Instructional-Design-Live #25 Is Online Learning Better?

Post-Show description: 

Community College Research Center

This week on IDLive, Shanna Smith-Jaggars discusses her response to the US Dept. of Education's report on online learning. Widely cited as proof that online learning is better, the DOE study fails to address some of the broader implications of online learning. Dr. Jaggars addresses these issues and many more--a must listen.

In May 2009, the US Department of Education issued a meta-analysis and review of online learning studies that compared face-to-face, blended and online delivery modes, and found that: On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.” Despite the caveats identified in the research, the conclusion, for some, was still: Online learning is better!ShannaShanna Smith-Jaggars, Senior Research Associate at the Community Colleges Research Center challenges this assertion in her response to the meta-analysis  (July 2010). Jaggars more fully explores the comparison of online and face-to-face instruction and finds only 7 studies out of 51 can be used to shed light on this question. Of these 7, Jaggars concludes that there is no significant difference between learning outcome achievement in face-to-face or online courses for certain student populations. Sound familiar? Time to channel our energies into more rewarding directions, perhaps.. As Jaggars puts it in this interesting interview, “what we really need to be doing is spending more time and effort in trying to figure out what are the most effective instructional practices in both modalities”

Available on the Web

Jul 23, 2010 10:02:28 AM - IDL 25: IS BLENDED LEARNING BETTER? 00:44 - Peggy George
Welcome Shanna :-)
 
03:04 - Marlene
Welcome, Keith!
 
03:25 - Peggy George
it has been very frequently cited so it is great to hear this analysis :-)
 
03:58 - Allison Rossett
Hi, Allison Rossett in San Diego
 
04:10 - Marlene
Welcome, Allison!
 
04:35 - Peggy George
 
06:02 - Robert
 
07:15 - Robert
 
07:22 - Peggy George
thanks for those links
 
08:34 - Allison Rossett
more instructional support, more guidance, all good, but not likely when IHEs look to technology to save money
 
10:24 - Allison Rossett
I think universities have infrastructure that supports teaching. Teaching. Instructor to students. Not typically about materials, guidance systems, independent learning support. What those IHE programs do is ADD to what is already done, not supplant current approaches
 
11:23 - Allison Rossett
why not smart phones? Most have them.
 
12:48 - Peggy George
I think mobile phones are beginning to change that access dilemma and can also be used to tether computers for internet access
 
13:26 - Allison Rossett
not necessarily the whole class, but guidance, directions, podcasts
 
13:39 - Peggy George
all of the course content doesn't have to be delivered on the smart phone
 
14:24 - Allison Rossett
A blended approach is a mash up of many approaches, with guidance and ideas there, where and when needed. White paper on blended learning: http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/An-Introduction-to-Blended-Learn...
 
14:48 - Peggy George
thanks Allison! I'm definitely a supporter of blended learning!
 
15:38 - Allison Rossett
what makes blended so interesting is the combo, the extension beyond the classroom, the nudge of ideas and habits into work and life
 
17:46 - Allison Rossett
but wouldn't they be the MOST motivated and thoughtful?
 
18:20 - Peggy George
an online course needs to be much more than just delivering content online- that would be no better than the old "correspondence courses" where you read the book, answered the questions at the end of chapter and submitted them for a grade
 
18:43 - Amarjit Kaur
Hello I am Amarjit Kaur from Bergen Community College, NJ. i I train faculty to prepare online/hybrid coourse.
 
18:56 - Robert
Welcome Anarjit
 
18:59 - Peggy George
hi Amarjit Kaur-welcome!
 
21:40 - Allison Rossett
if you are interested in how workplace learning professionals are using technology in corp and govt settings, a study: http://www.astd.org/TD/Archives/2010/Jan/Free/1001_eLearning_Whats_Old.htm
 
21:49 - Peggy George
I don't think we need to be able to say it's for everyone--we need alternatives for different situations, learning styles, access, etc. and students need to select the approach that is best for them
 
22:22 - Amarjit Kaur
I am interested in your thouhgts about testing online ... I get asked this question many time about the cheatability factor.
 
22:39 - Marlene
Yes, "effortful" is key.
 
23:39 - Allison Rossett
Let's talk about university/college procedures for course approval. Should online courses be required to prove themselves MORE than campus courses, to fill out more forms and answer more questions?
 
23:55 - Peggy George
great question Allison :-)
 
24:52 - Instructinal designing live
It seems to me that your main focus on only one segment of the community college population and are not considering adults who for whatever reason never went to college or never finished a degree and are there looking for cost effectiveness and convenience.
 
26:08 - Instructinal designing live
Sorry -- "Me" is Janet Joyce. I am a training specialist for a mid-sized police dept in Virginia and am working to help officer get their college degree.
 
28:24 - Hilla Ifrach
Hello, I am Hilla Ifrach, Grants Administrator at CCRC. I also finished the Higher Ed program at TC so interested in online learning.
 
29:00 - Peggy George
welcome Hilla!
 
29:54 - Allison Rossett
Better is what? Better is access and outcomes and engagement. Question is how. Different strategies are necessary to accomplish that for different students, different content, different purposes. Online is different for GE v intro to programming v business ethics v nurse interns.
 
30:40 - Instructinal designing live
Absolutely! And for some students, better is get in and get done as quickly and possibly as cheaply as possible.
 
30:43 - Allison Rossett
Make waves with faculty. Isn't that the job of the instructional design professional who works at a university?
 
30:43 - Peggy George
great summation Allison :-)
 
31:11 - Peggy George
thank you Shanna! you've given us lots to think about
 
31:26 - Keith Lynip
nicely done.
 
31:30 - Marlene
Really appreciated listening to these comments, Shanna.
 
31:36 - Allison Rossett
thx!
 
31:38 - trina johnson
Thank you Shanna!
 
31:43 - Peggy George
looking forward to hearing from Joni next week :-)
 
31:50 - Diana RS, UM COT
Thanks
 
31:59 - Candi Merrill
Good show Robert. Thank you Shanna.
 
31:59 - Hilla Ifrach
sorry I got into the discussion so late, thx!
 
32:00 - Peggy George
bye everyone-have a great weekend
 
32:21 - Robert
Recording will be available at http://instructionaldesigning.org
 
33:08 - Sarah Prescott Phillips
Thank you, Shanna!
 
34:31 - Jason Neiffer
Thanks :)