One of the week’s hot discussion topics among college faculty stems from the findings of a study that suggests many instructors aren’t properly taking advantage of Web-based tools to make their online courses more interactive.

As detailed yesterday in a blog post from the Chronicle of Higher Education, the study claims that the community college professors who were observed for the study relying “on static course materials that aren’t likely to motivate students or encourage them to interact with each other.”

A total of 26 high-enrollment online courses were examined, where the emphasis was placed on text-based assignments. When the instructors did introduce technology such as video into their courses, the interactive tools “were not connected to learning objectives.”

The findings of the study and the blog post created quite a lively debate in the comments section of the Chronicle’s Wired Campus blog. Take a look for yourself:

Study suggests many professors use interactive tools ineffectively in online courses