Online Learning Efficacy Research Database

Introductory computer science courses help students, regardless of their majors, keep up with the rapid pace of change in the workplace. However, such courses are commonly perceived as being difficult. Although many studies have discussed the importance of online introductory computer science courses, there is a dearth of studies investigating the effectiveness of this delivery mode when the same assessment tools are used as in the traditional delivery mode. Moreover, it is unclear how students of different genders perform in both online and traditional face-to-face introductory computer science course sections when they receive the same instructional content. The purpose of this study is to expand the existing literature by examining the academic achievement of students in an introductory computer science course through the evaluation of grades obtained from online and traditional face-to-face course sections. Additionally, the study aims to explore any gender-based variations between the two delivery modes. The sample size included 589 first-year students in an introductory computer science course at a public university in Saudi Arabia. The participants were selected randomly from different sections. The results confirm the findings of previous studies suggesting that there are no gender-based differences in students’ performance in introductory computer science. Additionally, this study makes a valuable contribution to the existing body of literature by demonstrating that students who receive introductory computer science instruction through online delivery mode achieve significantly higher performance than students who receive the same instruction through traditional face-to-dace delivery mode. Moreover, this study found that both female and male students who receive introductory computer science instruction through online delivery mode perform significantly better than male students who receive instruction through traditional face-to-face delivery mode, indicating that online learning may be a more effective mode of delivery for students of both genders. 
[less]

Blended learning, a combination of face-to-face and computer-assisted pedagogy, is gaining acceptance at universities as an alternative learning experience. Modern technology has given faculty new ways to incorporate active learning and increase student engagement in their courses. Although the broad history of technology enhanced coursework has demonstrated that student learning is usually very comparable to what occurs in traditional coursework, recent studies focusing specifically on blended learning in totally redesigned classes report positive results. Were those positive results due to the online blending or to the redesign of the class? To answer this question and other limitations and challenges in past studies, the authors present their unique research that measures learning in a blended undergraduate management information systems course where identical classes were compared, one being all face-to-face and one being one-third online. By varying only course modality, this research answers the question of whether blended learning is a superior learning environment in an undergraduate MIS class, a second-level MIS class covering ERP, business processes, databases, advanced spreadsheets, and data analytics. Collecting both quantitative and qualitative data, the authors use a critical realism lens to create a mechanism for learning. Quantitative data, analyzed by multiple regression models and qualitative data, analyzed by content analysis lead to the outcome that learning is comparable to traditional coursework, grade-wise, but students prefer face-to-face class time. It also reveals that self-regulatory skills are evident, confirming that blended learning can aid in the construction of learning. 
[less]

A growing number of students are now opting for online classes. They find the traditional classroom modality restrictive, inflexible, and impractical. In this age of technological advancement, schools can now provide effective classroom teaching via the Web. This shift in pedagogical medium is forcing academic institutions to rethink how they want to deliver their course content. The overarching purpose of this research was to determine which teaching method proved more effective over the 8-year period. The scores of 548 students, 401 traditional students and 147 online students, in an environmental science class were used to determine which instructional modality generated better student performance. In addition to the overarching objective, we also examined score variabilities between genders and classifications to determine if teaching modality had a greater impact on specific groups. No significant difference in student performance between online and face-to-face (F2F) learners overall, with respect to gender, or with respect to class rank were found. These data demonstrate the ability to similarly translate environmental science concepts for non-STEM majors in both traditional and online platforms irrespective of gender or class rank. A potential exists for increasing the number of non-STEM majors engaged in citizen science using the flexibility of online learning to teach environmental science core concepts. 
[less]

