E-learning better than classroom education
A 93-page report on online education conducted by the U.S. Department of education came to the conclusion that "on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction."
To come to this conclusion the report compared the performance of students that did some or all of the courses online against the results of students that did the same courses in a classroom and this over a 12-year span and with a mixed group of students (K-12, college and even adult continuing-education) and courses (medical, military, ...). The students who had some kind of e-learning would rank on average in the 59th percentile in the tests while the average classroom student score would be in the 50th percentile. This might seem a small difference but it is statistically significant difference.
This result can be explained by several factors
- the blended e-learning often results in additional learning time because students find this kind of education more engaging and useful.
- e-learning provides new instructual elements that are more difficult to use in classroom education (video's, collaboration, ...)
- online education can be more tailored to the needs of individual students
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