Like so many issues in academe and the social sciences, it basically comes down to which opinion you like.
The end user of the information usually doesn't have the time (or perhaps the skills) to evaluate the research. After all, isn't that what the "experts" are for? However, the "experts" rarely agree...so one takes the research results that confirms one's worldview and moves on. If online education is seen as being a cheaper alternative then it will take a larger and larger share of the pie, regardless of whether it is more effective or not. And how would you know which was more effective anyway? As per another recent post, it would seem that all students will soon be getting A's---albeit only from the top schools though :-). Besides all that...isn't doing meta-analysis akin to doing a psychological post-mortem? --Mike P.S. They probably didn't check that chapter because the book costs about $330 CDN before taxes! On Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 9:31 AM, Claudia Stanny <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Wish they'd look at the meta-analysis by Ruth and Bill Maki on online > courses (chapter in the Handbook of Applied Cognition edited by F. T. Durso, > 2007). It's the merit of the pedagogy used, not the technology through > which it is delivered. (In spite of Marshall McLuhans assertion that the > medium is the message.) Passive lectures have the same impact on learning, > whether delivered online or face-to-face. What a surprise. Maki and Maki > review 40 years of research that shows this over and over again. > > Never let data get in the way of a firmly held belief . . . and we wring our > had about the lack of critical thinking skills in our students! > Claudia J. Stanny, Ph.D. > Director, Center for University Teaching, Learning, and Assessment > Associate Professor, Psychology > University of West Florida > 11000 University Parkway > Pensacola, FL 32514 – 5751 > > Phone: (850) 857-6355 or 473-7435 > > [email protected] > > CUTLA Web Site: http://uwf.edu/cutla/ > Personal Web Pages: http://uwf.edu/cstanny/website/index.htm > > > On Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 6:46 AM, Christopher D. Green <[email protected]> > wrote: >> >> >> >> Ah, the lure of conducting bad research (about the value of on-line >> education, in this case) in the service of a pre-ordained conclusion. >> http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/06/22/online >> >> Chris >> -- >> >> Christopher D. Green >> Department of Psychology >> York University >> Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 >> Canada >> >> >> >> 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 >> [email protected] >> http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ >> >> ========================== >> >> --- >> >> You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. >> >> To unsubscribe click here: >> http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13144.1572ed60024e708cf21c4c6f19e7d550&n=T&l=tips&o=3216 >> >> (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) >> >> or send a blank email to >> leave-3216-13144.1572ed60024e708cf21c4c6f19e7d...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13541.42a7e8017ab9578358f118300f4720fb&n=T&l=tips&o=3218 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to > leave-3218-13541.42a7e8017ab9578358f118300f472...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=3246 or send a blank email to leave-3246-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
