From IAE-Pedia

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Attrition in Online and Campus Degree Programs 3 Requiring Online Education 4 Online Education in the United States, 2008 5 Student Participation in Discussions 6 Carnegie Mellon 7 Cost to Develop a Course 8 10 Principles 9 References 10 Author or Authors

Readers interested in Distance Learning may also want to read:

• Staff Development via Distance Education.
• Art Luehrman's 2002 article: "Should the computer teach the student…"—30 years later.

Introduction

Learning takes place within one's brain and the rest of one's body. The aids to learning can be internal or external. Thus, I can learn by thinking about things that I already know something about, by mentally seeking new insights and relationship. I can mentally pose and answer questions, and learn in the process of doing so.

We have a variety of senses that bring sensed data from outside our body to inside body. We process this steady stream of data, making use of some of it and ignoring most of it. This process of bringing in data and processing it can be thought of as distance learning. With that very broad definition, reading a book, watching and listening to TV, seeing birds and bees search for food, listening to a person talk, and so on are all examples of distance learning.

Of course, this broad way of viewing distance learning is quite removed from conventional definitions used in our informal and formal educational system. I like to think about the situation of sitting in a large lecture section of a college course. If I sit in the back of the room I am much further from the lecturer than if I sit in the front of the room. In either case, there may be hundreds of other students in the room. Thus, the large lecture teaching environment is a type of learning environment that is more "distant" than a one on one conversation or a small seminar.

The development of writing and printing presses, voice amplification, telegraph, telephone, voice and video recording, radio, television, and so on have greatly changed education. They have made possible anywhere, any time sources of input data that we can process and learn from.

People vary in terms of the nature of the input streams that best help them to learn various things. They also vary in the nature of feedback or interactivity that most helps them learn various things. As with the sources of information to be processed and possibly learned, feedback can be completely internal (one's mind and body provide feedback), from external sources, or a combination of the two. Part of the process of getting a good education is learning to provide effective feedback to oneself, learning to provide feedback to others, and learning to make use of feedback available from others.

Attrition in Online and Campus Degree Programs

Patterson, Belinda and McFadden, Cheryl (Summer 2009). Attrition in Online and Campus Degree Programs. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration. Retrieved 6/19/09: http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/summer122/patterson112.html.

Quoting the abstract of this article:

The purpose of this study was to examine how the mode of instructional delivery, campus face-to-face or online, affected dropout relative to students’ academic and demographic characteristics. A quantitative study was conducted to analyze the academic and demographic characteristics of newly admitted, matriculated degree-seeking students (N = 640) from Fall 2002 to Fall 2004 in the Master’s of Business Administration and Master’s in Communication Sciences and Disorders at a national research university in the southeastern United States. Demographic variables analyzed were age, gender, and ethnicity. Academic variables analyzed were program delivery mode, undergraduate grade point average, graduate grade point average at time of dropout or completion, admission test scores, and number of terms to degree completion or number of courses completed at time of dropout.

Results of the study found that online students were significantly more likely to dropout than campus based students. Age was found to have a significant unique affect on dropout in both programs with older students more likely to dropout. Academic and demographic variables were not found to be significantly associated with dropout in the online formats of either program. Variables related to dropout for the campus based groups of both programs differed. Campus MBA students who dropped out were older and had higher GMAT scores while campus CSDI students who dropped out had lower undergraduate GPA’s and GRE scores. Logistic regression analyses showed age and delivery format to have significant unique effects beyond other predictors on dropout in the MBA program overall while age and undergraduate GPA had significant unique effects beyond other predictors on dropout for the CSDI program.

The following article contains a discussion of attrition and related topics:

Kleinman, Loren (2/14/2011). Online Teaching and Learning Strategies for First-Year Generation Y Students. Faculty Focus. Retrieved 2/14/2011 from http://facultyfocusemail.com/a/hBNWTpJB8X3cvB8Yiz8AAAicJsc/article.

Quoting from the article:

Research suggests that Generation Y first-year students have a high attrition rate as a result of their level of expectations and enthusiasm for the college experience, which often leads to disillusionment. According to Education Dynamics' November 2008 survey by California State University-Northridge, reasons online students drop out include financial challenges (41%), life events (32%), health issues (23%), lack of personal motivation (21%), and lack of faculty interaction (21%). Among online students who dropped out of their degree or certificate programs, 40% percent failed to seek any help or resources before abandoning their programs. Nearly half (47%) of students who dropped out did so before completing one online course.

