The number of students who took at least one online course surpassed 6 million in 2011. This growth rate of 10 percent from the previous year outpaces the 2 percent growth of higher education in general. An online course is typically defined as a class where 80 percent of the material is found online.These include programs where students communicate to instructors or peers via video conference, email, or forum. Students learn from education content in the form of pre-recorded video lectures, online exercises, and other media. The majority of higher education institutions report than online learning is an integral part of their curriculum; however there is a minority group of academic leaders who are concerned that online instruction is not equal to traditional face-to-face instruction. Some corporate leaders and employers also do not value online degrees as highly as diplomas from brick-and-mortar institutions.
Advantages of online learning include:
1. Allows more flexible access to instructional content from any place or time
2. Enables teachers to instruct more students at a time
3. More cost-efficient than traditional teaching methods, especially in rural areas
Some disadvantages of online learning are:
1. Employers still skeptical about online degrees
2. Face-to-face instruction needed to recognize individual student attributes and potential
3. Lacks collaborative research and development found in research universities
| Authors | Subject Area | Grade Level | Effect Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rockman et al. (2007) | Spanish | 7-8 | -0.15/-0.24 |
| Carey et al. (2007) | Algebra I | K-12 | +0.37 |
| Long et al. (2005) | History | 8 | +0.03 |
| Long et al. (2005, w2) | History | 8 | +0.55 |
| Sun et al. (2008) | Science Lab | 5 | +0.26 |
| Englert et al. (2007) | Writing | 1-5 | +0.74 |
Figure 1: Studies on online learning and K-12 education and their effectivenesses. (Effect size is an indicator of effectiveness. A more positive effect size for online learning means a better performance compared to traditional learning, and vice versa.)
Studies show that online instruction has a moderate increase in student performance in all subject areas except Spanish. Research on K-12 education is still sparse.
| Authors | Effect Size (Online) | Retention Rate % (Online) | Retention Rate % (Traditional) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bello et al. (2005) | +0.278 | 100 | 100 |
| Caldwell (2006) | +0.132 | 100 | 100 |
| Hairston (2007) | +0.028 | 70 | 58.33 |
| Harris et al. (2008) | -0.285 | 84.21 | 94.44 |
| Jang et al. (2005) | -0.530 | 85.71 | 87.93 |
| Lowry (2007) | -0.281 | 80 | 93.55 |
| McConnell et al. (2001) | +0.800 | 100 | 99.94 |
| Caldwell (2006) | +0.251 | 100 | 100 |
| Day et al. (1998) | +1.113 | 89.66 | 96.55 |
| Maki et al. (2002) | +0.171 | 91.01 | 88.10 |
| O’Dwyer et al. (2007) | +0.373 | 88.51 | 64.4 |
| Schilling et al. (2006) | +0.585 | 68.66 | 59.62 |
| Schilling et al. (2006) | +0.926 | 66.42 | 86.54 |
| Urban (2006) | +0.264 | 96.86 | 73.85 |
| Zacharia (2007) | +0.570 | 100 | 95.56 |
Figure 2: Studies on hybrid versus purely virtual instruction and their effectivenesses.
| Method | Effect Size |
|---|---|
| Instructor-directed | +0.386 |
| Independent instruction | +0.050 |
| Collaborative instruction | +0.249 |
| Non-live computer communication with instructor | +0.239 |
| Live and non-live computer communication with instructor | +0.036 |
| Non-live computer communication with peers | +0.272 |
| Live and non-live computer communication with peers | +0.168 |
| Lesson less than one month | +0.140 |
| Lesson more than one month | +0.234 |
| Text-based only | +0.208 |
| Text + other media | +0.200 |
| With audio and video | +0.092 |
| Without audio and video | +0.254 |
| Computer-based elements | +0.182 |
| No computer-based elements | +0.234 |
| Face-to-face time with instructor during lesson | +0.298 |
| Face-to-face time with instructor before or after lesson | +0.050 |
| No face-to-face time with instructor | +0.150 |
| Face-to-face time with peers during lesson | +0.300 |
| Face-to-face time with peers before or after lesson | +0.001 |
| No face-to-face time with peers | +0.184 |
| Opportunity to practice | +0.212 |
| No opportunity to practice | +0.159 |
| Feedback | +0.204 |
| No feedback | +0.203 |
Figure 3: Types of teaching methods and their effectivenesses.
| Platform | Subject Area | Number Enrolled | Completion Rate % |
|---|---|---|---|
| EdX | Chemistry | 28,512 | 7.3 |
| EdX | Electronics | 46,000 | 6.54 |
| EdX | Electronics | 154,763 | 4.62 |
| EdX | Computer Science | 100,000 | 11 |
| Coursera | History | 83,000 | 0.73 |
| Coursera | Bioelectricity | 12,000 | 2.6 |
| Coursera | Finance | 53,205 | 4.8 |
| Coursera | Data Analysis | 50,899 | 12.6 |
Figure 4: Small sample of dropout rates of university-level courses, their subject areas, and enrollment.
Online courses have a high dropout rate, most likely because the majority of students enroll to sample and explore different courses. This demonstrates that the majority of students use open courseware to supplement their traditional course load.
Key Findings:
1. Students using online learning methods performed slightly better on average than those using traditional methods
2. A combination of online plus traditional teaching methods produced better results than purely online or purely traditional teaching methods
3. Collaborative online instruction produced better results than independent online instruction
4. There is no significant difference, result-wise, between different online teaching methods
5. Online learning methods are more successful for undergraduate and graduate students than K-12 students
6. Only a few substantial research studies have been published on online learning for K-12 students
7. Students learn better individually through online programs than in groups through online programs