Posted 8:11 AM by George Siemens
HOW DO ONLINE STUDENTS DIFFER FROM LECTURE STUDENTS?
Quote: "In this paper we extend and broaden our earlier investigation to address two additional questions in online education. The first question asks who is likely to take online classes. It would be useful to know how students who enroll in online classes differ from their peers in traditional lecture classes. One might expect these students to display certain distinguishing characteristics that would lead them to enroll in online classes.

Secondly, we ask what factors influence performance among online students and whether those factors might differ for online and lecture students. One reason for our interest in this issue is the higher dropout rate for students in the online section, which we observed in our previous study. Information about success in online classes would prove useful for both guidance and course development purposes."

Comment: Provocative title. Research in understanding student differences (online vs. classroom) and characteristics for success online is very limited. Two things I'd like to see come out of this type of paper: what can instructors do to ensure student success...and what can learners do to increase their potential for success. These are alluded to in the paper...but it would be nice to have some characteristics stated explicitly.

Posted 8:04 AM by George Siemens
Canadians Ready for Elearning
Quote: "Canadians are furthering their educational efforts through online courses, an Ipsos-Reid report reveals. Based on 2,000 interviews via telephone and Internet, the survey indicated that 59 percent of the Canadian respondents were likely to take an online course in the future."

Comment:One of the most significant concepts expressed in this article relates to the willingness of people to take online courses vs. using the Internet for banking, e-commerce, travel, etc. Educators should focus on this trend - people are willing to learn online - and hey, when the student is ready...

Five Phases - Online Community
Quote: "A student-centered community derives in five phases, resulting in a constructive and meaningful learning experience."

Comment: Derives from Dr. Salmon's Five Step Model. I think it is important for instructors to have a clear understanding of stages that students go through in using technology for learning. This model is a simple overview of the process.