Online Education Teacher-student Interaction Study

The application of internet technology gives rise to revolutionary changes. In the context of pursuing the maximal educational application effect of modern information technology, online education emerges timely and naturally. Compared with traditional face-to-face education, the teacher-student communication (TS communication) of online education is virtual communication, bearing advantages like equality, non-linear model and efficiency, and therefore arousing people's concerns. By and large, however, the TS communication of online education has not yet exerted its superiority with many problems unsolved. The ultimate reason for these problems is lacking in recognition of the principles of the TS communication of online education, and a lack of strategies and methodologies that can have direct influence upon the TS communication. All this calls for the emergence of the theories and methodologies that will reveal the principles of the TS communication of online education. Based on this consideration, this study concludes the principles of the TS communication of online education, provides strategies and methodologies for the promotion of the TS communication, and avails to guide the practice of the TS communication.Base on my own experience involving the management of online education as a faculty member in the School of Online Education, this thesis applies approaches including philosophy, education, education technology and psychology, etc., adopts the methods of demonstration and theoretic investigation, and analyzes the TS communication of online education, a man-machine coexistent system with the traits of technology and human culture. Through a comparative study between traditional face-to-face education and online education, this thesis argues that the TS communication of online education accomplishes a breakthrough of values, which promotes the "validity" of the TS communication.Based on the analysis of the technical characteristics of the network, this thesis brings to light that the application of the network technology deconstructs the traditional teacher-student relation and the teacher-student relation of online education is the relation of virtual communication, namely, genuine "I—You" relation. This thesis goes on to examine "communication" theoretically and historically, and then based on the findings elucidates systematically the subjective feature, methodology, structure and function of the TS communication of online education, and finally puts forward the ideal status of the TS communication of online education. This ideal status, however, encounters various predicaments in practice. This thesis argues that these predicaments are caused by the current technology as well as historical and social factors and result in the alienation of the TS communication of online education. Guided by Marxist alienation theory, this thesis argues that the TS communication of online education at present remains an ideal communication status, for the realization of the equality and liberty of teacher-student communication is yet a historical process, which stays at the phase of the union of instrumental communication and teleological communication. When we recognize the true status of the TS communication of online education, we can better explore its principles, improve the pattern of the TS communication of online education, and help the practical TS communication.This study systematically analyzes the traits of the TS communication of online education, further enriches and validates the basic principles of educational communication, advances an initial construct to promote the validity of online education communication, and attempts to theorize the TS communication of online education.