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PeakTrader said...

A revolution in lower quality higher education?:

Professors Embrace Online Courses Despite Qualms About Quality
August 31, 2009
By Marc Parry

The major survey of public colleges and universities found that 70 percent of all faculty members believe the learning outcomes of online courses to be either inferior or somewhat inferior, compared with face-to-face instruction.

Professors with online experience are less pessimistic. Among those who have taught or developed an online course, the majority rated the medium's effectiveness as being as good as or better than face to face.

But in a potentially controversial finding, even among professors who have taught online, fully 48 percent feel it is either inferior or somewhat inferior.

Responses came from more than 10,700 faculty members at 69 public colleges and universities across the country.

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Online Learning Has Drawbacks

A study conducted by two economics professors at Michigan State University found that students in a virtual economics course performed significantly worse on examinations than their counterparts in the live sections.

Published in American Economic Review...The professors suggest that online courses are better at teaching basic concepts than they are at developing complex analytical skills.

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In a classroom setting, an instructor can sense whether or not the class understands the material.

In economics, it's better to spend the entire semester making sure the class understands one complex model fully (or almost fully) than teach several models that the class understands poorly (since the methodology is somewhat similar).

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http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=28997633&postID=819481411672375491

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PeakTrader said...

AtlantaDude, college should be hard, not easy, regardless of the field of study. That's likely why online classes are inferior.

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