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[derosa]

our institution is getting into the on line education game.  It is clear that the driving force is the generation of tuition.  I realize that this fairly common practice now.  I chair a department that, in my mind, doesn't fit the on line model well.  The dean of our new "school" has been telling us that adults prefer this type of learning.  Is anyone aware of any real research that supports the contention that adults actually prefer on line learning?  Does anyone else feel forced into this model of content delivery?  How are you defending yourself?

[inthelab]

I don't think online learning is the same.  AS a teacher, I wouldn't be able to tell if I;ve lost half the class, and as a student, I can't ask the computer questions.

As a scientist, I can't see learning most of my science courses through online course.  Labs would be hard.

[mellonia]

We are definitely pressured to offer online courses (I'm also in science).  We offer one right now;  it's a first-year course for nonmajors or for folks thinking of being a major but without science in high school.  They do 'kitchen sink' labs.  The course predated me...we did an analysis recently and saw that the online students do more poorly than the on-campus students.  But it's correlative, we don't know if weaker students choose the online version or if the learn less well.  We are repeatedly asked by admin to develop online versions of some second-year, required majors courses (without labs) and have been resisting, but the pressure is back again this fall...we'll see.

[sibyl]

Is anyone aware of any real research that supports the contention that adults actually prefer on line learning? 

Some adults prefer this kind of learning.  They are the kind of adults with many demands on their time, a need for specific kinds of courses (particularly as they relate to their jobs), and the motivation to stay with the course despite obstacles.  They are the kind of adults who have been lining the pockets of the folks at the University of Phoenix, and they have been historically underserved. 

[dept_geek]

I'm not a complete fan of online learning, but I teach many online courses. Many of the chief-high-muckety-mucks see only the fact that enrollment doubles or triples when courses are offered at a distance. 

It works for many students, and fails for an equal number.