Allen and Seaman (2007) suggested that part of the reason for online student attrition is that faculty, staff, and the strategic alignment of the college is not vested in the value and legitimacy of online learning. Allen and Seaman (2007) also suggested that colleges that have a vested interest in online education's value and legitimacy have higher faculty engagement and less student attrition. Institutions that see online education as a "long-term strategy" are successful in student degree completion. Their study "Online Nation," supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and based on responses from more than 2,500 colleges and universities, considered five questions important to the success of online education programs, including barriers to the adoption of online education and why institutions provide online learning. Allen and Seaman's study provided insight into the framework and strategic alignment of online education. However, while the study uncovered statistics on faculty and administrator engagement as relating to quality and graduation rate of students, Allen and Seaman (2007) failed to reveal how generational differences contributed to student retention or attrition.

Requiring Online Education

Higgins, Lori (1/4/09). Waivers free high school students to study online, off-campus. Freep.com. Retrieved 1/6/09: http://www.freep.com/article/20090104/NEWS05/901040439/1007.Quoting from the article:

Eleven Michigan school districts and one charter school can now allow students to take more courses -- and in some cases all of their classes -- online and off-campus, moves that could further cement the state's reputation as a leader in online education.

Michigan already broke new ground in 2006 by becoming the first state in the nation to require students take an online class or have an online educational experience in order to graduate.

Alabama has recently implemented a similar requirement for students to take at least one online course. See the July 10, 2009 eSchoolNews article Free online course helps students plan careers: Alabama becomes the second state, after Michigan, to adopt Microsoft’s CareerForward online curriculum.

Online Education in the United States, 2008

Allen, I. Elaine and Seaman, Jeff (2008). Staying the course: Online education in the United States, 2008. Retrieved 11/12/08: http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/survey/pdf/staying_the_course.pdf.

Online enrollment at universities nationwide increased more than 12 percent in 2007 over the previous year.

According to this free report, which included responses from more than 2,500 colleges, approximately 3.94-million students, a little more than 20 percent of the total student population in higher education, enrolled in at least one online course in the fall of 2007.

The distance education movement is beginning to have an impact on both our precollege and higher education systems of schooling. As an example, starting in fall 2009, precollege students in Florida can do their entire schooling via distance learning. See http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-virtual1008nov10,0,978666.story.

Student Participation in Discussions

A synchronous distance learning course often makes provisions for students to engage in discussions with each other. It is common for the course instructor to require participation—for example, by specifying the minimal number of contributions each students must make.

Often, this is a poor approach. Many students do not make worthwhile contributions, and the contributed comments may well bunch up near a "due" date.

Part of the trouble here is the nature of the topic being discussed. What might a student gain from making a contribution or reading the contributions of others? The amount of learning might well be small relative to the time and effort required to fully participate.

This leads to the idea of both the teacher and the students being involved in developing "discussable" questions.

A related idea is to have one or more discussion leaders "in charge" of each discussion question. They must facilitate the discussion and then write up summary.

Carnegie Mellon

Parry, Marc (8/3/09) Obama's Great Course Giveaway. Clues to a grand online-education plan emerge from the college and the experts that may have inspired it. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 8/5/09: http://chronicle.com/article/Obamas-Great-Course-Giveaway/47530/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en.

Quoting from the article:

Logan Stark's classmates scramble for courses with professors who top instructor-rating Web sites. But when the California Polytechnic State University student enrolled in a biochemistry class on the San Luis Obispo campus, he didn't need to sweat getting the best.

It was practically guaranteed.

That's because much of the class was built by national specialists, not one Cal Poly professor. It's a hybrid of online and in-person instruction. When Mr. Stark logs in to the course Web site at midnight, a bowl of cereal beside his laptop, he clicks through animated cells and virtual tutors, a digital domain designed by faculty experts and software engineers.

… Mr. Stark's class is one of about 300 around the world to use online course material—both the content and the software that delivers it—developed by Carnegie Mellon University's Open Learning Initiative. If the Obama administration pulls off a $500-million-dollar online-education plan, proposed in July as one piece of a sweeping community-college aid package, this type of course could become part of a free library available to colleges nationwide.

