What are the questions

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What are the questions?

• Is online learning effective?
• How engaged are the learners?
• Is online learning satisfying?
• Is online learning as good as F2F?
• From student perspective
• From faculty perspective

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Why ask the questions?

• Many factors driving demand for online learning
• Demographic
• Socio-economic
• Technological
• Pedagogical
• For most institutions, its not if but when,
  how, and what

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How do we measure?

• Still predominantly paper and pencil
• Support for web-based surveys
• Reduced costs
• Improved timeliness of reporting to key
  stakeholders
• Improved response rates
• Better accuracy and completeness of data
• The negatives with web-based
• Technology issues
• Controlling multiple responses

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What do we measure?

• Typically with F2F course evaluation
• Student satisfaction
• Student perception of faculty performance
• Limited range and number of questions
• Typically with Online course evaluation, we add
• Technology questions
• Additional thick description
• Other issues that have been evaluated
• Student learning styles
• Interactivity

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What do we know?

• Not issue of delivery mode
• Shift in focus to outcomes measure
• Performance, student expectations and perceived
  benefits are similar
• Learning styles may be important factor,
  especially related to persistence
• Interactivity important, but qualified by type

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Outcomes
... 85 of faculty felt that student learning
outcomes in online education were comparable or
better to those found in face-to-face
classrooms. 1999, Dobrin, J., Who's Teaching
Online, ITPE News, Vol. 2, Issue 12, June 22,
pp. 6-7 Faculty report that learning outcomes
in online education are comparable to (62) or
better than (23) those of face-to-face
courses... 1999, Hoffman, K. M., What Are
Faculty Saying?, CITE, Denver CO, May.
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Effectiveness

• The findings appear to provide evidence that
  cyberlearning can be as effective as traditional
  classroom learning... Results from t-tests
  indicated that there were no significant
  differences on six of the eight academic
  variables ... in terms of student learning, for
  the most part the two groups achieved at
  approximately the same level as measured by test
  scores...
• 1999, Navarro, P. Shoemaker, J., The Power of
  Cyberlearning An Empirical Test,
• Journal of Computing in Higher Education.

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Students Like Online Courses

• Online Students prefer online courses over other
  distance education methods
• For example, students prefer the interaction
  available in online courses over video tapes, CD
  ROMs, and correspondence modes of delivery
• Source Almeda (1998). University of California
  Extension OnlineFrom Concept to Reality.
• Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 2(2).

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Online Courses Can Be Rigorous
More than two-thirds of online learners felt they
had to work as hard ...as they would have to if
the course were in a classroom
Source Hiltz (1997). Impacts of college-level
courses via Asynchronous Learning networks Some
Preliminary Results. Journal of Asynchronous
Learning Networks, 1(2).
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No significant difference phenomenon

• Thomas Russells compendium of several hundred
  studies and research reports
• Book and websitehttp//teleeducation.nb.ca/nosign
  ificantdifference
• No significant difference between learning in
  distance education and f2f formats
• Highlights significant differences where DE
  outperforms f2f

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No significant difference?

• Russell states"While this documentation speaks
  volumes about the futility of these studies, it
  also acknowledges the fact that the questions
  about the comparative impacts of the technologies
  remains of paramount importance. This publication
  will remain a work in progress until it is
  apparent that the lessons contained herein have
  been heeded."

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• Moore KearsleyFor any group of students,
  the environment in which learning occurs and the
  medium of communication between teacher and
  learner are not significant as predictors of
  achievementMoore, M. G. Kearsley, G. (1996).
  Distance education A systems view. New York, NY
  Wadsworth Publishing Company

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• Moore and Thompsonteaching and studying at a
  distanceis effective when effectiveness is
  measured by the achievement of learning, by the
  attitudes of students and teachers, and by
  return-on investmentMoore, M.G. Thompson,
  M.M. (1997). The effects of distance learning,
  Rev. Ed., ACSDE Research Monograph 15. University
  Park, PA American Center for the Study of
  Distance education, The Pennsylvania State
  University

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In other words

• Online learning is not discernibly disadvantaging
  the students who choose it.
• We need much more and better research on the
  effectiveness of ALL modes of instruction.
• We are in the very early stages of online
  learning, where all variables are fluid.
• (e.g. teacher preparation course design
  student expectations delivery environments
  delivery methods amount and quality of
  interaction evaluation methods)

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What questions remain

• Are we asking the right questions?
• Are we asking all the questions?
• Are we treating new methodologies fairly?
• Is online learning all or nothing? is there a
  middle way
• What does the future hold?

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Final considerations

• Various stakeholders weighing in
• AAUP (academic freedom, IP rights, workload,
  compensation)
• AFT and NEA (jobs human factor)
• American Council on Education (core values)
• Council of Higher Education Accreditation
  (assuring quality)
• Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions
  (building and evaluating quality)
• Institute for Higher Education Policy (benchmarks
  for success, like interactivity)

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More final considerations

• Evolution of distributed learning
• Various approaches to defining quality
• Outside standard
• Consensus among stakeholders
• Customer or learner requirements
• Good teaching is good teaching
• Blended or hybrid model