Performance and perceptions of distance learners in cyberspace

Abstract

This study compared the performance and perception of cyber‐learners to that of traditional learners. A study of several hundred undergraduate students taking an introductory economics course at the University of California suggests that cyberlearners learn as well as, or better than, traditional learners regardless of characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, academic background, computer skills, and academic aptitude and that they do so with a high degree of satisfaction. CD‐ROM‐based lectures, electronic testing, threaded electronic bulletin boards, and online discussion rooms all appear to be effective instructional technologies. The CD‐ROM‐based lectures that simulated the traditional classroom experience were regarded as being both the most essential and most enjoyable instructional medium.