Learner-Learner Interaction

[dejonghed07]

Learner Interaction promotes engagement, cognitive presence and retention in online courses. Research into the effectiveness of interaction with classmates is described on pages 13-14 of Learning Effectiveness Online: What the Research Tells Us. Out of the three types of interaction (learner-content, learner-learner, and learner-instructor), we find that learner-learner interaction usually requires the most focus when redesigning on-ground courses for the online learning environment. Interaction between students that occurs naturally in on-ground courses takes planning and design in the online environment. 

Ideas for Learner-Learner Interaction

• Brainstorm ideas together rather than individually
• Create concept maps together as they learn new topics throughout the course 

coggle.it
bubbl.us
vue.tufts.edu
canva.com mind maps
lucidchart.com
brainpop.com

• Review each other's work and provide ideas
• Locate examples of course topics (articles, websites, images, videos) as a team or with a group and share them with the class
• Create study guides, flash cards, games, or poll questions then share with each other and the class

PollEverywhere 

Socrative

Kahoot

Quizizz

• Teach each other course topics through image, audio, and/or video 
  Padlet
  Flipgrid
• Write a collaborative paper or create a poster, video or presentation as a group or with a partner
  Google Drive Collaborations: Google Docs, Sheets and Slides
  Office 365 Collaborations: Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Create collaborative, visual assignments that achieve the same learning objectives as quizzes but are created with a peer or in a group

Canvas Collaboration Tools & Features that we suggest to instructors as they design for learner-learner interaction

• Chat (Links to an external site.)
• Collaborations (Links to an external site.)
• Conferences (Links to an external site.)
• Groups (Student Teams) (Links to an external site.)
• Peer Review Assignment
• Peer Review Discussion

Third-Party Collaborative applications that will embed within Canvas 

• Third-party apps that will embed on a Canvas page include Padlet and Coggle. 
• Eduappcenter.com (Links to an external site.) includes free apps, such as an app to embed a Twitter Feed.
• Embed widgets from social media sites. laurakgibbs provides examples and instructions: How to Use Twitter Widgets (not the Twitter App) in Canvas. Embedding the Twitter widget allows students to share images and videos. 
• Microsoft OneNote Class Notebook

Please suggest any other ideas and tools that promote Learner-Learner Interaction!