Time demands in online instruction1

This paper is based on a study sponsored by the Mellon Foundation’s Cost Effective Use of Technology in Teaching program. Portions of the final report to the Mellon Foundation can be found at http://idde.syr.edu/mellon. The author of this paper was the principal investigator in the Mellon study. The final report was co‐authored with Philip L. Doughty and Barbara A. Yonai, both of whom are at Syracuse University.

Abstract

This article reports findings from a Mellon Foundation research project at Syracuse University with regard to the time demands placed on teachers and learners in online courses. This exploratory research was primarily a study of cases involving three online courses and one face‐to‐face course. The focus of the study was the effects of different forms of communication and collaboration on time invested by teachers and learners. The online courses made use of e‐mail, threaded discussion forums, and online chat sessions; the face‐to‐face course used e‐mail in addition to a course Web site and lectures. Learning outcomes and retention in the three online courses were similar to outcomes and retention in comparable face‐to‐face courses at this institution. Students invested slightly more time in online courses whereas faculty, all of whom were experienced online teachers, invested considerably more time in their online courses. An analysis of interviews with online teachers at other institutions confirms the finding that experienced online teachers invest significantly more time in online teaching than their counterparts in face‐to‐face settings.

Notes

* Learning Systems Institute, Florida State University, LSI‐FSU, C 4622 University Center, Tallahassee, FL 32306‐2540, USA. Email: [email protected]

This paper is based on a study sponsored by the Mellon Foundation’s Cost Effective Use of Technology in Teaching program. Portions of the final report to the Mellon Foundation can be found at http://idde.syr.edu/mellon. The author of this paper was the principal investigator in the Mellon study. The final report was co‐authored with Philip L. Doughty and Barbara A. Yonai, both of whom are at Syracuse University.

A dynamic syllabus is one that is explicitly subject to change on a regular basis depending on overall class progress. In advanced and graduate courses, the content of a course may change depending on evolving interests of students and emerging topics based on previous discussions and activities. Rather than have students bring a paper copy of the syllabus and mark it up each week, a dynamic syllabus allows an instructor to adjust content and sequencing to fit student progress and interests, and has the added benefit of getting students to visit a course site on a regular basis to see what new resources have been added.

The Mellon Foundation specifically requested that at least one face‐to‐face course be included in the study for purposes of comparison. The argument that such comparisons might be suspect was discounted in favor of having the additional data to at least examine. The original proposal was modified accordingly.

Radha Ganesan, a recent doctoral graduate from Syracuse University, conducted parallel interviews with online instructors at other universities. Her interviews are summarized in the final report to the Mellon Foundation.

These online courses have been offered many times since this study was completed. The courses have remained largely intact, with the exception of discontinuing the use of chat sessions.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

J. Michael Spector *

* Learning Systems Institute, Florida State University, LSI‐FSU, C 4622 University Center, Tallahassee, FL 32306‐2540, USA. Email: [email protected]