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The Productivity Potential of Online Learning
The use of technology as a productivity tool has a much longer history in business than in
education. Research from industry generally suggests that information and computer
technologies can play an important role in improving productivity. These gains, however,
have typically been realized only when technology is coupled with fundamental
organizational changes that re-engineer business processes, taking advantage of the
affordances of the tools to work smarter and more efficiently (Athey and Stern 2002;
Atkinson and McKay 2007; Brynjolfsson and Hitt 2000). For example, case studies of eight
industries suggest that service industries such as hotel and retail banking made significant
investments in information technology, but initially enjoyed more modest payoffs than other
industries, in part because they often missed opportunities to use automatically generated
data about customers and purchases to inform business decision making (McKinsey Global
Institute 2000).
To understand the potential for educational productivity offered by online learning
opportunities, it is similarly necessary to look at the pedagogical and practical affordances
through which productivity gains might be realized. Online learning is often suggested as a
means for improving educational outcomes, expanding access at lower costs than
conventional approaches or allowing talented teachers to focus on what they do best by
automating or offloading more routine tasks (Christensen and Horn 2008; Christensen,
Johnson, and Horn 2008; Moe and Chubb 2009; Olster 2010; Wilson 2010; Wise and
Rothman 2010).
A review of the literature was conducted to gather empirical research that provides evidence
of actual productivity impacts when online learning is compared with place-based
instruction in secondary schools. However, the available research base was found to be
lacking because studies did not adopt rigorous methodologies or did not provide comparable
information about alternatives. Given the limitations of the research specifically regarding
the costs and effects of online instruction for secondary students, the review that follows
also draws on examples and research about the use of online learning for postsecondary
instruction.
Information about practices in postsecondary education is provided as illustrations and
suggestions of principles that may help inform the development of emerging practices in
secondary education. For example some studies have shown that universities that use online
learning enjoy significant savings (Buzhardt and Semb 2005; Cohen and Nachmias 2006);
Gordon, He, and Abdous 2009; Twigg 2003a) and can increase student rates of learning
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