Since the advent of distance learning, interaction has played a crucial role in learner satisfaction and more recently the quality of learning online. Even though the crucial nature of incorporating interactive learning environments is not lost on the education community, it has been at troubling odds with meeting the expectations of learners and establishing why some proposed “interactive” activities fail. Because technology has changed, offering varying levels of interaction between learner-learner, learner-instructor, and learner-content some argue that re-conceptualizing interactive can provide unique learning advantages. This literature review explores the most vital aspects of interactivity, the variables that determine its appropriateness and significant findings as they pertain to meeting the expectations of e-learning.

Using a combined quantitative, qualitative approach, this study explores the teaching practices of outstanding faculty at a private, liberal arts institutions by posing questions that revolve around learner-centered teaching practices, characteristics of outstanding teachers, effective teaching, and pressures on the professoriate related to the phenomena of academic capitalism. Outstanding professors from the College of Arts and Sciences, and Schools of Business, Education, and Nursing were invited to participate in this research. Weimer's (2002) five learner-centered changes to teaching practice framed this investigative study. This conceptual framework consists of altering the role of the teacher, balancing power in the classroom between teacher and students, changing the function of course content, instilling student responsibilities for learning, and using different processes and purposes for evaluation that serve to guide teacher and students interactions throughout the course.The findings of the study suggest that faculty from the School of Education agree with and implement all five of Weimer's (2002) learner-centered changes to teaching practice. However, there is incongruence between the learner-centered teaching beliefs and learner-centered teaching practices of outstanding teachers from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Schools of Business and Nursing. This study seems to indicate that several pressures on the professoriate including the phenomena associated with academic capitalism affect teaching practices in the classroom. Existing learner-centered practice models can be informed by the salient findings of this study.

This thesis focuses on learner support in Chinese distance education. It draws a picture of Chinese modern distance education, covering the major issues in the field of learner support, and small group work as peer support. The aim of the study is to find out whether or not the learner support, that distance students at university level obtained, has the tendency to support students’ deep learning. The aim has been achieved by examining learner support in six institutions of ICT-based distance education in China. Three other sources of learner support are investigated. The main objectives of the study are: 1) to describe the distance students’ characteristics; 2) to examine their learning habits, learning organizations, and their interactions; 3) to investigate the student support provided by the institutions; family support; societal support; and peer support in the form of small group work. The purpose of this study is to define current practices of learner support in the six distance education institutions, determining the extent of similarities and differences on learner support services among these institutions. The study is applying a case-study approach, using qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate the six Chinese distance education institutions. During the first stage, several field visits were conducted in different research sites with on-site participant observation, non-participant observation and interviews for obtaining knowledge of Chinese distance education. In the second stage, a survey with a student questionnaire was distributed to students present and others online, in total 587. In addition, semi-structured interviews with staff members (administrators, instructors and tutors), individual students, and student focus groups were performed. The present research is one of the few in-depth case studies that focus on the relation between learner support system and different approaches to learning. On the basis of these research findings, the importance of a well-designed learner support system for the distance learner, a system for fostering creative, critical or independent thinking skills, or deep learning, in line with Chinese cultural and social conditions, is underlined.