Museum in Austin, Minnesota to pay homage to this American classic.”

What’s in a Name?
Have students introduce themselves and explain why they have their name or nickname: “My name is Steve, but everyone calls me 'Blister' because I tend to show up after all the work is finished."

Back to top

ITV Interaction Tips:

• Open each ITV session with an informal "roll call" to give participants a chance to become accustomed to using the equipment.  

• Call on students (by name and site) at remote sites.  

• When you ask for a question or response from remote site students, give them at least 10 seconds to respond.  

• Don't make your class too interactive - interaction should be short (15-20 minutes) and well-planned to maximize student involvement and generate results.  

• Allow about one-third more time than you think it will take for question and answers.  

• Build student activities into presentations – display a slide with a question to start a discussion; display a slide with a short quiz, a fill-in-the-blanks exercise, or a topic for a quick brainstorming session.  

• Have students watch a video clip from different points of view. Introduce the clip and let students know why it’s important. Explain how the clip contributes to the course objectives, then follow up the clip with a brief activity.  

• When showing an object/material on the document camera, zoom in to show details. Don't zoom in or out too quickly - that can have a dizzying effect on your audience!    

• If you're having an audio conference with a guest speaker who isn’t present, display his or her picture.  

• Go over ITV presentation basics – clothing, movements, etc. – with guest speakers beforehand so they come across well

Back to top

---

Test your recall of general interaction strategies. Click on the compass to take an interactive self-assessment made with FREE WebQuestions2 software. Close the answer window and the quiz window to return to this page. Download the free WebQuestions2 software here.

---

How many ITV interaction strategies can you recall? Click on the compass to take an interactive self-assessment made with FREE WebQuestions2 software. Close the answer window and the quiz window to return to this page. Download the free WebQuestions2 software here.

---

Ready to make a quick and easy web page? Click on the compass to make your own personal web page with FREE Homemaker Online software. Under the heading "Let's Go," click on the Homemaker Online Form, and fill in the blanks. All the directions you need are found on the page. Close the Homemaker window to return to this page. Assigning an activity like this is a great way to 'humanize' your course. You and your students can create and share short, personal web pages with the class. The students will get to know each other (and you!) more quickly, making them more likely to actively participate in the class.

---

Explore Further
Interaction Rubric
Encouraging Interaction
Facilitating Online Group Work
Active and Collaborative Learning

---

Back to top

---

HOME > Instructors > Course Design > Interaction > General Strategies

---

Continue with Class Discussions

---