Online Learning Efficacy Research Database

The study investigated the effectiveness of Blended Learning environment in a comparison to Distance Learning environment with regard to learners' achievement as measured by exam scores on ‘Lesson Planning Section’, Methodology Course. The participants were (30) EFL female learners enrolled in two groups: The control group composed of (15) students who were exposed to distance learning only, whereas the experimental group consisted of (15) students who were exposed to blended learning. The results of the study indicated significant differences between the two groups on the achievement test in favour of the experimental group. 
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This study investigated the effect of blended learning on novices’ understandings of the introductory programming. A quasi-experimental design with participants of preservice computer and instructional technologies teachers, one control group (CG, N =64) and one experimental group (EG, N=61) who received the course 11 weeks. While face-to-face courses were taught face-to-face in classroom and in lab, blended courses were conducted in synchronous and asynchronous settings and also in lab sessions. The pretest, posttest and delayed tests were used to collect data. The participants in two groups were separated into three categories (poor, average and good) according to the pretest results. The results of the study showed that blended and face-to-face courses have statistically similar effects on academic achievements among the three categories. However the delayed test results showed that, face-to-face courses were more effective on permanence than blended courses. Thus, considering the main goal of the introductory programming courses as enhancing students in the second category progress into the third, the organization of blended courses had to be revisited. Nevertheless, this study supported the idea that “Crucial challenges may exist on teaching some subjects via blended learning, which include intensive cognitive processes and some new approaches are needed to enhance permanence”. 
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Much of the existing research in distance education has focused on contrasting the outcomes between traditional face-to-face teaching and purely online courses, in which the entire course content is delivered online. However, research has not examined the effectiveness of hybrid-online courses, in which a combination of online delivery and face-to-face classroom teaching is used, especially in the context of marketing courses. This paper examines student experiences and learning outcomes in purely online and hybrid-online course formats. For both formats, student satisfaction is found to be affected by the course content, student-teacher communications, the use of effective learning tools, and the instructor. Improvements in perceived learning and course performance scores are observed for the hybrid-online format in the context of a qualitative marketing course while no such benefits are observed for a technical marketing course. The results indicate that the merits of different distance learning approaches need to be evaluated in the specific context of each course and that the benefits of integrating face-to-face meetings into online marketing courses are course specific. 
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This paper investigates the performance of students enrolled in traditional versus hybrid Elementary Statistics courses at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC). For this study, we collected and analyzed student performance data for the course goals over the spring semester of 2011. GGC is unique as it is an open access undergraduate institution, which has experienced rapid growth since its recent foundation in 2006. This presents a distinct challenge because there is a diverse student population, with various degrees of mathematical knowledge and learning capabilities. Based on the results of our findings, we have discovered that there is no significant difference between the performances of the two groups. 
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Aims: The purpose of this study was to develop and implement a blended course (a combined face-to-face and online instruction) on undergraduate oral radiology and evaluate it by comparing its educational effectiveness (derived from students’ performance and answers to questionnaires) to a conventional course’s. Students’ attitudes concerning the blended methodology were also registered.

Methodology: An original course was developed and implemented, and its electronic version was uploaded to an e-learning educational platform. The course was attended by two groups of final-year students, who were taught by either the conventional face-to-face methodology or the blended learning methodology. Students answered a series of questionnaires, before and after following the course, regarding their perceptions, attitudes and evaluation of the course. Additionally, they completed knowledge assessment tests and their grades (before and after the course) were compared. Educational effectiveness of the course was determined by analysing the results of the questionnaires and the tests.

Results: Students in the blended group performed significantly better than their colleagues of the conventional group in the post-course knowledge test, and female students of the blended group performed better than male students. Students evaluated high the course content, organisation, educational material, and the blended group students additionally appreciated the course design and clarity of instructions. Students’ attitudes towards elements of blended learning (effectiveness, motivation and active engagement) were very positive. Most of the blended group students, who attended the face-to-face meeting (approx. 91%), evaluated it as helpful for summarising the subject and clarifying difficult issues.

Conclusions: Blended learning is effective and well evaluated by dental students and can be implemented in undergraduate curriculum for teaching oral radiology. 
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Background
Generation Y students have a strong preference for technology that has caused educators to re-evaluate their instructional techniques. Limited published literature exists evaluating the benefits of electronic lecture delivery to students enrolled within nursing degree programs, with no publications to date comparing traditional to blended learning modalities.

Objectives
To retrospectively compare student outcomes, including overall course grade and individual examination scores, between two cohorts of students utilizing two distinctly different methods of lecture delivery, traditional and blended.

Methods
IRB approval was granted to retrospectively compare student outcomes from fifty-two students enrolled within Northeastern University's Master of Science Nurse Practitioner degree program. A total of 23 students were enrolled in the traditional section taught in 2010 and 29 students were enrolled in the blended section taught in 2011. Student's t-test was used to compare studied outcomes between each section. A p-value of = 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

Results
The students enrolled within blended course scored statistically significantly higher than their counterparts within the traditional course for three of the four studied outcomes, including overall course score.

Conclusions
This study demonstrates that nursing students enrolled within a more technologically advanced course may have improved performance over students enrolled in courses with traditional lecture styles given their generational preferences for learning. 
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This paper will share with the members of the conference the findings from the final study. This study contains five semesters of analyzed data which compares the retention of students, final grades for students, grades for five specific tasks that were given in blended in-class courses and in the totally online courses, and a comparison of data by GPA, gender, and by class level. All courses were American Politics PLSC 111. Each semester one or two American Politics courses were conducted in the classroom and one American Politics distance education course was conducted totally online. Each time the courses were given, it was during the same semester and by the same professor who is the researcher. 
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This article reports on a study of student outcomes in a pair of matched courses, one taught face-to-face and one taught in a blended format, in which students completed most of the work online but met several times face-to-face. Learning objectives, course content, and pedagogical approaches were identical but the mode of instruction was different. The data suggest academic performance was not influenced by the mode of instruction. Additionally, the data show few differences between the sections in terms of attitudinal outcomes, although students in the blended section reported a lower sense of community. However, one notable outcome was the tendency of students to drop out of the online activities after having a face-to-face session. Lessons for the design of blended courses are discussed. 
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Blended learning environment is a hybrid of classroom and online learning that includes some of the convenience of online courses without the complete loss of face-to-face advantages. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of traditional and blended instruction, in students performance in a Physical Education in Early Childhood course. The course was designed and developed to meet the learning needs of students and the course's objectives. The t test analysis on independent samples, revealed statistically significant differences in students’ performance. Based on the findings, blended instruction appears as an alternative teaching practice that should be embraced by teachers, in order to assist students to improve their performance. 
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With the growth of the world-wide web and e-learning some programs are now fully online but blended learning has also become popular, offering various combinations of internal classes and online content. This paper reports the results of delivering an introductory first-year property course using both online and blended learning. The paper investigates the effectiveness of blended and online learning based on the thesis that blended learning is more effective as students have the advantages of both face-to-face learning and the online environment. A case study approach was adopted that involved two recent cohorts of students. Course statistics from the newly introduced Moodle software were used to analyse how these two groups of students used the online material and how these activities were correlated with their learning outcomes. This paper contributes to higher education pedagogy in online learning by providing insights into the use of a project-based learning approach in engaging students. 
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