Online interaction experiences of higher education students

The purpose of this study was to understand the interaction experiences of higher education students in online environment through case study method. The study group of the research consisted of 11 undergraduate students who continued their education with distance education in the spring semester of the 2022-2023 and participated in online activities. Online interactive content application was developed in the research. It was carried out in collaboration with the instructor of the course and the researcher also took part as an instructional designer. The participants were interviewed twice, once at the beginning and once in the end of the five-week implementation. The interview data were analyzed using content analysis, and the students' interaction experience in the online environment was revealed. The interaction experience in the online environment consisted of eight themes: definition of interaction, student-instructor interaction, student-content interaction, student-student interaction, factors affecting interaction, ideal interaction, interaction experience with practice, and interaction equivalence. In the study, the interaction in the online environment was defined based on the participants' experiences. Then, experiences regarding types of interaction in online environments were understood. Finally, the interaction experiences of learners in online environments were discussed within the Interaction Equivalence Theory. The evaluation of interaction types based on student experiences in these environments provided ideas for designing the next interaction experiences. The application findings on student-content interaction provide insights about the strengths and weaknesses of online environments and activities. The results of the interaction experience in the online environment are shared and suggestions for future research are presented.