THE REALITY OF WEB-BASED INTERACTION IN AN EGYPTIAN DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSE
ABSTRACT
This paper reports the results of a study conducted to evaluate the reality of interaction in a web-based distance education course. The learners were Egyptian first-grade secondary school students (15-16 years old) and the learning subject is mathematics. To investigate students’ interactions via the Web, a Web-based learning environment was designed and implemented, called Wired Class, based on Willis’ (1995, 2000) R2D2 instructional design model and constructivist principles. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were used to investigate the quantity and quality of learner-learner and learner-teacher interaction based on Mason's (1991) model.