This debate has gone on for a long time\nand there is a ton of research on this topic as well. But if we take a step\nback, the question itself is a bit of an illogical proposition. To explain, let\nme first describe my situation. I consider myself a super-student of sorts in\nthat I have taken over 1000 online classes. I took a few online courses as an\nundergraduate at Kansas State University, I took my entire Master\u2019s degree\nonline at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and my Ph.D. program from\nKansas State University was a hybrid program. Additionally, I have been in the\nArmy for over 26 years taking many mandatory online training courses and many\nonline self-directed learning courses required for promotion. Plus, I\u2019ve taken\na few online courses just for fun or for research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On top of all of that, I have also spent\nhundreds of hours recording classroom lectures\/instruction when I worked as a university\ncameraman. I\u2019ve also taken thousands of face-to-face courses as part of my\ncivilian, military, business, and personal educational development. Throughout\nthis educational journey, I\u2019ve had great courses online and face-to-face, as\nwell as some really bad courses both online and face-to-face. It isn\u2019t a matter\nof the delivery mechanism; it is a matter of the instructor\/facilitator and how\nthe course is presented and ran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are so many types of courses (both\nonline and face-to-face) that comparing courses is difficult in and of itself.\nIf we are talking about online courses we need to differentiate between\nsynchronous (live components, meaning instructor and students are online at the\nsame time either for audio\/video conferencing or text chat) and asynchronous\n(no live components, done more on students\u2019 schedule). Even then we would have\nto take into account the instructional presence of the instructor and how the\nclass itself is managed and what other types of online technology are being\nused (message boards, quizzes, student video assignments, etc.). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve mainly been discussing my experience\nand thoughts dealing with online vs. face-to-face instruction; what does the\nresearch say? Research shows again and again that the delivery method (online\nvs. face-to-face) has little to no effect on student performance outcomes (Cavanaugh\n& Jacquemin, 2015; Driscoll, Jicha, Hunt,\nTichavsky, & Thompson, 2012). Some research will show small benefit to\nface-to-face and then some will show a small benefit to online learning (Means,\nToyama, Murphy, Bakia, & Jones, 2009). This again gives more credence to my\npoint that it is mainly about how the instructor conducts the class. In an\ninteresting study (White, McGowan, & McDonald, 2019) dealing with 169\nsecond-year college students in an anatomy class, researchers discovered: \u201cStudents\nperformed at a similar level regardless of the content delivery format,\u201d (p. 7)\nand that: \u201cstudent engagement, rather than the mode of content delivery, is a\ndeterminant of student learning and performance\u201d (p. 1). But what about student\nperceptions? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In general, students\u2019 perceptions and\npreferences for online learning are the same as they are for face-to-face (Baker,\n2018; Mann & Henneberry, 2014). But of course, students love the flexibility,\ntime management, and instructional technology tools offered through online\nlearning (Cantiello, & Hotchkiss, 2018; Mann & Henneberry, 2014). From\nmy readings and observations, as millennials and Generation Z get older, and as\nolder adult-learners continue to get more comfortable with good online\nlearning, more and more will actually prefer online learning to face-to-face (Clinefelter\n& Aslanian, 2015; Murray, 2019; Zimmerman, 2018). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I feel that a hybrid solution is best (although I very much see the necessity for courses that are purly online) with some face-to-face instruction, I felt a greater connection with the instructor and the class. Although I think this could still be duplicated in a pure online form, it would require a lot more effort and interactive tools. For now, a hybrid solution seems to offer the best of both worlds, maximizing instructional presence and social interaction while at the same time using all the benefits of online instructional technology such as a learning management system, videos, discussion boards, games, quizzes (etc.) Research evaluating the effectiveness and student perceptions of hybrid instructional solutions are also showing very favorable results (Ali, 2018; Lim, Morris, & Kupritz, 2007). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reference<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ali, W. (2018). Transforming\nhigher education landscape with hybrid\/blended approach as an evolving\nparadigm. Journal of Advances in Social Science and Humanities, 4<\/em>(7),\n143-169.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Baker, D. M.\n(2018). USA and Asia hospitality & tourism students’ perceptions and satisfaction\nwith online learning versus traditional face-to-face instruction. e-Journal\nof Business Education and Scholarship of Teaching, 12<\/em>(2), 40-54.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best Colleges\nReport. (2019). 2019 online education report. Retrieved from trends https:\/\/www.bestcolleges.com\/perspectives\/annual-trends-in-online-education\/<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cantiello, J.,\n& Hotchkiss, R. B. (2018). How Are We Doing? Student Perceptions and Best\nPractices in Online Health Administration Education. Journal of Health\nAdministration Education, 35(4), 505-525.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cavanaugh, J. K.,\n& Jacquemin, S. J. (2015). A large sample comparison of grade based student\nlearning outcomes in online vs. face-to-face courses. Online Learning, 19<\/em>(2),\nn2. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Clinefelter, D.\nL., & Aslanian, C. B. (2015). Online college students 2015: Comprehensive\ndata on demands and preferences. The Learning House, 8<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Driscoll, A.,\nJicha, K., Hunt, A. N., Tichavsky, L., & Thompson, G. (2012). Can online\ncourses deliver in-class results? A comparison of student performance and\nsatisfaction in an online versus a face-to-face introductory sociology course. Teaching\nSociology, 40<\/em>(4), 312-331.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lim, D. H.,\nMorris, M. L., & Kupritz, V. W. (2007). Online vs. blended learning:\nDifferences in instructional outcomes and learner satisfaction. Journal of\nAsynchronous Learning Networks, 11<\/em>(2), 27-42.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mann, J. T., &\nHenneberry, S. R. (2014). Online versus face-to-face: Students’ preferences for\ncollege course attributes. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics,\n46(1), 1-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Means, B., Toyama,\nY., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., & Jones, K. (2009). Evaluation of evidence-based\npractices in online learning: A meta-analysis and review of online learning\nstudies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Murray, G. (2019,\nJuly). Why more adult learners are opting for online education. https:\/\/www.educationandcareernews.com\/college-affordability\/why-more-adult-learners-are-opting-for-online-education<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n