… The government would pay to develop these "open" classes, taking up the mantle of a movement that has unlocked lecture halls at universities nationwide in recent years—a great course giveaway popularized by the OpenCourseWare project's free publication of 1,900 courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Millions worldwide have used these online materials. But the publication cost—at MIT, about $10,000 a course—has impeded progress at the community-college level, says Stephen E. Carson, external-relations director for MIT OpenCourseWare.

… The cost of each course: probably about $1-million, although development would cost less "if you did a number of them," Mr. Smith says.

When asked why government should get involved, Mr. Smith responds that its help "would make those courses available to anyone, which is not the case now—and wouldn't be the case if the government didn't do it."

Cost to Develop a Course

It is possible to convert a traditional face-to-face course into an online course, and this can be done quite inexpensively. As an example, one might just video the course lectures, put them online, and make up assignments that are submitted electronically. Or, in place of lectures one might make use of more extensive reading assignments and also draw on multimedia presentations that are readily available on the Web. The course can be "jazzed up" by making provisions for electronic interaction among studetns and by perhaps requiring such interaction.

Using such approaches, a semester-length or quarter-length high school or college course can be developed at nominal cost, such as $10,000. Once created, it can be incrementally improved and kept up to date by the people who are "teaching" the course.

Now, contrast that figure with the proposed $250,000 per course discussed in the article:

Keller, Josh and Parry. Marc (5/9/2010). U. of California Considers Online Classes, or Even Degrees. The Chronicaleof Higher Education. Retrieved 5/14/2010 from http://chronicle.com/article/In-Crisis-U-of-California/65445/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en. Quoting from the article:

Online education is booming, but not at elite universities—at least not when it comes to courses for credit.

Leaders at the University of California want to break that mold. This fall they hope to put $5-million to $6-million into a pilot project that could clear the way for the system to offer online undergraduate degrees and push distance learning further into the mainstream.

The vision is UC's most ambitious—and controversial—effort to reshape itself after cuts in public financial support have left the esteemed system in crisis.

Supporters of the plan believe online degrees will make money, expand the number of California students who can enroll, and re-establish the system's reputation as an innovator.

Or, contrast that with the current cost of perhaps $2 million a course for the highly interactive intelligent computer-assisted learning courses being developed by Carnegie Mellon. The following article suggest that mass production of such courses may bring the price down to $1 million each.

Parry, Marc (8/3/09) Obama's Great Course Giveaway. Clues to a grand online-education plan emerge from the college and the experts that may have inspired it. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 8/5/09: http://chronicle.com/article/Obamas-Great-Course-Giveaway/47530/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en.

And, of course, one can contrast these cost estimates with the costs of making 45 to 50 minute weekly television program (perhaps $2 million to $5 million per episode), "low budget" movies (perhaps $5 million to $20 million),and higher budget movies which now can cost $100 million and on up.

We also know about costs to develop a reasonably high quality video game. Here, the price range is quite broad, perhaps from about $4 million to $40 million of more. See:

Morris, Chris (3/18/2010). As video game development costs rise, so do risks. Retrieved 5/14/2010 from http://www.cnbc.com/id/35932496/As_Video_Game_Development_Costs_Rise_So_Do_Risks. Quoting from the article:

When Sony released the eagerly anticipated “God of War III” this week, it wasn’t just hoping the game would be a blockbuster; it was counting on it.

The third installment in the hyper-violent, but trend setting series is one of the biggest PlayStation 3 games of the year (if not the biggest). It’s also one of the most expensive.

The game’s final price tag totaled a reported $44 million – and that’s before marketing expenses are added into the mix.

We know a lot about teaching and learning. There is an extensive amount of accumulated research and practitioner knowledge. We also know a lot about the production of high quality multimedia. Good quality distance learning draws on the research and practitioner base and on the video and game industry knowledge and skills.

There has been quite a lot of research on the effectiveness of distance learning. However, we have only a modest base of research on the potentially significantly larger effectiveness of more costly courses. Can we produce significantly better and faster student learning by spending more in course development? Note also that part of the more costly course may well be a design that cuts down in costs of interacting with a student taking the course. Thus, we need further research on the "total cost of student learning" in the various forms of face-to-face and distance learning courses we currently have and/or will create in the future.

