Online Learning Beats Traditional Education
How does the effectiveness of online learning compare with that of face to-face instruction? The verdict’s in and online education is proving to produce better results. On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction according to the recently released results of a meta-analysis and review of online learning studies by the U.S. Department of Education[1]. The meta-analysis of 51 study effects, 44 of which were drawn from research with older learners, found that:
1. 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. Learning outcomes for students who engaged in online learning exceeded those of students receiving face-to-face instruction, with an average effect size of +0.14 favoring online conditions.
2. Instruction combining online and face-to-face elements had a larger advantage relative to purely face-to-face instruction than did purely online instruction. The mean effect size in studies comparing blended with face-to-face instruction was +0.35, p < .001.
3. 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.
4. Most of the variations in the way in which different studies implemented online learning did not affect student learning outcomes significantly. Analysts examined 13 online learning practices as potential sources of variation in the effectiveness of online learning compared with face-to-face instruction. Of those variables, (a) the use of a blended rather than a purely online approach and (b) the expansion of time on task for online learners were the only statistically significant influences on effectiveness.
The effectiveness of online learning approaches appears quite broad across different content and learner types. Online learning appeared to be an effective option for both undergraduates (mean effect of +0.35, p < .001) and for graduate students and professionals (+0.17, p < .05) in a wide range of academic and professional studies.
Modern online learning applications take advantage of a wide range of Web resources, including multimedia, Web-based applications, and new collaboration technologies that are a far cry from the televised broadcasts and videoconferencing that characterized earlier generations of distance education. Moreover, interest in hybrid approaches that blend in-class and online activities is increasing. Today’s online learning includes offerings that run the gamut from conventional didactic lectures or textbook-like information delivered over the Web to Internet-based collaborative role-playing in social simulations and highly interactive multiplayer strategy games.
[1] U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies, Washington, D.C., 2009.
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For nurses who are interested in online learning, aside from picking the right school, arm yourself with the right time management and productivity tools. One of these is MySpeed from enounce. It enables you to speed up or slow down video/ multimedia training according to your own pace. It also reduces boredom and frustration.
There is a mistake in Point 1 (above). The average effect size for online learning vs. traditional instruction is NOT 0.24. It is 0.14 (k = 51). Accuracy in reporting the results of a meta-analysis is as important as accuracy in conducting the meta-analysis itself.
Thank you Robert! Did I misread the report when writing my article, or are you saying the report is incorrect, and can you give me source if that’s the case please? I appreciate the assistance!
Thanks for the response. You must have misread the report. I was a technical consultant to the project and have read the report many times before and after it was released. I just looked back at it and the g+ for online learning conditions vs. traditional instruction is definitely 0.14. They’re both relatively small effects (larger than in our meta-analysis of DE in general vs. CI [g+ = 0.00, Bernard et al. 2004, Review of Educational Research]) but the need for accuracy, particularly in reporting to practitioners (the end user) is paramount. It’s an easy mistake to make, and I don’t blame you for it, but as a participant in the meta-analysis and the report,I feel a responsibility to help protect the integrity of the findings. BTW: I just stumbled on this. I’m not a roving fact checker.
Nothing like tooting one’s own horn, but while we’re talking about meta-analysis, I’d like for you to check out our most recent work. Your clientele might appreciate it as a refinement of the DE/OL vs. CI question.
Bernard, R.M., Abrami, P.C., Wade, A., Borokhovski, E., Tamim, R., Surkes, M., & Bethel, E.C. (2009). A meta-analysis of three interaction treatments in distance education. Review of Educational Research, 79(3) 1243-1289 DOI: 10.3102/0034654309333844
Robert it’s important to me to present accurate information as well, and I must say it’s a delight to have someone who actually participated in the study actually find my blog AND comment on it. I appreciate your critique and correction very much and have corrected the figure in the post.
Dr. Bernard, I would be very interested in having the opportunity to read your group’s findings if I can find the report online in something other than abstract form. Nonetheless, the search for it is proving interesting as I’m finding some intriguing reading along the way. I’ll probably be lost for hours reading articles I’m finding such as this one that I’m reading now, “Open and Distance Learning in the Twenty first Century: a Commonwealth perspective” ( http://www.col.org/resources/speeches/2009presentation/Pages/2009-08-28.aspx ). There goes my day! *lol* Dr. Bernard could I interest you in offering a guest post summarizing the key findings for our students by any chance?
Dear Admin,
I’d be happy to send you a reprint of the the RER article if you can supply me with information about the means to do so. In regards to the guest position, I’m afraid I have to decline. In addition to running three ongoing meta-analysis projects, I also teach graduate statistics, review for several journals (including RER), do training for the Campbell Collaboration, and (alas) write grant proposals galore, so that we can continue with this line of research work. But I do thank you very much for the invitation. Since you have my e-mail address, please do not hesitate to keep in touch.
Bob
One more thing. We published a meta-analysis in RER in 2008 with the following reference that also might interest you:
Abrami, P.C., Bernard, R.M., Borokhovski, E., Wade, A., Surkes, M.A., Tamim, R., & Zhang, D. A. (2008). Instructional interventions affecting critical thinking skills and dispositions: A stage one meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 78(4), 1102-1134.
In this review there are many studies involving nursing students. However, this version is just a start. We now have collected and analyzed more than 1000 effect sizes and are embarking on a massive analysis which should reveal some interesting details about how critical thinking is best taught and learned. Stay tuned.
Bob
Thanks Bob, I sent you an e-mail. Please let me know if you don’t receive it.
Those are some interesting statistics. As a graduate with an online degree from Stevens-Henager College, I would definitely recommend online learning to anyone interested. There are several advantages to of enrolling into online degree programs that would explain its growing popularity. You can study from home, at the office, or even on the go. You can learn at your own pace and study any time of night or day, as your course material will be available online 24×7. You will have access to top class faculty from around the world and get to interact with students from different backgrounds. You can reduce your expenses for transport and gas, as there is no need to commute to a specific location and most importantly, you can get the same quality of education at a significantly lower cost.
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[...] as traditional classroom teaching, don’t be. A 2009 Department of Education meta-analysis, “Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning,” found that online education actually results in small but significant improvements in performance [...]