A Comparison of Online and Face-To-Face Instruction in an Undergraduate Foundation Course
Higher education faculty members find themselves under ever increasing pressures to offer courses online. This allows institutions to reach out to previously underserved populations, and as the problems of space allocation do not exist for virtual (online) courses, classrooms are available for use on traditional courses.
One recent report pointed out the importance of emotional interaction between teacher and student, as well as among students themselves (Jacobs, 2010). The absence of an emotional component in virtual courses is viewed by some as problematic, especially in terms of undergraduate education, because the social dimension of undergraduate education is important.
Gregory Farrington, president of Lehigh University stated, "College is as much about learning to live as it is about learning from books. It is hard to imagine distance education, however effective, being truly equivalent" (Farrington, 2009).
Online classes tend to favor students with highly developed literacy (reading and writing) skills.
Students who are less strong in those areas or who are more social by nature have a difficult time adapting to the electronic format. The theme, “there is no substitute for real classroom interaction,”
is a common one. Yet, as one faculty professional pointed out, “With face-to-face, if a student becomes distracted, they miss your lecture. With virtual learning, you can review the lecture as many times as necessary (Pena, 2012, p. 76).”
Electronic classrooms can be equivalent in terms of effectiveness, as they have the potential to transform the way in which learners understand the course material. They also provide a social component often missed in the traditional classroom: the willingness of and the necessity for introverted students to participate in classroom discussion. This research found that shy and inhibited students or students who process material more slowly and so contribute less in traditional face-to-face discussion found the online format preferable. They freely stated their opinions and they had the time to think through and to word their responses carefully. The ability of the electronic classroom to also deliver instruction in a 24/7 format means that learning is no longer
confined to exact periods (Schrum, 2000). Students can therefore access courses whenever they have a question or can interact with classmates whenever they choose.
In terms of instructor satisfaction there are several considerations. The move to online has the potential to depersonalize the course. Farrington (2009) reports that staff have to learn student names, and utilize that knowledge during the four times the students were actually in class, as well as when students came to the office for help.
The workload for a virtual class is far more intense than that for a face-to-face course. First, since time is not restricted by the constraint of particular assigned days and meeting times, students may expect the instructor to be available on all days and at all times. The demands of e-mail from students are
considerable. However, this demand can be mitigated by explaining to students that specific time has been set aside by the instructor to address their concerns and sticking to that timetable.
Reading into Writing Final Examination
Source Texts
A second time consideration is grading assignments. In a face-to-face class the discussions take place during class, but in virtual courses the discussions are asynchronous. A class with 24 students is the maximum recommended for online courses. At that size, a threaded discussion in which all students participate a minimum of three times averages about 100 entries that must be read and assessed by the instructor. This reading, coupled with weekly journal assignments, monitoring quiz grades, etc., is very time consuming.
Third, when grading is coupled with the actual setup of the courseware, the checking of external links on a regular basis to ensure they still connect, uploading documents and assignments, etc., there is a significantly higher workload than in a face-to-face class.
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