Media Report
March 26, 2012Cybereducation: Going the distance
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/cybereducation-going-the-distance-1398572.html
Cybereducation is new, market-driven, and it represents the future. But is it effective? “There’s very little empirical research out there,” said Michael K. Barbour, who researches virtual learning at Wayne State University. The positive research that has been done looked at adults or the earliest generation of virtual learners: bright, self-directed teens who went online to take tough courses their brick-and-mortar schools didn’t offer. “Those students are equipped to do well in any learning environment,” Barbour said. “The second we put other kinds of students in that environment, they don’t do as well. At-risk students who are struggling in traditional environments,” he said, “are still going to require a lot of that one-on-one instruction in online programs.”
Cybereducation is new, market-driven, and it represents the future. But is it effective? “There’s very little empirical research out there,” said Michael K. Barbour, who researches virtual learning at Wayne State University. The positive research that has been done looked at adults or the earliest generation of virtual learners: bright, self-directed teens who went online to take tough courses their brick-and-mortar schools didn’t offer. “Those students are equipped to do well in any learning environment,” Barbour said. “The second we put other kinds of students in that environment, they don’t do as well. At-risk students who are struggling in traditional environments,” he said, “are still going to require a lot of that one-on-one instruction in online programs.”
Publications
- Atlanta Journal Constitution
Connect with WSU