An attention grabbing headline taken from the conclusions in a recent report produced for US Department of Education. The analysis found that, on average, students doing some or all of the course online would rank in the 59th percentile in tested performance, compared with the average classroom student scoring in the 50th percentile. That is a modest but statistically meaningful difference.
Full report available free here
The study looked at online versus traditional classroom teaching from 1996 to 2008. Some of it was in K-12 yet there were too few studies to warrant statistical significance. However, Picciano and Seaman (2009) estimated that more than a million K–12 students took online courses in school year 2007–2008 and interest in hybrid approaches that blend in-class and online activities is increasing.
Yet although online learning appeared to be well researched as an effective option for undergraduates, graduate students and professionals in a wide range of academic and professional studies, the number of K–12 studies is too small to warrant much confidence in the mean effect estimate for this learner group.
It strikes me as an interesting paradox when demand is increasing that the research which would support the increased use is not available. Online or digital learning can be a great resource to engage learners using a different medium. However, until the research catches up we would be wise to ensure that online learning activities should be an enhancement to more traditional forms of education rather than a replacement.
