In our examination of the student experience in the "LEEP" program -- an online Master's degree program in library and information science -- we find the main reason people choose the program is so they do not have to leave work and home. As mature adults, they are deeply embedded in their local obligations and cannot leave their locality without major upheaval. Many would not even try to get the degree if it weren't offered at a distance. However, it should also be noted that in letting people into the program, they are selected by a committee that decides they are suitable for LEEP. Evidence that they are independent and self-motivated is perhaps the main criterion. So characteristics do not necessarily depend on the student's choice, but on the administration's choice. What we then find is that oncampus students want the online experience, and courses often now mix on and off campus students (although on campus students have to wait to see if there are slots available). Faculty now also mix on and offline technologies into their classes -- e.g., using webboard discussions even if the course in fully on-campus. Here are a few places where you can find out more about studies of this program and these students. /Caroline ------- Community Development Among Distance Learners: Temporal and Technological Dimensions, Caroline Haythornthwaite, Michelle M. Kazmer, Jennifer Robins & Susan Shoemaker, JCMC, http://www.ascusc.org/jcmc/vol6/issue1/haythornthwaite.html Juggling Multiple Social Worlds: Distance Students Online and Offline Kazmer M.M.; Haythornthwaite C., American Behavioral Scientist, November 2001, vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 510-529(20). Available online via ingenta: http://www.ingenta.com/ Michelle Kazmer, Coping in Distance Education, First Monday 5, no. 9 (September 2000). Available: http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue5_9/kazmer/index.html Linda C. Smith, Sarai Lastra, and Jennifer Robins, Teaching Online: Changing Models of Teaching and Learning in LEEP. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science 42, no. 4 air-l-request@aoir.org wrote:

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Message: 1 From: "Newberry, Brian Wayne" <bnewberry@ku.edu> To: "'air-l@aoir.org'" <air-l@aoir.org> Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2002 11:13:35 -0600 Subject: [Air-l] Sources for characteristics of online students Reply-To: air-l@aoir.org

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 ---