Sunday, August 23, 2009

US Dept of Education Report on Online Learning

The US Department of Education has just released a new report "Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies".

Nice brief title.

I'll admit, the full article is on my to do list for when I come back from vacation. But this stood out in the abstract:

"The meta-analysis found that, on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction."

"In light of this small corpus, caution is required in generalizing to the K–12 population because the results are derived for the most part from studies in other settings (e.g., medical training, higher education)."

Over at the Kineo site, there's a nice rundown of some of the key points in the US Dept of Education report.

What are your thoughts? Is this indeed cause for celebration and an opportunity to feel some real job security for those of us who dabble in elearning?

5 comments:

Untung Sutikno said...

Ini sunguh menarik bagi saya untuk membaca lengkap laporan tersebut. Bagus. Salam Damai dari INDONESIA
Saya : Guru Sekolah Dasar
Untung Sutikno

Anonymous said...

Hi Cammy,

The research report also says "In many of the studies showing an advantage for online learning, the online and classroom conditions differed in terms of time spent, curriculum and pedagogy."

So, the need for instructional designers, particularly those who focus on e-learning, is still needed. I am optimistic about the report even though the findings were rather cautious, probably due to the variables in the research.

In the end, research is still needed, particularly at the K-12 level.

Take care,
April

Dick Carlson said...

After working in e-learning for years and years, hearing that the DOE is endorsing it sends chills up and down my spine.

Time to move on to something else, if the government likes the idea. Pretty soon, Cammy will be appointed "E-Learning Czar".

Cammy Bean said...

Me as any kind of Czar sends chills up my spine, too.

daniel john said...

It’s great to see this information being shared...