US Dept of ED report on Online Ed ---overview

The report can be found here...I merely summarized key points from the report:

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/opepd/ppss/reports.html


The report sought to answer the folllowing;


1. How does the effectiveness of online learning compare with that of face-to-face instruction?
2. Does supplementing face-to-face instruction with online instruction enhance learning?
3. What practices are associated with more effective online learning?
4. What conditions influence the effectiveness of online learning?




Students who took all or part of their class online performed better, on average, than those taking the same course through traditional face-to-face instruction.

Instruction combining online and face-to-face elements had a larger advantage relative to purely face-to-face instruction than did purely online instruction.


Studies in which learners in the online condition spent more time on task than students in the face-to-face condition found a greater benefit for online learning.



Blended and purely online learning conditions implemented within a single study generally result in similar student learning outcomes. When a study contrasts blended and purely online conditions, student learning is usually comparable across the two conditions.

• Elements such as video or online quizzes do not appear to influence the amount that students learn in online classes. The research does not support the use of some frequently recommended online learning practices. Inclusion of more media in an online application does not appear to enhance learning. The practice of providing online quizzes does not seem to be more effective than other tactics such as assigning homework.

• Online learning can be enhanced by giving learners control of their interactions with media and prompting learner reflection. Studies indicate that manipulations that trigger learner activity or learner reflection and self-monitoring of understanding are effective when students pursue online learning as individuals.

• Providing guidance for learning for groups of students appears less successful than does using such mechanisms with individual learners. When groups of students are learning together online, support mechanisms such as guiding questions generally influence the way students interact, but not the amount they learn

Main points from part 4:



NARRATIVE SYNTHESIS OF STUDIES COMPARING VARIANTS OF ONLINE LEARNING
Blended Compared With Pure Online Learning

The studies reviewed did not proivde a basis for determining the benefits of online versus blended learning modalities or conditions.

Media Elements


The fact that the majority of studies found no significant difference across media types is consistent with the theoretical position that the medium is simply a carrier of content and is unlikely to affect learning per se (Clark 1983, 1994).

....
that the way in which a medium is used is more important than merely having access to it ...


In summary, many researchers have hypothesized that the addition of images, graphics, audio, video or some combination would enhance student learning and positively affect achievement. However, the majority of studies to date have found that these media features do not affect learning outcomes significantly

Learning Experience Type

..the power of collaborative learning ...


offered by the author is that students working in groups may scaffold each other’s work, hence reducing the benefit derived from externally provided questions.

Computer-Based Instruction ...The study found the the platform used to deliver quizes and course content did have some impact on student success ...


The results of three studies exploring the effects of including different types of online simulations were modestly positive. Two of the studies indicated a positive effect from including an online simulation; however, one study found no significant difference ...this does have some implications for simulated learning environments in virtual worlds.



...online learning literature has also explored the effects of using computer-based instruction elements to individualize instruction so that the online learning module or platform responds dynamically to the participant’s questions, needs or performance ....


Supports for Learner Reflection ....


Overall, the available research evidence suggests that promoting self-reflection, self-regulation and self-monitoring leads to more positive online learning outcomes. Features such as prompts for reflection, self-explanation and self-monitoring strategies have shown promise for improving online learning outcomes


Moderating Online Groups ..
Organizations providing or promoting online learning generally recommend the use of instructors or other adults as online moderators, but research support for the effects of this practice on student learning is mixed.


Scripts for Online Interaction ....
mechanisms such as scaffolds or scripts for student group interaction online have been found to influence the way students engage with each other and with the online material, but have not been found to improve learning.




Delivery Platform ......Studies are too few to determine..

New to virtual worlds

One may wonder what keeps you coming back to virtual worlds or Second Life especially if that first entre' into a VW is less than enjoyable..well speaking from experience there has to be some connection with something that you find meaningful or passionate about. For me it is the link between virtual and learning.

My first experiences in Second Life were awkward and well..newby. I can recall bobbling around at an in world music event and falling into the water surrounding the event..well at least 20 times. I would then pick myself up and fly or get back on dry land only to do it again.

I really did have that newby look down to an art...duck walk, pink polka dot dress and a tendency to go where no newby should go. After a couple of months of sporadic visits to second life I gave up and did not go back in world until my job required that I have some sort of knowledge of second life and virtual worlds.

I then came back, with a mission. Maybe it was because it was winter, I was bored with trying to figure out how to watch TV or the fact that I read Second Life for Dummies but I was now able to fully immerse myself in the life and times of Second Life. I was hooked

I bought and sold land, uploaded pictures, set up media players, joined groups, chatted went to events and even did a little teaching.

I feel more than comfortable in world now. Everyday I learn more about how people learn, how they live in second life, and the changes they have made and that have been made to them as a result of their second life experience.

How to make the second life experience

In my 8 months or so of life in Second Life I have found that it is what you make it..in my opinion Second Life is truly an active learning evironment in which the student needs to be actively engaged in participating in and creating his/her own experience for learning.  Utimately unlike role play games and TV Second LIfe is not a passive learning environment, the learning environment provides more than one opportunity for the learning to create his/her own experience.