Unanticipated learner needs still require faculty contact. These types of tutorials can be excellent supplements to online courses learning, but cannot replace interpersonal interactivity. The remainder of this article is devoted to interpersonal interactivity. Importance of Interpersonal Interactivity Interpersonal interactivity fosters development of critical thinking through clarification of ideas and evaluation of others' ideas. The process of revising, discussing, and debating leads to deeper cognitive processing of course material.
Discussions force students to think through the issue being discussed.
It is through the actual process of writing our thoughts and working them over that we really come to understand an issue. Written thought also allows us to later review and reflect on our understanding. We also better understand material by bouncing our thoughts off others. We need reinforcement that our understanding is the same as others. When it comes to attitudinal changes it is especially useful to bounce our thinking off other learners in addition to the faculty member who will have biases about course content.