Purpose – This paper aims to compare the students enrolled to a three-year undergraduate, bachelor degree on Security of Computer Systems and Networks, offered in traditional, classroom fashion as well as online at the University of Milan (Italy). Its main purposes are to estimate the main characteristics of the two different student populations addressed (i.e. online vs classroom students) to understand if an online version of an already existing traditional university degree allows to extend the enrollment of students; and to evaluate the effectiveness of the e-learning approach adopted, comparing performance of the two student populations. The study aims to supply a significant case study, based on a real experience more than 10 years long.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the statistical interpretation of a huge amount of data, collected during the overall life of Sicurezza dei Sistemi e delle Reti Informatiche (SSRI) online, regarding student age, income, grades obtained in exams and after final dissertation and graduation time.
Findings – The paper allows to conclude that the online student population has very limited overlap with the classroom one, which means that the online version of an already existing degree can definitely enlarge the student enrollment and reach older students; and a carefully designed e-learning environment allows committed online students to obtain results comparable when not better than the ones of classroom students.
Research limitations/implications – The study refers to a single, specific degree in computer science and technology; thus, it may lack generalizability. Similar experiences in other areas could be useful.
Originality/value – This paper fulfills an identified. 
[less]

Utilization of technology in the teaching and learning process has brought a significant impact to the education sector. Technology offers educators and learners a new learning experience to encourage and enrich the teaching and learning process. The study used descriptive-correlation to know the effectiveness of the different learning environment through pretest and post-test and to determine the satisfaction rating of the respondents towards the different kinds of learning environment. It was found out in the result that blended learning shows an effective tool to enriched student performance in programming. It is recommended to use different learning mode of delivery to shows a significant increase and improvement in the academic performance. 
[less]

This action research study follows a between-subject design strategy and attempts to identify whether a departure from a direct instructional teaching strategy towards a flipped learning pedagogy results in increases in student performance over time. In particular, the study considers the effects of integrating flipped learning pedagogic instruction into a Year 1, second-semester undergraduate Computer Architecture module. The first year of the study represented a baseline year in which a traditional direct instructional teaching method was used. The three subsequent years of study involved the inclusion of increased proportions of flipped learning instruction. When removing the baseline year from the study and focusing on the years that included a flipped proportion of instruction only, the analysis showed statistically significant increases in learner performance for mature students as the module migrated towards a fully flipped delivery model. Positive increases associated with continuous assessment components of the modules were also observed across the population as the module migrated towards a flipped learning model. However, this apparent increase in learner performance showed no impact on the terminal examination scores across years, indicating that improved performance in continuous assessments was probably due to shallow learning. 
[less]

This paper compares the effectiveness of e-learning and face-to-face education in the previously neglected context of Saudi Arabia. This is done by examining Najran University’s e-learning experience after the institution suspended traditional course delivery due to the ongoing war between Saudi Arabia, the Arab Coalition, and Yemeni rebel groups. The analysis also considers the potential benefits offered by e-learning in crisis zones such as the southern border region of Najran, Saudi Arabia. The results indicate that there is no statistical or practical difference between online and face-to-face learning with respect to student performance. This paper also demonstrated that e-learning is capable of delivering the educational goals of higher learning institutions to areas wrecked by wars. E-Learning offers students a safe learning environment, engaging platforms, and most importantly a quality education. The findings of this paper contribute to a growing body of scholarship on the effectiveness and implementation of e-learning in the Middle East. 
[less]

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a hybrid learning approach to deliver a computer science course concerning the Microsoft office PowerPoint 2003 program in comparison to delivering the same course content in the form of traditional lectures. A hundred and seventy-two first year university students were randomly assigned into two teaching method groups: traditional lecture instruction (TLI) and hybrid lecture instruction (HLI). Each group received six 95-min periods of instruction divided into 4 sections: a) 5-min brief outline of the key learning points, b) 40-min lecture on general knowledge c) 45-min constructivist-inspired learning activities and d) 5-min summary on key learning points. In the beginning and the end of this study students completed a 17-item multiple choice knowledge test. Two-way analysis of variances (ANOVA), with repeated measures on the last factor, were conducted to determine effect of method groups (TLI, HLI) and measures (pre-test, post-test) on knowledge test. The measures main effect was significant, as well as the groups x measures interaction effect. Two independent-samples t test were conducted to follow up the significant interaction. Differences in mean ratings of knowledge performance between the two teaching groups were not significantly different at first measure, while the TLI method group yielded a significantly lower mean rating at second measure. The findings indicated that HLI approach might be a superior option for undergraduate students on learning the Microsoft office PowerPoint 2003 program. 
[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]