Gemini, Cancer, Vicarious Interaction?

     While reading Anderson's Modes of Interaction in Distance Education, I came across an interesting term that I had never heard before, vicarious interaction.  What truly resonated with me when reading this term and its definition is that I found it defined who I feel like I am as a student and how I learn.  Vicarious interaction describes a method of learning where students learn more through hearing others interact or through reading others interaction (Anderson, 2003).

     Students who learn through vicarious interaction do not always contribute to the conversations for multiple reasons.  Some of these reasons are because they feel that what they have to say might not add any new points of view to the conversation or simply did not want to (Anderson, 2003).  With this being said the theory of vicarious interaction is not new nor specific to distance education (Anderson, 2003).  But must be considered as a real form of interaction and one that I find truly benefits many students.

Reference

Anderson, T. (2003). Modes of interaction in distance education: Recent 


     developments and research questions. In M. G. Moore & W. G. Anderson 


     (Eds.), Handbook of distance education (pp. 129-144). Mahwah, NJ: 


     Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.