If the types of data given above interest you, you may want to watch the 55 minute video at http://video.pbs.org/video/1485280975/program/979358040. This video is about private higher education, and it contains data about the way the income from their distance education courses is spent. It might be typical to spend 20% to 25% on advertising and 10% to 20% to pay for instructors. Of course, there are other staffing expenses and computer costs. However, such a "business" can be highly profitable.

10 Principles

10 Principles (2/11/2010). 10 Principles of Effective Online Teaching: Best Practices in Distance Education. Faulty Focus. Retrieved 2/11/2011 from http://www.facultyfocus.com/free-reports/principles-of-effective-online-teaching-best-practices-in-distance-education/?c=FF&t=F110211.

Here are the first two in the list:

1 Show Up and Teach — The necessity of this statement is borne of the misimpression that the online class “teaches itself.” Since most of the course is already authored and designed for online delivery, instructors may believe they simply need to serve as the proverbial “guide on the side” as the students navigate the learning system. Not true!

2 Practice Proactive Course Management Strategies — The online instructor can help create a successful learning experience by practicing proactive course management strategies such as monitoring assignment submissions, and communicating and reminding students of missed and/or upcoming deadlines.

References

AcademicInfo (n.d.). Online Education Resources, Degree Information & Subject Guides. Retrieved 2/12/2009: http://www.academicinfo.net/. Quoting from the Website:

AcademicInfo is an online education resource center with extensive subject guides and distance learning information. Our mission is to provide free, independent and accurate information and resources for prospective and current students (and other researchers).

AcademicInfo was founded in 1998 by Mike Madin, a librarian coordinator, and is now maintained by multiple contributors.

We currently feature over 25,000+ hand-picked resources and update the website on a daily basis.

Brooks, Margaret (5/29/09). The Excellent Inevitability of Online Courses. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 5/26/09: http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i38/38a06401.htm?utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en.

The article gives "eight reasons that colleges should proudly — and without apology — offer online courses."Quoting from the article:

As students sign up for online courses in record numbers, faculty members and administrators on campuses across the country are considering what place such courses should have in their curricula. Each institution's answer goes to the heart of its mission, and the examination process involves debate and discussion about how that mission will be carried out using the newest technology.

…

Online enrollments have grown much faster than overall higher-education enrollments over the past few years, according to a 2008 report, "Staying the Course: Online Education in the United States," published by the Sloan-C, a consortium that promotes online education. During the period 2002-7, enrollment in online courses grew 19.7 percent, compared with 1.5-percent growth in the overall college-student population. The study also found that more than 20 percent of American college students took at least one online course during the fall 2007 semester. Those figures suggest tremendous interest in online teaching and learning.

Devaney, Laura (10/29/08). Report assesses K-12 online learning. Online Course-Taking Shows Dramatic Growth. Education Week. Quoting from the article:

The number of K-12 students using online courses has increased dramatically in the last few years, concludes a new report from the Needham, Mass-based Sloan Consortium, an advocacy group that promotes online education.

Researchers estimate that more than a million public school students now take classes online, a 47 percent increase from the consortium’s original K-12 survey done in the 2005-06 school year.

The 2007-08 survey of 867 public school district superintendents from each state and region in the country found that three-quarters of public school districts polled are offering online-only courses or courses that mix online and traditional education, and 75 percent of those districts had one or more students enrolled in a fully online course. The report notes that rural districts, in particular, see significant benefits to having their students taking some online courses.

The article indicates that further growth hinges on policy, funding changes in states from coast to coast, it says.

Devaney, Laura (10/29/2008). Report assesses K-12 online learning . eSchool News. Retrieved 11/3/08: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=55790. Quoting from the article:

Online learning is growing rapidly, but its continued growth will require specific policy and funding changes that focus on increasing educational choices and opportunities while ensuring high quality and improved student achievement, according to a new report.

"Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning," the fifth in an annual series of reports examining the online-learning landscape, debuted at the North American Council for Online Learning's (NACOL's) Virtual School Symposium on Oct. 27. The report recommends several policies to increase online learning options for students.

eSchool News (3/17/09). Report: Online learning a 'lifeline' in rural areas. Retrieved 3/17/09: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=57747. Quoting from the document:

The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) study, called "K-12 Online Learning," is a follow-up to the group's 2007 report, which was one of the first studies to collect data about online and blended learning in K-12 schools. The new study, released in January, is based on information gathered from more than 800 U.S. school systems during the 2007-08 academic year.

