Online learning has become a major instructional mode in higher education, reshaping how students access content, communicate with instructors, interact with peers, and regulate their academic effort. This study examines how online learning affects motivation, interaction, and engagement among Iraqi university students in comparison with traditional classroom learning. A descriptive comparative design was used with 100 undergraduate students at Basra University of Oil and Gas, supported by semi-structured interviews with three instructors who had experience in online teaching. The findings show that students viewed online learning positively, with 76% reporting that it was appealing or useful. Reported motivation was almost evenly divided between primarily intrinsic motivation (52%) and primarily extrinsic motivation (48%), while 68% of students preferred a blended model. Students valued online learning because it offered flexibility, autonomy, repeated access to materials, and greater control over pace. However, weaker peer interaction, technological constraints, assessment concerns, and additional instructor workload limited its effectiveness. Interpreted through Self-Determination Theory, interaction theory, and multidimensional engagement models, the findings indicate that online learning can strengthen autonomy and cognitive participation when it is clearly structured, but it does not fully replace the social and emotional support of face-to-face instruction. The study concludes that blended learning is the most suitable model for this context because it combines online flexibility with classroom presence and institutional support.
Online learning has become a major instructional mode in higher education, reshaping how students access content, communicate with instructors, interact with peers, and regulate their academic effort. This study examines how online learning affects motivation, interaction, and engagement among Iraqi university students in comparison with traditional classroom learning. A descriptive comparative design was used with 100 undergraduate students at Basra University of Oil and Gas, supported by semi-structured interviews with three instructors who had experience in online teaching. The findings show that students viewed online learning positively, with 76% reporting that it was appealing or useful. Reported motivation was almost evenly divided between primarily intrinsic motivation (52%) and primarily extrinsic motivation (48%), while 68% of students preferred a blended model. Students valued online learning because it offered flexibility, autonomy, repeated access to materials, and greater control over pace. However, weaker peer interaction, technological constraints, assessment concerns, and additional instructor workload limited its effectiveness. Interpreted through Self-Determination Theory, interaction theory, and multidimensional engagement models, the findings indicate that online learning can strengthen autonomy and cognitive participation when it is clearly structured, but it does not fully replace the social and emotional support of face-to-face instruction. The study concludes that blended learning is the most suitable model for this context because it combines online flexibility with classroom presence and institutional support.
