It seems unrealistic to present the whole of him to you in two or three pages. So I will focus on the second part of him, students' interaction preference in distance learning. This part has attracted more attention than any other part of the dissertation.

The study of interaction was based on Michael Moore's theory. Moore identified three types of interaction that were essential in distance education:

1. learner-content interaction;
2. learner-instructor interaction; and
3. learner-learner interaction

This fundamental distinction provided a basis for analyzing the relative significance of different types of interaction in distance learning. A survey instrument was developed to examine whether students prefer one type of interaction to another. The questionnaire was distributed to 89 graduate students from the School of Education, who took distance courses during the spring and fall semester of 1999.

56 students returned the questionnaires. Responses from three of the students were incomplete and were discarded. Thus, a total of 53 surveys were used for this study.

The results of the statistical analysis indicated that the subjects most prefer learner-instructor interaction with learner-content interaction as their second choice, and learner-learner interaction as the least preferred. It revealed what Steven Gilbert called ³learners' need for human guidance in maintaining a regimen of learning activities.² It showed that ³learners seek a RELATIONSHIP in which someone else who knows how to help learners will provide a structure, schedule, and access to materials."

In the traditional classroom, the focus is on the interaction between teacher and students; in the computer-based learning environment, the focus is on learner-content interaction. With more and more courses now using the Internet as a tool for course delivery, I see more learner-instructor interaction giving way to learner-content interaction. Such a tendency has been reinforced by the commercialization of distance education programs that propose to use technology to increase the student-faculty ratio.

In his book Teaching Online, William Draves anticipated that there would be an average of 1,000 learners per distance course. Imagine, how could it be possible for one instructor to interact with 1,000 students? Many researchers and distance education practitioners suggest using peer evaluation and student-to-student feedback as a means to lessen the instructors' workload.

How do students feel about this? My study indicated students have unfavorable attitudes toward learner-learner interactions. Why do they dislike interacting with their peers? In Muirhead's study, 47.3% of the participants felt that the delays in their classmates' responses caused a negative impact on the dialogue and weakened the quality of the discussion. In China, such a phenomenon is called ³one smelly fish spoiled the whole pot of soup.² It becomes worse when the learner is confronted with ³a smelly fish² plus unreliable communication tools and unclear directions from the instruction technique. Should we then eliminate or minimize learner-learner interaction or should we work on improving it to the learner's satisfaction?

One of the reasons I referred to my dissertation as a new born baby was that I expect him to have a happy and healthy continued growth and development. There is so much more to coddle and to nurture. Until then, my suggestions on interaction will have to be limited to the following:

1. A continued presence of the instructor throughout the learning process.
2. An appropriate faculty-to-student ratio that will guarantee adequate one-on-one interaction between the instructor and the students.
3. A clearly stated grading policy to reward group leaders and to chastise procrastinators. We need to adjust misconceptions and establish a new understanding about distance learning . The web is not another kind of textbook; and the teacher is not the only reliable source. Learning is not only an action but is also a process (be prepared for frustration).

Technology evolves constantly and so will the methods of teaching and learning.

For ISU faculty who do not see their course listed, it's not too late. Please contact Ron Payne (8381) or Jim Kinkade (8097) to have your course and materials listed for your distance students.

The student handbook should be published in May; all students will receive the handbook upon enrolling in a distance course.

Distance Education Orientation
This orientation will provide distance students with general information. The purpose is to offer entering students greater insight into what is needed to successfully complete distance courses. Topics include:

• How to get started
• How to successfully complete distance courses
• Study skills needed for distance courses
• Time management

Our goal is to have this orientation up and running by the Fall 2000.

Hopefully these new tools will not only help distance learners but also minimize some of the "first of the semester" headaches faced by ISU faculty who teach distance courses.