I think they both have their values and with a mixture of both students can benefit most, because a lot of exercises can be done online with a computer giving instant feedback - a teacher in a class of 50 and more students often cannot provide. I'm using such a mixture in my Spanish for beginners as well as my pronunciatin classes.

I finished my degree and completed my M.Ed through e-learning with the open university UK, I am now doing a Phd in OZ and had to take two modules (that were only available online ) during my 1st year. They were totally different experiences.

In my research I have discovered it boils down to a number of factors

The instutition - the support they provide to their faculties to develop e-learning and the benchmarks they should set for such courses

The lecturers (or whoever is giving the course), their ability to provide an effective e-learning experience to the learner

The learner - learner types, personal experiences, age and cultural/language differences can all impact on the learners perception of what in their opinion is better.

Is one better than the other? In my opinion they can both be as good or as bad as each other.

@Julie I agree that the ability of the tutor is a very important factor but that is true of face to face courses too. The learner type is a complex factor and will not only affect their perception of the course but also their learning outcomes. I would like to know if you found the online courses harder because you had less interaction with your fellow students. Do you think that course design is more difficult because the learner type is such a complex factor and is more difficult to gauge on a distance learning course?

Hi Gary! I believe the tutor needs a framework which takes into consideration all the issues i mentioned above, that the aim of my Phd to produce one. I had a great experience with the OU and I finished with them around 5 years ago, I'm sure now its even more communicative and collaborative. The experience I had here was not as good. (I don't want to say too much, as they are paying my fees!!) But I have also sat through some AWFUL courses, not necessarily in content but delivery.

I think the learner type is as you said extremely complex, but you can't accomodate all of the people all of the time. So I think presenting e-learning in a diverse way, offering short online lectures, with video, discussion forums, collaborative documents, investigative and practical coursework and maybe most importantly availability of the lecturer either face to face, skype, online chat etc needs to be provided. Providing a highly interactive course (whether the learners choose to participate in all or some of the elements) covers not only the range of learning types, but also the cultural, language and age factors that are evident in today universities, both on-campus and online.

Learner types/styles is a VERY interesting topic and something I hope to explore in more detail further down the line. I would admit only in the last couple of years I have moved away from the lecture (instructivist) style of teaching to a more constructivist approach. I can't really pinpoint why exactly!

Julie, I am an OU graduate and found the package of materials made me an active learner and believe this to a KEY element to any course face-to-face or online. I also agree the elements you suggest that make up an engaging learning experience.

The OU materials included, audio books, case studies, DVD, activity books, forums, 1:1 tutorials, group tutorials and online discussions.

I did my post grad courses online too and had one fantastic experience due to an engaged and proactive tutor and active forum and one dire experience when there seemed no tutor involvement and thus no "critical friends" existed.

The online courses I have completed have been very demanding in terms of time - part-time with the OU 16 hours per week for 8 months = 60 credits. Thus, comparing my own experiences with the experiences of students I support on traditional taught courses around the country it seems that this exceeds the demands of traditional courses where for some courses the "taught" sessions/element can be hardly classed as full-time.

I am just considering an online PHD at the moment in educational research. I am currently researching the course, tutors and university as for me it is whether the materials will be interactive enough and the forum navigable and the tutor knowledgeable and engaged to make the learning experience valuable. This is just as valid in traditional courses.

Hi Kerry, I personally would have no hesitation doing a PhD online, and I think bescause you have shown the self discipline and your ability to study online you wouldn't have a problem either. I have very little input from my supervisors, they give me some guidance and then I call on them really only when I need them. If you have a good research proposal and a clear idea in your mind about what you want to achieve you'll be able to do it regardless of the mode. Good luck!

Thanks Julie for the encouragement. I like the idea of just calling on the supervisor when I need them.

I am currently doing some research on the supervisors and whether any of them have in-depth knowledge or specialise in my field. This is a vital component of any course whether brick built or online and I think overlooked or not considered by many.

Traditional courses and online courses... I think that both teaching paths are good. They depend from the students (e.g. motivations, self-learning capabilities, family situations (e.g. students that work), etc). When students' age raises (e.g., in Ph-D courses) the capabilities to orient themselves in online courses also raises.

"Better" is the word to underline here...however, online courses seem to provide more flexibility and convenience. However, much that can be achieved from face-to-face communication in traditionally-earned degrees is lost in online degrees

I think we need to accept that the world has changed and moved on from the traditional face to face learning. I will therefore disagree with any notions that portray online learning outright as inferior.

In comparing the two modes of learning, it will be unfair therefore to discuss them in a general sense. I am of the opinion it depends on the subject and area of learning. In the age of video conferencing, most oral presentations and discussions can still take place in the virtual world just as in physical face to face. However, with specific areas of learning that require a 'hands on' physical contact like in physiotherapy, some aspects of the medical field, traditional classroom teacher training, etc, some part of the learning may have to take place in a traditional way.

With technological advances and changes in the way we live our lives, online learning may become more dominant.

Although I believe that the way we teach and the way that we are taught is changing and that it will be increasingly online but I think that many of the online courses and tutors have not yet reached the same level of sophistication that is common in the traditional face-to-face lessons. More research and understanding is needed and once we can predict the learning process then we will be able develop more effective courses and the tutor will be able to react and modify the course content to suit the students just as we do now in traditional classrooms.