Students in online or hybrid courses perform better than those receiving face-to-face instruction, according to a meta-analysis of online learning studies released by the U.S. Department of Education. The results may contradict common perceptions, but they didn’t surprise staff at UNM’s New Media and Extended Learning, Extended University.
The analysis, based on research published 1996-2008, suggests that the advantage of online and hybrid courses comes from additional learning time, materials and opportunities for collaboration. Debby Knotts, NMEL director, said online courses give students more opportunities for engagement because they’re available around the clock.
UNM’s first online courses appeared more than a decade ago. UNM also offers hybrid courses combining online and classroom instruction and Web-enhanced courses – classroom-based courses supplemented with Internet tools. Last fall, classes included 132 online, 31 hybrid and 1,779 Web-enhanced.
NMEL staff provide course design and technical support for teachers and students. They also work with departments to ensure that courses for online degrees will be available within a reasonable timeframe for degree completion.
In the classroom, teachers employ a variety of techniques to increase student engagement. The same is true in the virtual classroom. “Good teaching is good teaching, wherever it happens,” said Becky Adams, multimedia services manager. Adams manages NMEL course designers and teaches in the College of Education.
Teachers do need to keep the environment in mind, Adams said. When students are physically present in the same room, it’s easier for them to feel connected. Instructors must work harder to foster community online, intentionally building student-teacher and student-student interaction.
That advice is backed by the U.S. Department of Education analysis finding that active, interactive and reflective learning techniques are more effective online than lectures or texts.
While helping instructors incorporate best practices, course designers are also aware that each course is unique. “Faculty should be able to make online courses their own,” Knotts said.
NMEL provides tools allowing faculty to interact with students in real-time, including audio or video chat. “Students can virtually raise their hand and ask questions through an audio interface,” Knotts said. Adams estimates that nearly half of the courses use some type of real-time interactive tool.
Other tools include online quizzing with automated grade entry, text chat, wikis, blogs, podcasts and time- or event-released content.
Knotts said online courses can be an effective recruitment and retention tool, attracting working and long-distance students and keeping students who have to leave the state before completing their degree. “It’s exciting to be able to help them finish at UNM.”
Contact NMEL at (505) 277-5765 or newmedia@unm.edu. Find current online and hybrid courses at schedule.unm.edu or online.unm.edu.
Story by Sari Krosinsky