Question -Response in Online Synchronous Videoconferencing Class

With recent developments in technology and its massive impact on the education field, videoconferencing has emerged as an effective teaching learning tool in the language classroom. It is mainly a means of communication to overcome the impediments of geographical distance and separation. However, despite the successful implementation of this technology, it has been stated that using videoconferencing for online teaching is problematic. Videoconferencing impedes instructor-learner interaction and is unable to replace the traditional face-to-face classroom. To understand online interaction from a sociocultural standpoint, this study examined the characteristics of instructor questions in terms of cognitive level so as to investigate if instructor question can function as a stimulus for interaction in the online classroom. The results show that cognitive level of instructor question can function as an effective factor to promote online classroom interaction. Conclusions and implications are drawn at the end of this paper to help understand interaction in online learning.