Perspectives of Distance Higher Education Students on Online Interaction

Higher education institutions are gradually adopting online teaching and learning. This research was explorative and descriptive in approach to explore students’ online interactivity with their peers and lecturers in a distance education context. Focus group interviews with 54 participants were conducted at six regional campuses of the University of South Africa. The sample consisted of second and third-year Health Services Management (HSM) students. Data was collected from June to September 2012. Giorgi’s phenomenological approach was used for data analysis. The findings revealed that students benefitted from online interactivity but encountered more challenges than benefits. Challenges were academic, institutional and administrative in origin. The article recommends a collaborative effort by the university management, information technology specialists, students, lecturers, and the public and private sectors to resolve these challenges. The university should further consider and formalise utilisation of other social media like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram besides the prescribed online interactive tools to promote online interaction and to facilitate teaching and learning.Â