Faculty have varying levels of reactions to the idea of teaching their courses using distance learning technology. The generic response seems to be that distance education might work for other courses, but not for the courses taught by the professor engaged in the discussion. While it is usually possible to resolve questions about classes involving traditional lectures with occasional questions, one consistent concern has been about classes that involve physical laboratory experiments.
This question is addressed by Abel-Salam, Kauffman, and Crossman, who conducted a study of student learning outcomes in a fluid mechanics class offered both on campus and via distance learning. Approximately 1,000 students’ performance were analyzed with about one third of the students taking the course via traditional on campus delivery and the other two thirds taking the course via distance learning. Students were expected to complete eight experiments during the semester and are graded on areas such as accuracy of results, organization, and understanding of the material.
Students in class performed the experiments in groups while students attending on line watched extremely detailed videos of the experiment being conducted by the professor. The professor covered the same material as would be covered in a live lab, including detailed explanations of questions that are normally asked in a live environment. For the most part, the students have the same experience as working in a live group in which one student does the work and everyone else takes notes, asks questions, and calculates results. The students were expected to complete the same lab reports regardless of the setting.
The results of the study, based on questions about the experiments and procedure asked during the final examinations, showed no significant difference between students in either setting. Students were graded in the final on questions on technical proficiency, report writing procedures, and data analysis. Course grades were correlated to final grades for both groups, again with no significant variations. Thus, the objections of faculty to the use of distance learning technology in courses with a laboratory component may be overcome. In addition, as technology improves, new methods for these courses may be developed
Abdel-Salam, T. M., Kauffmann, P. J., & Crossman, G. R. (2007). Are Distance Laboratories Effective Tools for Technology Education? American Journal of Distance Education, 21(2), 77. doi:10.1080/08923640701299041
I agree completely – and that was the discussion I expected when I found the article. There are so many methods for developing virtual labs that this article, from only 3 years ago, struck me as somewhat inane. I was more interested in their determination that even their rudimentary methods still produced similar learning outcomes.
I found it interesting the comparison here was between in-person (or face to face) and videotaped lab sessions. While “playing” with Second Life I had my first encounter with a “virtual experiment” via a Sun Microsystems demonstration and was blown away at the power of the simulation for events in physical space (such as fluid dynamics). I thought about the wave tank we built at Oregon State only a few years ago, and how much more cost effectively the same phenomenon could/can be modeled virtually. A quick Google search for “virtual fluid dynamics” found this entry that I would wager could stoke faculty interest in the topic: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13365