Dept of Ed says online learning is better than face to face
A recent study put out by the Department of Education shows that students using online methods of learning actually perform better than those who just learn in the classroom. That shouldn’t come as any surprise if we really understood what’s happening in the classroom – or paid any attention to the rise in the number of users of computers and other devices accessing the internet.
Why would it be a surprise that people learn more when they have choice, can take their time, and learn what they want to learn when they want to learn it?
Or why would it be a surprise that a blended situation – some online and some face to face – would produce better results than just one or the other?
What is surprising is that the Department of Education would publish such a study.
To me this is looking in the wrong place for something that isn’t really that important. Online courses simply replicate a methodology that is really only valuable to a small percentage of the population. Rote learning or drill and practice isn’t really an optimal strategy for either online or face to face learning. So replicating what is done in the classrooms in an online environment isn’t any better. What would be interesting to me would be seeing a change in the methods used to learn in either situation. What about experiences? What about making connections to the rest of life? What about theory? What about learning for deeper meaning and wisdom?
Just for fun, here are some of the key findings from the study:
- Students who took all or part of their class online performed better, on average, than those taking the same course through traditional face-to-face instruction.
- Instruction combining online and face-to-face elements had a larger advantage relative to purely face-to-face instruction than did purely online instruction.
- Studies in which learners in the online condition spent more time on task than students in the face-to-face condition found a greater benefit for online learning.
- Most of the variations in the way in which different studies implemented online learning did not affect student learning outcomes significantly.
- The effectiveness of online learning approaches appears quite broad across different content and learner types.
- Blended and purely online learning conditions implemented within a single study generally result in similar student learning outcomes.
- Elements such as video or online quizzes do not appear to influence the amount that students learn in online classes.
- Online learning can be enhanced by giving learners control of their interactions with media and prompting learner reflection.
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