Active-Learning in the Online Environment

Abstract: Online learning is convenient for many learners; it gives them the possibility of learning without being restricted by attending a particular classroom at a specific time. While this exciting opportunity can let its users manage their life in a better way, many students may suffer from feeling isolated or disconnected from the community that consists of the instructor and the learners. Lack of interaction among students and the instructor may negatively impact their learnings and cause adverse emotions like anxiety, sadness, and depression. Apart from the feeling of loneliness, sometimes students may come up with different issues or questions as they study the course, which can stop them from confidently progressing or make them feel discouraged if we leave them alone. To promote interaction and to overcome the limitations of geographic distance in online education, we propose a customized design, Tele-instruction, with useful features supplement to the traditional online learning systems to enable peers and the instructor of the course to interact at their conveniences once needed. The designed system can help students address their questions through the answers already provided to other students or ask for the instructor's point of view by two-way communication, similar to face-to-face forms of educational experiences. We believe our approach can assist in filling the gaps when online learning falls behind the traditional classroom-based learning systems.