An Online Course for Active Participation and Interactive Learning: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Learning is a highly social process. However, Asian students are often found quiet and passive in the classroom. How to promote their active participation and interactive learning becomes a challenge. In this study, a course that was previously conducted in the face-to-face classroom was redesigned and conducted online. This paper describes the design of the course from pedagogical, social, and technical aspects, and presents the students’ perceptions of the design and implementation. Results show that students became more active and interactive; technical infrastructure played a critical role; and monitoring students’ participation and engagement was a new challenge in the course implementation process.