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Description:
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As technology has advanced , corporations , government entities , and institutions of higher education have all begun experimenting with online classes and training . In colleges and universities around the world , everything from individual online classes to entire online degree programs are now offered . While many researchers and educators support this trend , many are concerned with whether online education is truly comparable to traditional , live instruction . The goal of this study was to evaluate an online version of a floral design course in comparison to the traditional version of the class . There were 140 students in the sample , including both the online and traditional classes . All were students at Texas A &M University in College Station , Texas . During the spring semester of 2003 , the experimental group was enrolled in the online version of the course , while the control group was enrolled in the traditional version of the course . Students in both groups were asked to fill out surveys at the beginning and end of the semester to collect background information and to evaluate the course . Their floral designs were evaluated at the beginning and end of the class in order to measure design skill , and grades earned in the class were also collected at the end of the semester for comparison purposes . Statistically significant differences were noted in class grades , with traditional students outperforming the Web -based students in lecture points , lab points , and overall course grades . No statistically significant differences were noted in terms of student course satisfaction . In addition , students in the traditional class outperformed Web -based students in design skills . Besides class differences in performance , variables such as gender and distance course preparedness seemed to affect the outcome of some measures . Overall , females outperformed males in both classes . In the Web -based class , students found to be more prepared for distance learning courses fared better than students who were not as prepared . These results may indicate that certain students may do better in an online course than others , and it may be possible to screen these students in advance in order to maximize success in the online classroom . |