According to the study, three-quarters of responding school districts had at least one student enrolled in a fully online or blended course, an increase of about 10 percentage points from the group's earlier study. ("Blended" courses employ both online and face-to-face instruction.)

The total number of K-12 students taking online or blended courses in 2007-08 was estimated at 1,030,000--up from 700,000 in the earlier study--and two-thirds of respondents said they expect their online enrollments will continue to grow.

Lefferts, Jennifer (9/24/09). It’s reality - high school classes are going virtual. The Boston Glove. Retrieved 9/29/09: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2009/09/24/nonprofit_virtual_high_school_consortium_gaining_schools_students/. Quotinf grom the article:

Sean O’Brien attends Concord-Carlisle High School, but at least once a day he checks in with a teacher he’ll never meet face to face.

O’Brien is one of 20 Concord-Carlisle students in the Virtual High School program, which offers online courses taught by teachers all over the world. O’Brien, a sophomore, is taking an Advanced Placement economics course taught by an instructor in Texas.

Schools participating in Virtual High School must provide a teacher who will lead an online course available to any students in the program.

Mandinach, Ellen (2005). The Development of Effective Evaluation Methods for E-Learning: A Concept Paper and Action Plan. Teachers College Record. Retrieved 1/29/08: http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=12097. Quoting from the article:

E-learning is an emerging field as a promising instructional medium as well as a ripe arena in which to conduct research on its impact on teaching and learning activities. The fundamental nature of e-learning as an instructional medium differs substantially from face-to-face delivery, thereby requiring new and hybrid methods for evaluating its impact. This article examines the characteristics of e-learning that make it unique and traces some of the emerging trends in the field. The article then discusses evaluation methodologies that might be potentially informative in the examination of how e-learning is beginning to affect teaching and learning processes.

…

E-learning creates new variables, constraints, and issues, making it fundamentally different from face-to-face learning environments. The roles of the professor, teacher, and student change. Requisite resources and infrastructure differ. Even the educational objectives may differ across students, professors, teachers, and institutions.

Means, Toyama, Murphy, Bakia, and Jones (2009). Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies. U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved 7/2/09: http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/academic/evalonline/index.html. (93 page report.)

Abstract. A systematic search of the research literature from 1996 through July 2008 identified more than a thousand empirical studies of online learning. Analysts screened these studies to find those that (a) contrasted an online to a face-to-face condition, (b) measured student learning outcomes, (c) used a rigorous research design, and (d) provided adequate information to calculate an effect size. As a result of this screening, 51 independent effects were identified that could be subjected to meta-analysis. The meta-analysis found that, on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction. The difference between student outcomes for online and face-to-face classes—measured as the difference between treatment and control means, divided by the pooled standard deviation—was larger in those studies contrasting conditions that blended elements of online and face-to-face instruction with conditions taught entirely face-to-face. Analysts noted that these blended conditions often included additional learning time and instructional elements not received by students in control conditions. This finding suggests that the positive effects associated with blended learning should not be attributed to the media, per se. An unexpected finding was the small number of rigorous published studies contrasting online and face-to-face learning conditions for K–12 students. In light of this small corpus, caution is required in generalizing to the K–12 population because the results are derived for the most part from studies in other settings (e.g., medical training, higher education).

NACOL (n.d.). North American Council for Online Learning. Retrieved 11/3/08: http://www.nacol.org/. Quoting from the Website:

Mission NACOL strives to ensure all students have access to a world-class education and quality online learning opportunities that prepare them for a lifetime of success.

Vision Online learning is a powerful innovation that expands education opportunities. iNACOL supports access to high-quality online learning for all students.

Natriello, Gary (2005). Modest Changes, Revolutionary Possibilities: Distance Learning and the Future of Education. Teachers College Record. Retrieved 2/5/08: http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=12099.

