Mehrabian (1967) defined immediacy as the extent to which selected communicative behaviors enhance physical or psychological closeness in interpersonal communication.

Anderson (1979) summarizes the impact of immediacy: The more immediate a person is, the more likely he/ she is to communicate at close distances, smile, engage in eye contact, use direct body orientations, use overall body movement and gestures, touch others, relax, and be vocally expressive. In other words, we might say that an immediate person is perceived as overtly friendly and warm (p. 545).

“Knowledge building occurs as students explore issues, examine one another’s arguments, agree, disagree, and question positions. Collaboration [learner-learner interaction] contributes to higher order learning through cognitive restructuring or conflict resolution, in which new ways of understanding the material emerge as a result of contact with new or different perspectives” (p. 55)

Kearsley (2000) declared: “The most important role of the instructor in online classes is to ensure a high degree of interactivity and participation” (p. 78)