Online or face-to-face? Students' experiences and preferences in e-learning

• Published in: The Internet and higher education Vol. 13; no. 4; pp. 292 - 297
• Main Authors: Paechter, Manuela, Maier, Brigitte
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.12.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Advocacy services; Austria; Classroom Environment; College Instruction; College Students; Conventional Instruction; Distance Education; Distance learning; e-learning; Electronic Learning; Experiences in e-learning; Face-to-face learning; Foreign Countries; Instructional Effectiveness; Internet; Learner Controlled Instruction; Learning; Online Courses; Online learning; Preferences; Questionnaires; Selfregulation; Student Attitudes; Virtual Classrooms; Web Based Instruction; Austria; e-learning; Face-to-face learning; Experiences in e-learning; Online learning
• ISSN: 1096-7516; 1873-5525
• DOI: 10.1016/j.iheduc.2010.09.004

Which aspects of e-learning courses do students experience as being favorable for learning? When do students prefer online or face-to-face learning components? These questions were the subject of a research study in a sample of 2196 students from 29 Austrian universities. The students completed a questionnaire on their experiences attending an e-learning course, on their perceived achievements, and on their preferences for online or face-to-face learning components. Students appreciated online learning for its potential in providing a clear and coherent structure of the learning material, in supporting self-regulated learning, and in distributing information. They preferred face-to-face learning for communication purposes in which a shared understanding has to be derived or in which interpersonal relations are to be established. An especially important result concerns students' perceptions of their learning achievements: When conceptual knowledge in the subject matter or skills in the application of one's knowledge are to be acquired, students prefer face-to-face learning. However, when skills in self-regulated learning are to be acquired, students advocate online learning.