Interactivity in virtual academic conferences: what perceptions do EFL academics at the university of Batna 2 have?

الملخص EN

Reaching masterly levels of interaction in virtual academic conferences is an ultimate goal for all academics.

this aim is especially challenging for them particularly in virtual meetings.

given the importance of interactivity in virtual academic conferences, there is still an open question as to what extent do virtual academic conferences increase researchers’ level of interaction? a total of 50 researchers from Batna 2 university participated in the present study.

data were gathered from a survey.

the findings revealed that a lack of social interaction, and unfamiliarity with computer affected researchers’ satisfaction level.

the results suggest that lack of social interaction is a global challenge to the effectiveness of virtual academic conferences which call for the need to organizers’ intervention to take measures to increase their social interaction.

thus, it is recommended that researchers undergo compulsory training on technology use which enables them cope with the needs of such virtual academic gatherings.