Sources for characteristics of online students
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? 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? 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? Thanks in advance! Brian --- Brian Newberry University of Kansas 785-864-0735 ---
Reactions to a question from Brian Newberry:
Good questions! It would be interesting knowing what you yourself are doing? We have some experience, reported in an article by myself and in a thesis by Eva, regarding online students. We think there are many interacting factors involved in the success of online students and online studies. One of them is related to how students relate to one another and how the teachers attend to the students. At least beginning students seem to need attention from others and the teacher if they are not to give up or find the studies boring. We have not studied students with long experience. Roxanne Hilz can give you some more information about experienced students and teachers. Our studies have concerned university students. It would be interesting to hear if there are other experiences with other kinds of students or studies.
-- Yvonne Waern Ph.D., Professor Department of Communication Studies Linkoeping University SE 581 83 Linkoeping Sweden e-mail: yvonne.waern@tema.liu.se http://www.tema.liu.se/people/yvowa/
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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participants (3)
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Aldon Hynes -
Newberry, Brian Wayne -
Yvonne Waern