Learning Online: What Research Tells Us About Whether, When and How

233 Pages·2014·1.948 MB·English

by  Barbara Means, Marianne Bakia, Robert Murphy

Learning Online
At a time when more and more of what people learn both in formal courses
and in everyday life is mediated by technology, Learning Online provides a
much-needed guide to different forms and applications of online learning. This
book describes how online learning is being used in both K-12 and higher
education settings as well as in learning outside of school. Particular online
learning technologies, such as MOOCs (massive open online courses), multi-
player games, learning analytics, and adaptive online practice environments,
are described in terms of design principles, implementation, and contexts
of use.
Learning Online synthesizes research (cid:191) ndings on the effectiveness of
different types of online learning, but a major message of the book is that
student outcomes arise from the joint in(cid:192) uence of implementation, context,
and learner characteristics interacting with technology—not from technology
alone. The book describes available research about how best to implement
different forms of online learning for speci(cid:191) c kinds of students, subject areas,
and contexts.
Building on available evidence regarding practices that make online and
blended learning more effective in different contexts, Learning Online draws
implications for institutional and state policies that would promote judicious
uses of online learning and effective implementation models. This in-depth
research work concludes with a call for an online learning implementation
research agenda, combining education institutions and research partners in
a collaborative effort to generate and share evidence on effective practices.
Dr. Barbara Means directs the Center for Technology in Learning at SRI
International. Dr. Means is an educational psychologist whose research focuses
on ways to use technology to support students’ learning of advanced skills
and the revitalization of classrooms and schools. A fellow of the American
Educational Research Association, she is regarded as a leader in de(cid:191) ning
issues and approaches for evaluating the implementation and ef(cid:191) cacy of
technology-supported educational innovations.
Dr. Marianne Bakia is a senior social science researcher with SRI
International’s Center for Technology in Learning, where she leads research
and evaluation projects that explore online learning and other educational
technology policies and programs. Prior to joining SRI, Dr. Bakia worked
at the Federation of American Scientists and the Education Unit of the World
Bank.
Dr. Robert Murphy is a principal scientist with SRI International’s Center
for Technology in Learning, where he designs and conducts large-scale experi-
mental and quasi-experimental evaluations of widely adopted educational
programs and technologies. Prior to joining SRI, he was a research graduate
fellow at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University, a Rotary
Ambassadorial Scholar at the University of Dublin - Trinity College, and a
research engineer at United Technologies Research Center in East Hartford,
Connecticut.
Learning Online
What Research Tells Us About
Whether, When and How
Barbara Means,
Marianne Bakia, and
Robert Murphy
Center for Technology in Learning
SRI International
First published 2014
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2014 Taylor & Francis
The right of Barbara Means, Marianne Bakia, and Robert Murphy
to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by
them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Means, Barbara, 1949–
Learning online : what research tells us about whether, when and how /
Barbara Means, Marianne Bakia, Robert Murphy.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Internet in education. 2. Distance education. 3. Educational
technology. I. Bakia, Marianne. II. Murphy, Robert, 1962– III. Title.
LB1028.3M415 2014
371.33(cid:118)44678—dc23 2013036601
ISBN: 978-0-415-63028-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-63029-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-09595-9 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk
Contents
List of Figures and Tables vi
Foreword vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xii
1 Introduction 1
2 Research on the Effectiveness of Online Learning 18
3 Online and Blended Learning in Higher Education 40
4 Interest-Driven Learning Online 71
5 Blending Teacher and Online Instruction in K-12 Schools 99
6 Online Schools and Universities 121
7 Online Learning for Less-Prepared Students 140
8 Online Learning and Educational Productivity 165
9 Conclusion 178
References 190
Index 208
List of Figures and Tables
Figures
1.1 Four Dimensions of Online Learning 9
2.1 Example from the Design Principles Database 34
4.1 Learning Across Informal and Formal Settings 73
6.1 An FLVS Course Experience 127
6.2 A Virtual High School Course Experience 128
6.3 A Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation
Course Experience 128
7.1 Strategies for Increasing Success Rates in Online Courses 151
8.1 Published Comparisons of Per-Pupil Costs for
Virtual and Conventional Schools 167
8.2 Components of Educational Productivity Analyses 175
Tables
1.1 A Conceptual Framework for Describing Online Learning 10
2.1 Online Learning Design Dimensions 27
2.2 Contrasting Forms of Online Learning in Terms
of Instructional Design Features 28
2.3 Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center Instructional Principles 36
4.1 New Media Skills 91
