Abstract:
We surveyed students in two courses delivered by a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous; traditional (face-to-face) and distance formats. We compared student characteristics, satisfaction, and preferences in these courses and formats. Our results indicate that although there were strong similarities between traditional and distance respondents, there were differences which should be recognized and considered to offer a satisfactory learning experience. The data indicates that a distinguishing factor between traditional and distance students was not work hours outside of school but the additional role of primary caretaker of a child or adult. The traditional course format was preferred among all respondents. Students using a distance format preferred individual distance delivery-formats over group-delivery formats. For the most part traditional format students were better able to deal with class logistics than distance students, indicating the need for more extensive preparation and explanation of process by instructors and/or distance education staff. In addition to these findings, this study tends to support previous work that found response rates from surveys distributed using a web-based format tend to be critically lower than surveys distributed in the classroom.
Keywords:
traditional instruction, distance education, student preferences
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