Online Learning Efficacy Research Database

Blended learning is a hybrid of classroom and on-line learning that includes some of the conveniences of on-line courses without the complete loss of face-to-face tact. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate student achievement and satisfaction with blended learning course delivery compared to a traditional face-to-face class format in a general health course. Method: Surveys were distributed to randomly selected classes during the fall 2007 semester: three blended and one traditional sections participated (n=251). Results: Total satisfaction scores between blended (54.986) and traditional (49.788) classes were significantly different (p< 0.01). Achievement by students of blended and traditional sections brought mixed findings, yet blended students’ overall grades were significantly higher (p=0.048). Conclusion: Results indicated that a blended course delivery is preferred over a traditional lecture format, and promising data emerged to challenge teachers’ traditional approach to teaching general health courses at the university level. 
[less]

This study compares learning success of online and on-campus students in a general education soil science course with lab and field components. Two terms of students completed standardized pre- and postassessments designed to test knowledge and skills from the lecture and lab content of the course. There was no difference in overall grade or lab assignment grades between course formats. Online students outperformed on-campus students on the preassessment in the first term and on the post-assessment in the second term; the two populations scored the similarly for the other assessments. Online students showed a 42% grade improvement from pre- to post-assessment; on-campus students had a 21% improvement. Online students also showed better learning success in lab-related knowledge and skills based on individual assessment questions. The students in both populations successfully met the learning objectives for this lab- and field-based science course. 
[less]

Aims and objectives: To detect problems when classifying pressure ulcers and to examine whether an e-learning program is able to increase the classification skills of qualified nurses and nursing students.

Background: Both the distinction between pressure ulcer grades and the differentiation between moisture lesions is difficult. Misclassification and incorrect identification of the lesions results in inadequate preventive and therapeutic measures. Education and training are important for spreading evidence-based insights about this topic. Design: Repeated measure design, consisting of one pretest and three posttests.

Methods: The experimental intervention consisted of a one-hour session during which the participants independently went over an e-learning program. The control intervention consisted of a one-hour lecture. Both interventions had the same learning contents. A convenience sample of 212 qualified nurses and 214 final-year nursing students was randomly assigned to an experimental-and a control group.

Results: In the pretest, the classification skills were low. After the intervention, these skills improved significantly in both groups. The nursing students achieved better results when using the e-learning program. Among the qualified nurses, there was no difference between the learning methods. Although the classification skills decreased in the posttests, they did not drop under the level of the pretest.

Conclusion: The actual classification system does not provide the necessary information about the severity of a pressure ulcer. The differential diagnosis between a moisture lesion was complicated. The classification skills of the qualified nurses and nursing students increased by both learning methods. Repetition remains, however, necessary.

Relevance to clinical practice: Both instruction methods are adequate to acquire the knowledge about the differences between moisture lesions and pressure ulcers. E-learning allows studying in one's own time and place, and could therefore be very suitable for repetition of the training. How to organise this training could be a subject for further research. 
[less]

Objectives/Hypothesis: To compare the pass rate of residents performing the Particle Repositioning Maneuver (PRM) after one of three interventions: 1) small group PRM instruction (SG); 2) standard classroom instruction (CI); and 3) Web-based learning module (WM). We hypothesize that our Web-based learning module is more effective than CI and as effective as SG.

Study Design: Prospective randomized control trial.

Methods: The study population includes all family medicine residents at the University of Western Ontario. On day 0, all subjects were tested. Residents were then randomized to one of three intervention groups: 1) SG, 2) CI, or 3) WM. On day 7, the residents were again tested. Observers were blinded to the intervention type. Testing (day 0 and day 7) was performed using the DizzyFIX (Clearwater Clinical Ltd., London, Ontario, Canada), a pass/fail test, and evaluation by a trained observer (correct or incorrect).

Results: There were no statistically significant differences in pass rates between the three groups before the interventions (DizzyFIX: P = .2096, observer: P = .3710). After the interventions, DizzyFIX testing pass rates were 50.0% SG, 60.0% CI and 100.0% WM (P = .3564). Observer testing pass rates were 85.7% SG, 28.6% CI, and 83.3% WM (P = .0431).

Conclusions: This study demonstrated that our Web-based learning module for the PRM is comparable to small-group clinical instruction, and superior to standard classroom instruction for teaching the PRM when evaluated by a trained observer. 
[less]

Background
Web-based technologies are increasingly being used to create modes of online learning for nurses but their effect has not been assessed in nurse education.

Objectives
Assess whether participation in face-to-face discussion seminars or online asynchronous discussion groups had different effects on educational attainment in a web-based course.

Design
Non-randomised or quasi-experimental design with two groups-students choosing to have face-to-face discussion seminars and students choosing to have online discussions.

Setting
The Core Methods module of a postgraduate research methods course.

Participants
All 114 students participating in the first 2 yr during which the course teaching material was delivered online.

Outcome
Assignment mark for Core Methods course module.

Methods
Background details of the students, their choices of modules and assignment marks were collected as part of the routine course administration. Students’ online activities were identified using the student tracking facility within WebCT. Regression models were fitted to explore the association between available explanatory variables and assignment mark.

Results
Students choosing online discussions had a higher Core Methods assignment mark (mean 60.8/100) than students choosing face-to-face discussions (54.4); the difference was statistically significant (t=3.13, df=102, p=0.002), although this ignores confounding variables. Among online discussion students, assignment mark was significantly correlated with the numbers of discussion messages read (Kendall's tb=0.22, p=0.050) and posted (Kendall's tb=0.27, p=0.017); among face-to-face discussion students, it was significantly associated with the number of non-discussion hits in WebCT (Kendall's tb=0.19, p=0.036). In regression analysis, choice of discussion method, whether an M.Phil./Ph.D. student, number of non-discussion hits in WebCT, number of online discussion messages read and number posted were associated with assignment mark at the 5% level of significance when taken singly; in combination, only whether an M.Phil./Ph.D. student (p=0.024) and number of non-discussion hits (p=0.045) retained significance.

