ERIC Number: EJ904308
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Dec
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1096-7516
EISSN: N/A
Online or Face-to-Face? Students' Experiences and Preferences in E-Learning
Paechter, Manuela; Maier, Brigitte
Internet and Higher Education, v13 n4 p292-297 Dec 2010
Which aspects of e-learning courses do students experience as being favorable for learning? When do students prefer online or face-to-face learning components? These questions were the subject of a research study in a sample of 2196 students from 29 Austrian universities. The students completed a questionnaire on their experiences attending an e-learning course, on their perceived achievements, and on their preferences for online or face-to-face learning components. Students appreciated online learning for its potential in providing a clear and coherent structure of the learning material, in supporting self-regulated learning, and in distributing information. They preferred face-to-face learning for communication purposes in which a shared understanding has to be derived or in which interpersonal relations are to be established. An especially important result concerns students' perceptions of their learning achievements: When conceptual knowledge in the subject matter or skills in the application of one's knowledge are to be acquired, students prefer face-to-face learning. However, when skills in self-regulated learning are to be acquired, students advocate online learning. (Contains 3 tables.)
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Conventional Instruction, Learner Controlled Instruction, Electronic Learning, Distance Education, Online Courses, Classroom Environment, Web Based Instruction, College Instruction, College Students, Instructional Effectiveness, Student Attitudes, Questionnaires, Virtual Classrooms
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Austria
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A