International Conference on Communication, Media, Technology and Design 16 - 18 May 2015 Dubai – United Arab Emirates 57 Communication Barriers in Online Teaching and Online Learning with Digital Media, in the Framework of Teaching and Learning Theory Approaches Aynur Sarısakaloğlu, Gaziantep University, Turkey aynur.sarisakaloglu@hotmail.com Tülay Atay-Avşar, Mustafa Kemal University, Antakya, Turkey atayavsar@gmail.com Zülfiye Acar, Gaziantep University, Turkey zulfiyeacar@yahoo.com Abstract Online education is a new trend at Universities in Turkey. To enable effective and productive communication, both between learners and between teachers and learners, it is of vital importance to identify all the difficulties and obstacles which may arise during the communication process. Considering this, the purpose of this study is to find out how teachers and learners perceive communicational barriers in online education, with regard to the implication of the three commonly known learning theory approaches - behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism. To identify which communicational barriers exist in online education, a survey for online learners has been conducted at the University of Celal Bayar, one of the Universities in Turkey where the use of online education technologies for teaching and learning is relatively high. In order to find out teachers’ perceptions of online teaching and its communicational barriers, interviews were conducted with teachers from the same University. Introduction Nowadays, communication and technology play a significant role in everyday life, particularly in the way we educate our students. In Turkey the number of online courses and programs at institutions for higher education is rising rapidly. Interactive and multimedia systems offer online education a new culture of teaching and learning. Online education provides new opportunities and many advantages, especially in the organization of the learning process. Learners are able to learn almost entirely independently, as they can access all learning materials at any time and from anywhere in the world. They can also determine their rate of learning progress and the learning extent themselves. For this reason, online education is gaining in importance, in particular as a form of virtual classroom, supported by online learning methods, features and tools. Learners who want to acquire knowledge are easily reached and motivated through the provision of lecture accompanying learning materials. Regarding the continuing technological advancement within the private and academic environment, traditional teaching methods require an extension through online education to satisfy new expectations and requirements for teaching and learning. Whilst acknowledging this, we should consider that using technology in education may create some new communication barriers for teachers and learners. Teaching And Learning With New Media New media provides new learning opportunities that expand the learning environment and learning space to an extent that would have been difficult to imagine in former times. Learners are able to design their own learning processes; they can search online for all the