ERIC Number: EJ1108760
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1556-3847
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Relationship of Bandwidth, Interaction, and Performance in Online Courses: A Study
Wu, Yan; Turner, Philip
Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, v9 n1 Spr 2006
Although it is often assumed that the larger the bandwidth of the connection to the Internet, the better, few studies have actually been conducted to investigate the impact of various bandwidth connections on student performance in online courses. The goals of this study were to compare student online behaviors under different bandwidth connections and to investigate whether the type of course might be related to the impact of bandwidth for the behaviors. The present findings suggest that, while the use of "dial-up" versus "broadband" was related to some effects of behavioral differences, this relationship was not consistent across courses with different learning tasks. The study suggests that for online courses that are heavily learner-to-learner oriented, special considerations for students using dial-up access be considered.
Descriptors: Internet, Information Transfer, Synchronous Communication, Interaction, Performance, Online Courses, Correlation, Statistical Analysis, Introductory Courses, Research Methodology, Comparative Analysis, Masters Degrees, Graduate Students, Library Science, Information Science, Integrated Learning Systems
State University of West Georgia. 1601 Maple Street, Honors House, Carrollton, GA 30118. Tel: 678-839-5489; Fax: 678-839-0636; e-mail: distance@westga.edu; Web site: http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla
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: Texas
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A