Harold B. Lee Library

ONLINE LEARNING vs FACE-TO-FACE

August 24, 2009

ONLINE LEARNING vs FACE-TO-FACE

A government study comparing student learning from online courses to learning from face-to-face classroom courses, found that online might be slightly better — with some caveats based on the different dimensions of the two types of learning experiences.  Here are some of the findings that struck me as the most interesting.  Emphases in the original.

• Students who took all or part of their class online performed better, on average, than those taking the same course through traditional face-to-face instruction. . . .  Interpretations of this result, however, should take into consideration the fact that online and face-to-face conditions generally differed on multiple dimensions, including the amount of time that learners spent on task.  The advantages observed for online learning conditions therefore may be the product of aspects of those treatment conditions other than the instructional delivery medium per se.
• Instruction combining online and face-to-face elements had a larger advantage relative to purely face-to-face instruction than did purely online instruction. . . .  [T]he observed advantage for online learning in general, and blended learning conditions in particular, is not necessarily rooted in the media used per se and may reflect differences in content, pedagogy and learning time.
• Studies in which learners in the online condition spent more time on task than students in the face-to-face condition found a greater benefit for online learning.
• Elements such as video or online quizzes do not appear to influence the amount that students learn in online classes. The research does not support the use of some frequently recommended online learning practices.  Inclusion of more media in an online application does not appear to enhance learning.  The practice of providing online quizzes does not seem to be more effective than other tactics such as assigning homework.

(U.S. Department of Education, 2009)

http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf

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