Teaching on information freeway: Building learning communities

This study presents the first empirical analysis of the actual classroom interactions to test the relationship between the instructional design elements and the overall meaningful interactions among Business major students. Eighteen online graduate Business courses, 9 from each of the fall and spring semesters, were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate analysis techniques. Findings suggest that the level of overall meaningful interaction among learners can be improved by dividing the students into smaller groups, using introduction sections, and limiting participation from the instructor. The results of this study can prove to be useful for practitioners, designers and instructors, who are designing, developing or teaching online Business courses.