Brian, Interesting questions. I can comment from my own experiences, but not from any studies. See my comments interspersed below. Aldon --- "Newberry, Brian Wayne" <bnewberry@ku.edu> wrote:
Greetings fellow list members. I'm searching for any studies that describe characteristics of online students. Some questions that I am pondering:
Are students who take online classes self-selecting the online experience because of some characteristic they share?
It seems to me fairly obvious that this is the case. The most obivious characteristic is that of not being adverse to computer mediated communications. I've taken a few online classes and they have varied considerably. The folks in the classes generally are not technical wizards. They want something easy to use, and don't want to push the envelope.
If so, does the success of these students in the current models of online learning lead to a greater replication of the established models of learning online and reduce exploration into new models that would better server students who are currently self-selecting out of online learning?
Well, if it's not broke, don't fix it. Yeah, it would be neat to see new methods of online learning, but you need to determine what problem you are solving before introducing any new methods.
Are there students who don't like online classes because of a learning style or personality characteristic? If so, are there ways to alter the online class experience to better fit these people's needs/desires?
Do designers of online classes need to alter online classes to better suit an existing or perhaps a target population?
No opinion on these, but if you come up with any information, I would love to hear what you find. Aldon
Thanks in advance!
Brian
--- Brian Newberry University of Kansas 785-864-0735 ---
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