Conclusions
This study demonstrates that a research methods course can be delivered to postgraduate healthcare students at least as successfully by an entirely online method in which students participate in online discussion as by a blended method in which students accessing web-based teaching material attend face-to-face seminar discussions. Increased online activity was associated with higher assignment marks. The study highlights new opportunities for educational research that arise from the use of virtual learning environments that routinely record the activities of learners and tutors. 
[less]

Few previous studies comparing online and traditional courses have focused on undergraduate management courses. Our results complement previous analyses finding that, when we control for factors such as class, major, and GPA, students in online courses do as well in objective measures of performance, but not better than students in traditional courses. We also found that in the online sections, females performed at least as well as males. We discuss these results in relation to some changes in online education and the persistent perception by some that online education is somewhat problematic because students need more discipline in online courses. 
[less]

Technology-based instruction represents a new recent pedagogical paradigm that is rooted in the realization that new generations are much more comfortable with, and excited about, new technologies. The rapid technological advancement over the past decade has fueled an enormous demand for the integration of modern networking, informational and computational tools with classical pedagogical instruments. Consequently, teaching with technology typically involves utilizing a variety of IT and multimedia resources for online learning, course management, electronic course materials, and novel tools of communication, engagement, experimental, critical thinking, and assessment.

The NSF-funded Statistics Online Computational Resource (SOCR) provides a number of interactive tools for enhancing instruction in various undergraduate and graduate courses in probability and statistics. These resources include online instructional materials, statistical calculators, interactive graphical user interfaces, computational and simulation applets, tools for data analysis and visualization. The tools provided as part of SOCR include conceptual simulations and statistical computing interfaces, which are designed to bridge between the introductory and the more advanced computational and applied probability and statistics courses. In this manuscript, we describe our designs for utilizing SOCR technology in instruction in a recent study. In addition, present the results of the effectiveness of using SOCR tools at two different course intensity levels on three outcome measures: exam scores, student satisfaction and choice of technology to complete assignments. Learning styles assessment was completed at baseline. We have used three very different designs for three different undergraduate classes. Each course included a treatment group, using the SOCR resources, and a control group, using classical instruction techniques. Our findings include marginal effects of the SOCR treatment per individual classes; however, pooling the results across all courses and sections, SOCR effects on the treatment groups were exceptionally robust and significant. Coupling these findings with a clear decrease in the variance of the quantitative examination measures in the treatment groups indicates that employing technology, like SOCR, in a sound pedagogical and scientific manner enhances overall the students’ understanding and suggests better long-term knowledge retention. 
[less]

This paper describes the results and implications of a study into the effectiveness of a blended e-learning cooperative approach (BeLCA) on Pre-Service Teacher's (PST) achievement, attitudes towards e-learning and cooperativeness. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used with participants of the study. Twenty-six science PSTs, enrolled in an Egyptian university, represented the study's experiential and control groups. Pre and post-tools were administered to participants in the two groups in a quasiexperimental design. Instruments to measure dependent variables of the study were developed by the authors in light of relevant previous studies. The findings suggest that PSTs in the experimental group have higher achievement levels in their post-overall-course-test, “comprehensive-score”, and attitudes towards e-learning environments compared to those of the control group. The specific design of the course may be responsible for these changes. Future implications and suggestions for teacher educational programmes are presented. 
[less]

Objective. Determine whether lectures by national experts and a publicly available online program with similar educational objectives can improve knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs (KAB) important to chronic pain management.

Design. A pretest–posttest randomized design with two active educational interventions in two different physician groups and a third physician group that received live education on a different topic to control for outside influences, including retesting effects, on our evaluation.

Participants. A total of 136 community-based primary care physicians met eligibility criteria. All physicians attended the educational program to which they were assigned. Ninety-five physicians (70%) provided complete data for evaluation.

Measurements. Physician responses to a standardized 50-item pain management KAB survey before, immediately after, and 3 months following the interventions.

Results. The study groups and the 41 physicians not providing outcomes information were similar with respect to age, sex, race, percent engaged in primary care, and number of patients seen per week. Physician survey scores improved immediately following both pain education programs (live: 138.0→150.6, P < 0.001; online: 143.6→150.4, P = 0.007), but did not change appreciably in the control group (139.2→142.5, P > 0.05). Findings persisted at 3 months. Satisfaction measures were high (4.00–4.72 on 1–5 scale) and not significantly different (P = 0.072–0.893) between groups.

Conclusions. When used under similar conditions, national speakers and a publicly available online CME program were associated with improved pain management KAB in physicians. The benefits lasted for 3 months. These findings support the continued use of these pain education strategies. 
[less]

Background
Within a clinical context e-learning is comparable to traditional approaches of continuing medical education (CME). However, the occupational health context differs and until now the effect of postgraduate e-learning among occupational physicians (OPs) has not been evaluated.

Aim
To evaluate the effect of e-learning on knowledge on mental health issues as compared to lecture-based learning in a CME programme for OPs.

Methods
Within the context of a postgraduate meeting for 74 OPs, a randomized controlled trial was conducted. Test assessments of knowledge were made before and immediately after an educational session with either e-learning or lecture-based learning.

Results
In both groups, a significant gain in knowledge on mental health care was found (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the two educational approaches.

Conclusion
The effect of e-learning on OPs' mental health care knowledge is comparable to a lecture-based approach. Therefore, e-learning can be beneficial for the CME of OPs. 
[less]