Discussions are commonly used in online teaching and have been shown to foster student learning and collaboration. This case study uses content analysis to explore the interaction patterns of student online discussions during a semester-long teacher preparation course using concepts from sociometry. Findings suggest that interaction patterns were…

Rapport has been recognized as important in learning in general but little is known about its importance in distance education (DE). The study we report on in this paper provides insights into the importance of rapport in DE as well as challenges to and indicators of rapport-building in DE. The study relied on interviews with 42 Canadian…

Data from the log files of a synchronous, online classroom designed for experiential learning focused on interpersonal communication were analyzed to determine the impact of effective group facilitation on attentiveness, interaction, involvement, and participation. The data demonstrate a social network of interactions and suggest that people…

While Garrison and colleagues' (2000) Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework has generated substantial interest among online learning researchers, it has yet to be subjected to extensive quantitative verification or tested for external validity. Using a sample of students from 55 online MBA courses, the findings of this study suggest strong…

This article presents the concepts of interaction and immediacy and discusses their theoretical frameworks, implications, and relationship with one another. The authors propose the development of a new conceptual model and recommend additional antecedent research. (Contains 1 figure.)