Book excerpt: The primary challenge of online education is bridging the distance, both geographical and psychological, between student-and-teacher and student-and-student dynamics. In today’s increasingly digitalized world, it is important to enhance the quality of learning and the nature of interactions in distance education formats. The Community of Inquiry Framework in Contemporary Education: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a critical scholarly resource that examines the benefits, challenges, and intricacies of online learning with attention to key concepts, literature, resources, tools, and scenarios. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics, such as big data research, network communication theory, educational data mining, and digital learning, this book is geared towards researchers, instructors, and higher education administrators seeking current research on the integration of new distance learning technologies.