¶ … Instructional Method Applicability
Online learning is becoming increasingly common, given the rise of nontraditional learners who must fit their classes into a schedule with outside work and family obligations. However, grave concerns remain as to whether online learning is as effective as face-to-face learning. New technological methods of instruction have created ways in which synchronous or 'real time' education can take place, through chat rooms, versus asynchronous methods like message boards, which do not facilitate dialogue and debate. However, online learning is still often perceived as 'second best' versus face-to-face learning.
A 2010 report by the U.S. Department of Education contradicts this finding. It found that "on average, students in online learning conditions performed modestly better than those receiving face-to-face instruction. The difference between student outcomes for online and face-to-face classes -- measured as the difference between treatment and control means, divided by the pooled standard deviation -- was larger in those studies contrasting conditions that blended elements of online and face-to-face instruction with conditions taught...
Analysts noted that these blended conditions often included additional learning time and instructional elements not received by students in control conditions" (Means et al. 2009: ix).
Including online learning options allowed greater time for students to review material, and gave more members of the class time to participate. However, it should be noted that the report found that blending online components with face-to-face interactions was the optimal strategy, in effect enabling students to have 'the best of both worlds.' Online education is not an 'also ran' but it has unique characteristics that enhance certain aspects of learning (such as reviewing material) versus others. "In many of the studies showing an advantage for blended learning, the online and classroom conditions differed in terms of time spent, curriculum and pedagogy. It was the combination of elements in the treatment conditions (which were likely to have included additional learning time and materials as well as additional opportunities for collaboration) that produced the observed learning advantages" (Means et al. 2009: xvii). Online education in isolation without a face-to-face…
