Documentation:Introduction to Online Teaching/Does Online Learning Work

Does Online Learning Work?

More than a decade of intensive research has convincingly demonstrated that the Web is an effective medium for teaching, with student learning outcomes and student satisfaction at least as good as those for classroom-based students (See, for example, Gerhing, 1994 ; Golberg, 1997 ; McCollum, 1997 ; and the No Significant Difference website). Many Colleges and Universities now offer Internet-based educational opportunities, and learner registration in online learning courses and programs has increased exponentially through the 1990s and into the new millennium. Online education has become the leading modality for distance education, and academic leadership expects online enrollment to grow as much as 25% per year ( Sloan Consortium, 2007)

Even more significantly, experience and research have shown that design plays a critical role in the success of online courses and programs. “Online courses” which ask learners to read pages of text and compete automated quizzes or rote tasks are doomed to failure. It is impossible to establish effective virtual learning environments by trying to create ‘virtual versions’ of materials, activities and teaching strategies that we know to be successful in a traditional classroom. Learners may also find that the ‘learning strategies’ they have used successfully in face-to-face classrooms don’t ‘work’ online.

Cyberspace is indeed a ‘new world’. Successful teaching and good learning in this new virtual world call for careful redesign of courses, and new approaches to teaching and learning.