Toward a Theory of Online Learning - Centre for Distance Education ...

Teacher-teacher InteractionTeacher-teacher interaction creates the opportunity for professionaldevelopment and support that sustains teachers through communitiesof like-minded colleagues. These interactions alsoencourage teachers to take advantage of knowledge growth anddiscovery in their own subject and within the scholarly communityof teachers.Teacher-content InteractionTeacher-content interaction focuses on the creation of content andlearning activities by teachers. It allows teachers continuously tomonitor and update the content resources and activities that theycreate for student learning.Content-content InteractionContent-content interaction is a newly developing mode ofeducational interaction in which content is programmed to interactwith other automated information sources, so as to refresh itselfconstantly, and to acquire new capabilities. For example, a weathertutorial might take its data from current meteorological servers,creating a learning context that is up-to-date and relevant to thelearner’s context. Content-content interaction is also necessary toprovide a means of asserting control of rights and facilitatingtracking of the use of content by diverse groups of learners andteachers.A Model of E-learningA first step in theory building often consists of the construction ofa model in which the major variables are displayed and the relationshipsamong the variables are schematized. Figure 2-4 providesa model that illustrates the two major modes of online learning.The model illustrates the two major human actors, learners andteachers, and their interactions with each other and with content.48 Theory and Practice of Online Learning