4.2 Duolingo Informal Learning Evaluation Sampling
and Attrition 94
6.1 U.S. Virtual School Student Enrollment in School
Year 2010–11, by Provider Type 131
Foreword
What Research Tells Us About Whether,
When, and How
At a time when more and more of what people learn in formal courses and
everyday life is mediated by technology, Learning Online provides a much-
needed guide to different forms and applications of online learning. This book
describes how online learning is being used in both K-12 (kindergarten through
grade 12) and higher education settings as well as in learning outside of school.
It describes the design principles, implementation, and contexts of use of
particular online learning technologies, such as massive open online courses
(MOOCs), multiplayer games, learning analytics, and adaptive online practice
environments.
Learning Online synthesizes research (cid:191) ndings on the effectiveness of
different types of online learning, but a major message of the book is that
student outcomes arise from the joint in(cid:192) uence of implementation, context, and
learner characteristics interacting with technology, not from technology alone.
The book describes available research about how best to implement different
forms of online learning for speci(cid:191) c kinds of students, subject areas, and
contexts.
Building on available evidence regarding practices that make online and
blended learning more effective in different contexts, Learning Online draws
implications for institutional and state policies that would promote judicious
uses of online learning and effective implementation models. This in-
depth research work concludes with a call for an online learning imple-
mentation research agenda, combining education institutions and research
partners in a collaborative effort to generate and share evidence on effective
practices.
Dr. Barbara Means directs the Center for Technology in Learning at SRI
International. She is an educational psychologist whose research focuses on
ways to use technology to support students’ learning of advanced skills and the
revitalization of classrooms and schools. A fellow of the American Educational
viii Foreword
Research Association, she is regarded as a leader in de(cid:191) ning issues and
approaches for evaluating the implementation and ef(cid:191) cacy of technology-
supported educational innovations.
Dr. Marianne Bakia is a senior social science researcher with SRI
International’s Center for Technology in Learning, where she leads research
and evaluation projects that explore online learning and other educational
technology policies and programs. Prior to joining SRI, Dr. Bakia worked
at the Federation of American Scientists and the Education Unit of the
World Bank.
Dr. Robert Murphy is a principal scientist with SRI International’s Center
for Technology in Learning, where he designs and conducts large-scale
experimental and quasi-experimental evaluations of widely adopted educational
programs and technologies. Prior to joining SRI, he was a research graduate
fellow at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University, a Rotary
Ambassadorial Scholar at the University of Dublin Trinity College, and a
research engineer at United Technologies Research Center in East Hartford,
Connecticut.
Preface
Individually and in collaboration, the three of us have spent literally decades
studying efforts to use technology to support learning, to broaden opportunities,
and to change practices within classrooms and schools. But nothing quite
prepared us for the explosion of online learning resources, course providers,
and venture-capital-backed companies descending on K-12 and higher
education during the last (cid:191) ve years.
Policy makers and education funders have asked us to conduct studies that
will help them make better decisions about online education. Our efforts to
meet their needs have encountered a number of challenges. The supply of solid
empirical research on implementations of online learning is limited, especially
at the K-12 level, and is always lagging behind the newest technology
innovations that are sparking the greatest interest. Even de(cid:191) ning what is meant
by online learning has proved troublesome; the concept has fuzzy boundaries
and terms are used loosely and inconsistently. Finally, in doing our own primary
research on dozens of interventions incorporating online learning, we have
confronted many challenges to undertaking high-quality studies, including the
dif(cid:191) culty of studying technologies and implementation models that are
constantly changing.
As we have continued to monitor the emerging literature on the effectiveness
of online learning, we have been discouraged by the proliferation of polemics
and advocacy pieces based on selective reporting of research (cid:191) ndings, and the
scarcity of articles and research syntheses offering a reasoned weighing of
available evidence. Depending on which reports and media accounts you read,
online learning portends either a golden age of educational access and
personalization or the cynical degradation of teaching and learning in the name
of pro(cid:191) t-making and public education cost cutting.
It is exactly this absence of independent, unbiased syntheses of online
learning research that motivated us to write this book. There is no set of
de(cid:191) nitive studies revealing whether or not using online learning is a good idea.
And indeed, in this book we will argue that the debate needs to be framed in
more speci(cid:191) c terms. Moreover, as fast as the world of online learning resources