Online Learning Efficacy Research Database

College students (134 women and 55 men) participated in introductory psychology courses that were offered largely online (on the World Wide Web) or in a lecture format. Student comprehension skills were inferred from their scores on a multimedia comprehension battery. The learning of content knowledge was affected interactively by comprehension skill level and course format. Differences between format increased with comprehension skill such that the Web-based course advantage became greater as comprehension skill increased. This same pattern was not seen when self-reports of comprehension ability were used as the predictor. Furthermore, comprehension skill did not predict course satisfaction. Generally, students of all skill levels preferred the lecture courses. 
[less]

At the University of Georgia, HORT 3020 (Introduction to Fruit Crops) is a two-credit survey of the botanical characteristics, taxonomy, and production practices of the world's major fruit crops. It is offered via traditional classroom instruction, and as a distance education (DE) course through the University System of Georgia Independent Study program. The DE version of the course is designed to be identical in content, final exam, and grading scale. However, due to the nature of independent study, the end-of-topic evaluations are open-book, written assignments in the DE course, whereas students in the classroom version have closed-book quizzes at the end of each topic. Student performance in the two versions of the course was compared over a 3-year period (May 1998 to May 2001) by analyzing scores on end-of-topic evaluations, final exams, and overall course grades. Students in the DE version had higher scores on end-of-topic evaluations in all 3 years, higher scores on a comprehensive final exam in 2 of 3 years, and consequently higher overall course grades than classroom students in all 3 years. Better performance of DE over classroom students may have been related to 1) qualitative differences in end-of-topic evaluations (written assignments versus quizzes), 2) differences in student demographics (nontraditional students in DE, traditional undergraduates in classroom), 3) the elective (DE) versus required (classroom) nature of the courses, or 4) differences in course duration (1 year for DE, 15 weeks for classroom). Equal or better performance of DE students suggests that survey courses such as Introduction to Fruit Crops can be offered via distance education without compromising learning outcomes. 
[less]

Abstract not available. 
[less]

Of 29 industrial technology students in an action research project, 15 learned in a traditional classroom, then online in two 3-week periods (different subjects); 14 students reversed that order. Test and project results showed no significant differences. Interaction was rated more favorably in the traditional setting. 
[less]

This study compares outcome measures for identical courses offered in two delivery modes. One delivery mode is Web-based, online, and asynchronous, and the other is face-to-face and synchronous. Outcome measures for both modes include gain scores (difference between pretest and posttest knowledge), grade expressed as a percentage, and student satisfaction. These outcome measures are used to determine whether online students learn as effectively as face-to-face students. Analysis of the data suggests that online students are gaining knowledge comparable to the face-to-face students and that the online students are as satisfied on most dimensions as the face-to-face students. Kolb's Learning Style instrument is utilized to determine if one learning style lends itself better to online learning than other styles. 
[less]

This paper reports research on whether online delivery performs as well as traditional lecture delivery for a computer science course at North Carolina State University. The comparisons made are for two large sections of the course for which almost the only difference was that one section attended on-campus lectures and the other did not. Where significant differences in outcomes appear for students who completed the course, they favor the online students. However, online students who started the course were less likely to complete it. 
[less]

The implementation of Asynchronous Learning Network (ALN) technology in a large on-campus course over several years is reviewed, and recent data concerning both educational and cost effectiveness are presented. Even with higher course standards for success, student performance on examinations has improved, a larger fraction of students achieve the goals of the class, and the proportion of students who excel has increased. Female students benefit even more than their male counterparts. The level of communication and interaction among students has also increased dramatically, with mostly positive (but some negative) effects. Data concerning cost effectiveness indicate that the technology can reduce costs, but perhaps more importantly, it can increase the quality of education without increasing costs. 
[less]

Internet technologies are having a significant impact on the learning industry. For-profit organizations and traditional institutions of higher education
have developed and are using web-based courses, but little is known about their effectiveness compared to traditional classroom education. Our work focuses on the effectiveness of a webbased virtual learning environment (VLE) in the context of basic information technology skills training.
This article provides three main contributions. First, it introduces and defines the concept of VLE, discussing how a VLE differs from the traditional classroom and differentiating it from the related, but narrower, concept of computer aided instruction (CAI). Second, it presents a framework of VLE effectiveness, grounded in the technology mediated learning literature, which frames the VLE research domain, and addresses the relationship between the main constructs. Finally, it focuses on one essential VLE design variable, learner control, and compares a web-based VLE to a traditional classroom through a longitudinal
experimental design. Our results indicate that, in the context of IT basic skills training in undergraduate education, there are no significant differences in performance between students enrolled in the two environments. However, the VLE leads to higher reported computer self-efficacy, while participants report being less satisfied with the learning process. 
[less]

This paper presents the results of a study designed to examine the effects of distance delivery on student performance and classroom interactions in an upper level science (Histology) course. Outcomes were assessed by comparing performance on content pre- and posttests for students enrolled in on-campus and on-line sections of the same course. Interactions were classified according to initiator, topic, and Bloom's taxonomy level for content interactions. The resulting patterns were analyzed to compare behaviors in different settings. It was found that although the groups were indistinguishable in content knowledge at the outset of the study, by the end of the semester, students in the on-line group significantly out-performed their peers in the on-campus section. The on-line settings had a greater proportion of high-level interactions (according to Bloom's taxonomy) than the on-campus setting. 
[less]

This study compares the achievement of students enrolled in two sections of a course on teaching English to speakers of other languages (ESOL), one taught in a classroom setting and the other offered online. Participants included 29 students enrolled in the online section and 31 students in the classroom section. Students in the online section of the course scored significantly lower than students in the classroom-based course on a pretest. A t-test of student achievement on a posttest showed no significant difference in achievement among students enrolled in the two sections of the course. Numerically speaking, however, students in the classroom-based section as a group scored 13.19 points higher on the posttest than they did on the pretest. For the online group, the improvement in average score from pretest to posttest was 15.21 points. This finding suggests that students in the online section of the course achieved more than their classroom-based counterparts. 
[less]