Evaluation of
Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning was an interesting article
published by the US Department of Education. The most effective forms of
distance education that I found applicable to my course assignment are: 1)
blended learning is more effective than purely online or f2f learning and 2)
reflection greatly enhances learning.
About ten years ago I decided to take a free online course
offered by Barnes & Noble on XML. I couldn’t get past the first class
because I couldn’t get the XML editor to run on my computer. I emailed the
instructor and he responded but I never was able to get it to work and I never
completed the course. Now, I have taken several blended courses with Dr.
Sponder and I like that if I run into an issue such as that I have Dr. Sponder
as well as classmates with whom I’ve met face to face who are available to help
me.
In light of my experiences I completely concur that blended
learning is more effective than purely online learning. By having the social
knowledge of someone it encourages you to continue and gives you a real sense
that you have someone to help you.
Despite the evidence in this paper I still grapple with the fact that
blended learning is more effective than f2f learning. When I consider the
“reflection” discussed throughout this paper I agree that blended learning
allows more time for this. However, if done correctly, reflection can be
incorporated well into a f2f course. I recently completed a f2f course with Dr.
Foshay that required numerous readings and much reflection and discussion. I
would argue that this was done very effectively and that both the reflection
and the discussions would not have been as effective for me if they were done
online.
The one thing I was truly surprised at was that video did
not appear to influence the amount that students learn in an online class. I
don’t believe that video can teach everything. However, I feel that in an
online class there are somethings that ONLY video can teach. While an instruction manual may have
effective text and images a video will make a procedure much more clear to a
learner. I feel that this conclusion in the article is based on a poor study
that didn’t look at the effect of online video by content type.
While I did learn a great deal by reading this article I found
that like the video conclusion, I questioned much of what they concluded. It seems
that there really is not enough research in this area to draw conclusions and
that much more work needs to be done.
I had the same reactions as you to the article. I agreed that a class that blended online and face-to-face meetings was more effective for myself as well. More questions seem to arise in face-to-face class discussions than purely online. I think people feel more comfortable in the presence of the professor when they can see him/her.
ReplyDeleteI also commented on the reflection piece of this article. I feel that reflection is an important part of any learning situation. As a teacher I often find myself reflecting on the outcome of a lesson I delivered during the day. It is a good practice to self-evaluate to continue to improve.
Finally, I was also surprised that more media did not produce more effective outcomes in online classes. I find a video tutorial more helpful when learning a new technique. Having the ability to replay the video if I missed an important step is also a benefit. It is easier to rewatch a video than reread a set of directions. Some lessons just lend themselves to video format.
I also agree that blended learning and face to face classes are most effective. Depending on the type of learner, people need to recognize if it's for them. I know several people that absolutely cannot learn in any other environment other than face to face. So if you put them in a situation like strictly online, they will fail. That human factor seems like it would be better no matter what.
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