No significant difference -- NOT

Actually I believe that DL has the potential to produce better graduates than traditional learning. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any articles, papers, etc. which might support this notion. Has anyone else seen anything that would support the superiority of DL?

--
JoAnn Peeler
BSCS FSU (Spring 2005 Planned)

 

I was watching the news the other day and saw a NY university admissions dept. being interviewed and they commented that they had done a study at their university and concluded that students that had taken CLEP exams had a higher graduation rate, better independent study skills, and did better in graduate studies. No, it was not Excelsior ;-)

Maybe do a search to see if you can find something on the web.

 

I am in agreement with you. My opinion is that DL produces a better understanding of the material, in most cases, than a traditional classroom. In my experience, I had to spend MORE time studying the material than I would have in a regular classroom setting. I'm sure this is not everyone's experience, however.

One thing that DL lacks is the emotion and passion of the professor (assuming they have any). That is one of the only downsides to DL. As far as articles, I believe there have been studies done to document DL vs. classroom learning. DL seems to consistantly come out as good as or better than traditional classroom settings. Sorry but I don't remember my reference. It's just something I remember reading not too long ago.

 

I have to agree with the "assuming they have any" part of your statement -- I've seen plenty of those in both undergrad and grad courses, traditional as well as online. However the other part about emotion and passion not being evident in online classes is not always true. Those, as well as humor, do come across very effectively in interactive online classes when the prof knows how to facilitate dynamic online discussions.

Leslie

 

I can see your point. My experience with DL has been very light so far but I am looking forward to getting a graduate degree completely online. I'm hoping some passion will flow from the instructors.

 

Joann - There are two sites to check out:

1. No significant difference http://teleeducation.nb.ca/nosignificantdifference/.

2. Significant difference
http://teleeducation.nb.ca/significantdifference

Beware! Some of the significant difference material is contrary to what you expect (e.g. live classes win over DL). Also, note that there are many more studies in the first case (no significant difference) then there are in second case.

Frankly, I'm convinced that media is just one factor of many that impact academic quality. There are good DL programs - and there are lousy ones. There are good live classes - and there are lousy ones, as well.

Regards - Andy