Assessing the Costs and Benefits of Telelearning: A Case Study ...

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Benefits and Limitations Identified in this Case Study that may Potentially Apply to Other Online Courses/Programs Benefits Limitations Access and Flexibility • There was access to diverse students. • The online format fits a flexible work schedule in terms of time and place. Teaching and Learning Functions • Students learned important computer skills in addition to the course material. • Written work produced is of higher quality than in face to face courses. Interaction and User Friendliness • Student confidentiality was maintained through the use of private e-mail. • WebCSILE was easy to use. Organization • Through their own experiences the faculty hope to inspire/mentor others trying online delivery. • Technological problems can interrupt the learning process. • Students perceived the time commitment for this course to be more than that of a traditional course although time estimates revealed this to not be the case. • Several students felt the lack of face to face contact was a limitation. • Increased time and effort is needed to interact online. • The online delivery can be intimidating for students. • Not everyone is suited to this type of learning/teaching – appropriate skills are needed (e.g. independence, technological skills). • WebCSILE does not have an area for synchronous interaction. • Additional resources for technological support are required such as guidelines in the form of web sites, CD ROM’s, and newsletters. • Online registration is more convenient for distance students and needs to be made available. • Telephone support proved to be expensive although students revealed a need for telephone support services for students. • There is a growing need for entire graduate programs to be available at a distance. vi
Novelty • The course contributed to professional development – first hand experience will be used in the workplace. Speed • Time savings are possible with the reduced need to travel. • Electronic articles can be shared/used quickly. • There are potential health problems due to increased computer use. • Responding online takes more time than face to face. • Students can develop unreal expectations as to how soon they will get a response to their inquiry. The final decision as to whether a course or program's benefits have outweighed its costs will depend on the perspective of the reader. The values and goals of an institution/organization will influence which factors are the most important to consider in the assessment. vii
Page 1 and 2: Assessing the Costs and Benefits of
Page 3 and 4: Summary and Major Findings This pro
Page 5: Benefits and Limitations Specific t
Page 9 and 10: Organization.......................
Page 11 and 12: Table 22 Student Response to the De
Page 13 and 14: Methodology The methodology develop
Page 15 and 16: esults, and writing research report
Page 17 and 18: Section A: Student Characteristics
Page 19 and 20: Table 4 Student Computer and Techno
Page 21 and 22: Table 6 Student Response to Deliver
Page 23 and 24: Equivalent enrollments (FTE's) with
Page 25 and 26: Delivery of the course was through
Page 27 and 28: As can be seen in Table 10 over the
Page 29 and 30: student society fees. Similarly, th
Page 31 and 32: Table 15 Main Cost Findings Finding
Page 33 and 34: I can do my course work outside my
Page 35 and 36: Table 17 Benefits and Limitations o
Page 37 and 38: particular student raised a questio
Page 39 and 40: The text was practical and realisti
Page 41 and 42: on a course that I go to class. But
Page 43 and 44: something in writing, we would get
Page 45 and 46: Interaction and User Friendliness T
Page 47 and 48: There are times that I would like t
Page 49 and 50: Despite the online and communal for
Page 51 and 52: who can manage on their own and who
Page 53 and 54: Table 30 Benefits and Limitations o
Page 55 and 56: Some of the non-credit courses desi
Page 57 and 58:
trying to deal with her problems an
Page 59 and 60:
Drawbacks [to this delivery method]
Page 61 and 62:
again. (However, if I were asking q
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Conclusion Several findings of inte
Page 65 and 66:
References Bates, A.W. (1995). Tech
Page 67 and 68:
Finally, an instrument for assessme
Page 69 and 70:
(Paraphrased from, Design Principle
Page 71 and 72:
environment include providing a str
Page 73:
Table 39 Response Distribution of T
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