Learning Statistics Online Recognized

According to David Wessel of the Wall Street Journal, new research has emerged that shows statistics students learn as much in online courses as they can in "bricks and mortar" classes.

In a carefully crafted, foundation-funded experiment that has received less attention than it deserves, Ithaka S+R, a higher-education think tank, enticed 605 undergraduates at six public-university campuses in New York and Maryland to agree to be assigned randomly to one of two courses. Half took a conventional introductory statistics course that met three hours a week. The other half took a computer-assisted course that met once a week and relied on an interactive, online statistics course developed by Carnegie Mellon University's Online Learning Initiative.... To compare outcomes, researchers had students take a standardized statistics test and a final exam that had some of the same questions.... The statistically sound result: Students in the online course did just as well as those who took the conventional course. No better, no worse.

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Online education is increasingly being recognized as a viable cost-effective alternative to more expensive "bricks and mortar" schools in America. At some point, society will have to consider how the advantages of online education might be applied in secondary schools...

Follow the link below to read the original research report produced by Ithaka S+R.

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Source: Wessel, D (2012, July 19), Tapping Technology to Keep Lid on Tuition, Wall Street Journal.

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