Quoting from the article:

In this essay, I take stock of the developments shaping distance learning and consider the implications for educational researchers and for the future of education. I proceed in four stages. First, I consider the constellation of forces leading to the development of distance education and the emerging shape of this part of the education sector. Second, I review the development of distance learning to date, a path of development based largely on the extension of and borrowing from existing educational arrangements and patterns in face-to-face education. Third, I explore developments at the leading edge of contemporary distance learning that depart in some more substantial way from patterns characteristic of face-to-face education. Fourth, I consider the implications for educational researchers as well as those for policy makers and educators.

Prabhu, Maya T. (11/19/08). Report challenges online-learning assumptions Online students report deeper learning approaches, more challenging coursework than their peers in face-to-face classes. Retrieved http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=56098.

Quoting from the article:

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), which was conducted by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, collected information from nearly 380,000 randomly selected first-year and senior students at 722 four-year colleges and universities across the United States. NSSE explored the experiences of online learners through a set of additional questions given to more than 22,000 students from 47 institutions. The results were released Nov. 10.

"Critics of distance education assume that face-to-face classes have inherent advantages as learning environments," said Alexander C. McCormick, NSSE director and associate professor of education at Indiana University. "But these results indicate that those who teach classes online may be making special efforts to engage their students. It may also be the case that online classes appeal to students who are more academically motivated and self-directed."

Bob Gonyea, associate director of the Center for Postsecondary Research, said the survey did not collect data that could concretely determine why online learners reported deeper approaches to learning.

Sivin-Kachaka, Jay (6/2/09). New Study Determines Students in Full-Time Online Public Schools Possess Strong Social Skills. Retrieved 7/8/09: http://www.k12.com/press__policy/new-study-determines-students-in-full-time-online-public-schools-possess-strong-social-skills/.

Quoting from the document:

June 2, 2009 – A new study concludes that the social skills of students enrolled in full-time, online public schools are superior to or not significantly different than students enrolled in traditional public schools.

The independent study was completed by Interactive Education Systems Design (IESD), Inc., in collaboration with The Center for Research in Educational Policy (CREP) at the University of Memphis. It represents the first significant research effort on the social skills of students in full-time, online public schools.

“Online public schools are experiencing rapid growth across the country,” said Dr. Jay Sivin-Kachala, Vice-President of IESD, who led the research project. “Yet some concerns have been expressed that students enrolled in online public schools may suffer from a lack of opportunities for socialization, and consequently may fail to develop important social skills. The results of this study provide substantial evidence supporting the conclusion that typical, mainstream students enrolled in full-time, online public schools are at least as well socialized as equivalent students enrolled in traditional public schools.”

Dr. Sivin-Kachala added, “Preliminary evidence also suggests that students enrolled in full-time, online public schools might have an advantage in their social skills development if they are highly engaged in activities outside the school day – including both activities involving peer interaction and activities not involving peer interaction.

Van Dusen, Christine (4/3/09). Learning without limits. How the rise of online instruction is changing the nature of schooling. eSchool News. Retrieved 6/23/09: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/special-reports/special-reports-articles/index.cfm?i=58076.

Zhao, Lei, Yan, Lai, and Tan (2005). What Makes the Difference? A Practical Analysis of Research on the Effectiveness of Distance Education. Retrieved 2/1/08: http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=12098. Quoting from the article:

This article reports findings of a meta-analytical study of research on distance education. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that affect the effectiveness of distance education. The results show that although the aggregated data of available studies show no significant difference in outcomes between distance education and face-to-face education as previous research reviews suggest, there is remarkable difference across the studies. Further examination of the difference reveals that distance education programs, just like traditional education programs, vary a great deal in their outcomes, and the outcome of distance education is associated with a number of pedagogical and technological factors. This study led to some important data-driven suggestions for and about distance education.

…

Studies included in the research synthesis were identified through a three-step process. First, we conducted a thorough search for all studies included in the Education Resources Information Center (1966-2002) through FirstSearch with the following keywords: distan* and education, distan* and learning, distan* and teaching, distan* and instruction, online and education, online and learning, online and teaching, online and instruction, online and education, online and learning, online and teaching, online and instruction, web-based and education, web-based and learning, web-based and teaching, web-based and instruction, virtual and education, vir tual and learning, virtual and teaching, virtual and instruction. The search identified 8,840 potentially relevant articles. Citation information for all 8,840 articles was then transferred into EndNote (version 5.0; ISI ResearchSoft, 2001) to build the first database.

Author or Authors