Some subscribers to Phys-L might be interested in a recent post
"Learning Outcomes: Face-to-Face vs Online #7" [Hake (2011)]. The
abstract reads:
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ABSTRACT: In his post "Re: Learning Outcomes: Face-to-Face vs
Online," POD's Mike Theall pointed to Richard Clark's (1983) famously
provocative dictum: "The media are mere vehicles that deliver
instruction but do not influence student achievement any more than
the truck that delivers our groceries causes changes in nutrition."
But Robert Kozma (1991) countered Clark's dictum with: "While some
students will learn a particular task regardless of delivery device,
others will be able to take advantage of a particular medium's
characteristics to help construct knowledge."
Responding to critics, Clark (1994) set forth a more guarded
"Replaceability Challenge" (paraphrasing): "We need to ask 'Are there
other media that would yield similar learning gains?' If so, then in
a design science, we must always choose the *less expensive* way to
achieve a learning goal. We must also form our theories around the
underlying structural features of the *shared properties* of the
interchangeable variables and not base theory on the irrelevant
surface features."
In my opinion, among media that meet Clark's "Replaceability Challenge" are:
(a) microcomputer-based labs for Newtonian mechanics instruction;
(b) computer-implemented tutorials in introductory physics;
(c) online instruction when it is impossible for students to engage
in face-to-face
instruction;
(d) the "one Laptop per Child" project <http://bit.ly/eJDYkj>;
(e) ICT (Information and Communications Technologies) used to improve
education in developing and economically distressed countries - see
<http://robertkozma.com/?q=node/2>;
(f) "Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4Dev)"
<http://bit.ly/ikuFuf >.
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"A clash of doctrines is not a disaster - it is an opportunity."
Alfred North Whitehead
REFERENCES [URL's shortened by <http://bit.ly/> and accessed on 10 Jan 2010.
Clark, R.E. 1983. "Reconsidering research on learning from media."
Review of Educational Research 53(4): 445-459; an abstract is online
at <http://rer.sagepub.com/content/53/4/445.abstract>.
Clark, R. E. 1994. "Media will Never Influence Learning," Educational
Technology Research and Development 42(2): 21-29; online at
<http://bit.ly/elvc6c>.
Hake, R.R. 2011. "Learning Outcomes: Face-to-Face vs Online #7"
online on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at <http://bit.ly/heoOmc>. Post
of 10 Jan 2011 16:41:59 -0800to AERA-L and Net-Gold. The abstract
and link to the complete post are being transmitted to various
discussion lists are also online on my blog "Hake'sEdStuff" at
<http://bit.ly/gD4olZ> with a provision for comments.