Abstract:
Virtual Introduction to Animal Sciences 101 was designed to teach the fundamentals of animal agriculture through a series of modules (n=20). There are two different formats for the course modules,modules seven and 20 were writing assignments with broad but specific objectives to be completed by the interviewee, an expert in the field selected by the student and following the interview, must be written up by the student for a grade. The remaining 18 modules were arranged with specified objectives and composed of reading materials, interactive multimedia pages, and online quizzes. Student surveys showed these written assignments were beneficial and significantly (P <0.0001) preferred when compared to any of the other 18 modules. Within the 18 digital modules, only one was significantly (P < 0.02) lower when compared to the others. Students significantly (P<0.01) perceived the work load to be greater for the writing assignments. When students were quizzed on why these two modules stood out, they consistently replied that the interaction with a real person and expert was the major factor in choosing the writing modules. This study demonstrated that personal interaction could be incorporated in a distance learning course, and it was desired by students.
Keywords:
student preference, animal Science, modules
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